Golden Sun Hotel

We have been to Kalamaki 4 times now, so we obviously like the place. Having stayed at Dennys Inn the last 3 times we decided to try a different hotel. What a mistake! All of the staff are surly apart from the receptionist. The breakfast is an ordeal in that it is monotonously repetitive and the bread is always yesterdays. The only big thing it has going for it is the swimming pool. The rooms are OK but for an hotel with such a rating you would expect a prpoer shower with a curtain rather than a plastic hose fitted to the bath tap - a curtain wouldn't go amiss if only to contain the spray as you sit showering yourself in the narrow bath!
There was no atmosphere exuded by the staff to get the guests in the bar at night - when we came in there were only a maximum of 5 people at the bar. At Denny's Inn everyone got to know each other through the simple activities that were put on in the evenings and it was good. It's still the same over there because we went over and spent an evening with them, we were welcomed like long lost family!

Kalamaki beach is reknowned for the Loggerhead Turtles that come and lay their eggs in the dunes. Because of this the conservation societies managed to prevent flight during the hours of darkness from landing - the aircraft lights disorientate the young turtles and they have difficulty getting back to the sea when hatched. We had incoming flights at 4:30am! Flights were still comimng in well after sunset. This affected our sleep patterns because the Golden Sun is almost directly under the landing path. Even with all windows shut the noise is enough to wake the dead - what with the crickets as well it was sheer bedlam!

I went away for an holiday and now I need another one - we'll be back in a few years time but we won't be staying at the Golden Sun

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Hello i really want to go to a hotel in kalamaki
that is very close to the beach and is more adult not to keen on having screamin kids around!! can anyone help?? also i'm goin end of september is this a good time of year i don't want it to rain??

Hi, can anyone tell me b 4 Aug 17th 2003. I understand the rooms at the Golden Sun have music in them, what does this mean, do I have to take my CD speakers with me ?? Any other info appreciated

Flying out to Golden Sun Hotel in a few weeks, could somebody tell me what the temperatures are like out there. Brochures don't seem to give an accurate indication in my experience.

Really looking forward to it, just hope it's how I'm picturing it!!!

Feel free to email any info about it to me at babe2booze@aol.com

Just got back from Golden Sun Hotel. Good points: fantastic swimming pool very well maintained and very clean. Beautiful gardens. Try for a room with sea view, sun will be on your balcony in the evening til 8.30pm and you can watch the sun go down as the planes fly over - more a novelty than a problem - don't let it put u off.

Breakfast very mundane - be warned!! Bring a travel kettle and some instants cappucinos/mochas and buy very nice strawberry filled croissants for breakfast in the supermarket.

Staff could make an effort to look happier. Air coniditioning a bit erratic and watch out for hot water when you turn on the cold tap ....

We kept our room on after much pleading and hassling (a Scottish friend - restaurant owner in Kalamaki - Dopia - John - who speaks fluent Greek) organised for me - at a cost of €35. Worth it if you have a late flight. Airport not as bad as we expected - we really expected the worse having read this site) - DONT go through to passport control on way home until last minute. Stay outside under the trees.

Any one want any other info feel free to ask. Happy Hols!

We have just returned from a two week holiday at the Golden Sun Hotel in Kalamaki and all I can say is FANTASTIC!!! The location is a 2 min walk from the beach and 3 min from the main street. The hotel is very clean, friendly staff, and a great pool and bar. A special mention must go to Kristos the bar man, who is GREAT, very friendly and he gave us some great advice on the best restaurants (Pandesia-Wow and sooo cheap!!) and car rental (Zante Euro), Kristos we will miss you! (check out his pic on this website). Don't worry about the planes, only 5-8 a day lasting about 5 secs each. This is a quiet and relaxing resort and I would recommend this hotel to anyone!!!

Just got back from spending a week at the Golden Sun. For everyone disappointed about not having air conditioning on all day - don't be. We supposedly had it on full time and didn't notice the difference. In fact the only time we got a rush of air into the room was when the balcony door was left open and a plane was landing at the airport. After a while the novelty of waving to the pilots wears off. Ears plugs maybe an option for those guests, like ourselves, with rear facing (ie runway) rooms.

For those with night flights prepare yourselves. Despite asking twice to keep our room on for an extra few hours we were put out at 12pm on the Sunday - our flight was not til 6am on the Monday morning. Not fun, especially when the hotel can't even provide you with a courtesy room. They did very helpfully allow us to use the pool showers for a quick freshen up. Thanks for that. Oh, and one other thing. If you decide as we did to hire a safety deposit box for a week at the additional cost of 20 euro make sure you get your moneys worth. The "helpful" receptionist may try to get you to vacate this too at the 12pm chucking out time. Insist on getting your full week - you've paid for it. They don't need the time to clean the box out for the next people!

Despite all the above great pool and facilities - just let down by lack of helpful staff. You get what you pay for.

The hotel refused to put the air conditioning on even though temperatures were hitting 42C. Why you ask?...well it is hotel policy that air conditioning be turned on in July and August something that is not mentioned in brochures or on there website!!! Beware. The receptionists were extremely unhelpful on this matter. TV and fridges are only available in july and august too so lets hope holiday makers visiting out of these months do not experience a heatwave like we just have!They do however switch it on when people are by the pool and there cleaners are in the rooms!!!...so hotel policy is geared towards the staff and not the comfort of the customer!

Directly under flightpath!We expected noise with flights but when it is cooler to sleep on the balcony because the a/c is not on you will have no sleep!!! Very noisy and uncomfortable!!

Bar expensive in comparison to Kalamaki! 2.60 euro for a 33cl bottle of beer when you can get 0.5l bottle in Kalamaki for 2 euro! Christos is lovely bloke (barman) initially but did become sleazy and quite dirty at times BEWARE!

And for those of you visiting asking about cooking facilities there are non!

The hotel itself is clean and the pool is great! Will be very comfortable in July and August for all of you lucky people with a/c!! im not bitter you understand but when you pay £700 for a 14nite hol u have a right to complain!

Down Under bar a MUST!!!!2 cocktails for 5 euro!Pandesia is the best restaurant on the island to eat at and Don Amici do the best pizza i have ever tasted. They fly in ingrediants to make the pizza bases from Italy....mmmmm

COULD ANYONE TELL US IF THE ROOMS IN THE HOTEL HAVE COOKING FACILITIES. ALSO RECOMMEND ANY GOOD RESTURANTS, BARS AND PLACES TO VISIT. DID ANYONE SEE THE TURTLES? EMAIL US ON joeNchelle@hotmail.com. THANX!

Me and my boyfriend are going to the golden sun hotel in zante next week and we just wondered if the room had any sort of cooking facilities. Any information would be great. sarahj_young@yahoo.co.uk

Goin on 14th Aug 03 can't wait heard its a lovely place. Can anyone recommend any good resturantes and bars?Please get back to us on Chellehayes03@hotmail.com

My boyfriend and I are going to the Golden Sun Hotel bed and breakfast in July 2003 could anyone tell us if the rooms have any cooking facilities and a fridge. Any info would be great, thanx.

Just got back from GSH and my overall impression is that it is a general run of the mill Greek hotel.
Basic accommodation and quite clean, if a little rough around the edges.
Good pool if at first a little breathtaking!
It would also help if your not bothered about missing breakfast, the buffet was consistently lame.
Christos the barman is a very nice chap, who likes enjoying a snifter or 2 with you. His ouzo, orange juice & grenadine is great!
Personally I have stayed in a lot worse hotels in my time.
But I wouldnt go back to GSH..
Firstly - The Lorous Beach next door is a far superior hotel with hardly any whining kids present & a good pool.
Secondly - Why do you need a hotel in Kalamaki, Self Catering is all you need especially with the plethora of tavernas & supermarkets in Kalamaki.

Everything here is of a very high standard. People are very friendly they make you feel very welcome. The food is also excellent. The beach is only 100-150m away and if you go there in May as we did you are sure to see loggerhead turtles swimming close to the shore.
A big hello to Christos (barman) who made our evenings such a good laugh, get those tricks ready cause we'll be back for more in September 03...
People who have complained about this hotel are obviously used to 5* accomodation and have nothing better to do than moan about things because there used to their "creature comforts", which you don't need when you're on holiday.
Excellent hotel, excellent location, excellent service, food and people... What more can we say!!!

We are just back from a week at the GSH and thought it was really nice and would stay there again. It's a good location, 2 mins from the beach and about 10 mins into town (so no nightime noise).
The rooms were clean and the pool area had everything that you needed. The planes are not really a problem so don't be put off by anything that you hear to the contrary. Yes they are close but are infrequent and you hardly notice them once the novelty wears off. I found the staff to be very friendly and helpfull and would thoroughly recommend this place to anyone looking for a relaxing holiday away from it all.

We stayed at this hotel for a week. The brunch was very good. The Poolarea is big enough for everyone. The most receiptionists are friendly and helpfull. The guy who is looking after the brunch in the morning could be more happy and more friendly. (You don't grap something out of a customers hand while he has it!!) He never would say good morning first or just give a smile. I would say that was the only bad point we had!

Just got back last night. Everthing about this hotel was great & we did not find the receptionists Maria & Athirio(???) snotty at all, Mary in the bar is great so were the cook & Spiro in the restaurant. Mary, if your reading this the pics on the digital camera are great you have to get one & I can't find Passoa anywhere. Thanks again for a great time. Penny & Larry (East Sussex)

brilliant location, 5 mins to beach, ten to nightlife. the rooms were very clean and basic, and we had lovely views of the gardens. however, the old energy saving device (where the air con is only on when ure actually in the room) was a bit of a pain but you can get round it by detaching the key from the thing u slot into the wall and keeping the thing in the wall while ure out so u return to a lovely cool room (but dont hand your key in at reception) !! soeaking of reception, the girls are very snotty, as are the guys at the pool bar, but mary at the bar is nice.

Lovely hotel, very clean. Pool was relaxing and loved spending time unwinding and chatting to other Brits we met - great bunch! Would not recommend the trip to Zante Town - odd, shabby and incomplete town. Beware of the mad moped riders!! Nightlife is safe and easy going in Kalamaki, Laganas is for the real party animal - dancing on the tables 'til dawn and all that. As for the infamous Mary that so amny people write about - she's a down to earth greek/yank with a great sense of humour. One bad thing - lack of air-con in the rooms before July

Just got back last-night, We had a great stay @ GSH,Spent most of the week poolside with such good company!! No probs plane spotting,in fact we all enjoyed thought it amuzing!! Didnt go much on a ploughmans for breakfast but you can get a full english @ the beachside cafe 100mts up the road.. Great bar next door with nightly entertaiment.. Highlights had to be turtle spotting on pedelos for 10 euros.. A big shout to all who we met.. Andy & Emma xxx

Looking forward to the 30th of june, for my first holiday to Greece since I was 9! Staying at the Golden Sun Hotel. Cant wait to live it up in the med, with my best mate Katie. See ya then Sooz

JUST RETURNED FROM GOLDEN SUN, RESORT WAS COOL HOTEL WAS X, GO BACK AGAIN SOON, STAFF COULD BE HAPPIER APART FROM MARY THE BARMAID, BIG TO YOU SEND YA TAPES IN THE POST. C U NEXT YEAR

Just returned from staying here. Nice hotel, quiet (except for occasional plane, but the airport is no Gatwick)staff very friendly and helpful, especially Mary behind the bar. Would recommend this hotel to anyone. Colin & Sue

Oh yes I am going to Kalamaki and staying in the Golden Sun Hotel

Flying out to Zante on the 21st Oct can anyone tell me if the resort is still "UP AND RUNNING" or is it all closed down any comments appreciated

WE STAYED AT THE GOLDEN SUN HOTEL IN JUNE, LOCATION, POOL, ROOMS ALL EXCELLENT, MEALS AT NIGHT WERE POOR FOR THE CHILDREN, THE SNACK BAR IN THE DAY HAD A VERY GOOD SELECTION OF VARIED FOOD. DUE TO BEING BY THE FLIGHT PATH DID EXPERIENCE AIR CRAFT NOISE, (WE ARE NOW KEEN PLANE SPOTTING ANORAKS) NICE RELAXING HOLIDAY WOULD RETURN. LYNDA & NICK ROBINSON.

Have just returned from 2 weeks at the Golden Sun Hotel. Hotel and pool very clean, maid service daily, Aircraft noise varied from 5am some mornings to nothing till after 7am other mornings. Lack of nightly entertainment, but not a problem as we tended to walk into Kalamaki in the evenings. Continental breakfast and buffet style dinner. Mary behind the bar was very friendly as were the girls behind the reception. Restaurant staff were a bit formal.

The hotel was very nice with a nice pool area and excellent food the staff were all friendly would definetly go back

Very clean , large pool , usual story "Germans place towels all over the place" but still can find room . Great view of aeroplanes landing from back of hotel .Start at about 9.30 am . Not a problem unless you like a lay in . Evening meal could be better , but we tended to eat out . We will go back .

I am staying at the Golden Sun Kalamaki in July. Any info about hotel greatly appreciated. Also any recommendations for anything in Kalamaki

My friend is staying here in september has anyone any info,ie is it clean is the beer cheap are the owners friendly. Anything in general will do. cheers modfather