Ionian Emerald Resort

We booked our stay through Jet2 and had an excellent Private Transfer from the Airport. Upon arrival, sadly Reception could not locate our booking - a Superior Seaview Room, but after a few minutes called us over to inform us that they were upgrading us to a Superior Room with Private Pool free of charge - great we thought as we never get upgrades! The room benefitted from a lovely large terrace with a comfortable sofa and two chairs, a further raised terrace with two very comfortable sun loungers and beyond that an approx 12ft x 12ft pool. Now the draw back - the terrace with the sun-loungers on, only gets the sun until about 11:30am when the sun then drops down behind the room block, only to reappear about 4:00pm….so no sunbathing on your own terrace for long. Sadly, you are also in full view of the balconies above you, which does make you slightly conscious of turning the beds around to face the sun and anyone sat on their balcony. That said, it wasn’t a major issue to us as you can easily access the main pool area from the back of your pool, so we just had a couple of sun-loungers up there and swapped to them when we lost the sun. However, if I’d paid the extra £300+ for the room with a Private pool, I think I would have been disappointed. There are only 4 of these Private Pool rooms and the others were empty most of the week. When we did get ‘neighbours’ whose booking could also not be located, it suggested that these rooms were kept back for such eventualities. Tip - don’t book these rooms as we felt they weren’t worth the extra cost. I also agree with other commentators, who felt the hotel was a little tired in places and in need of a bit of TLC. In our room, the bottom of the bed upholstery was torn on the corners, the hydra bath did not work, there was a hole in the wall with a SCART lead sticking out and the entrance door frame to the bathroom, which was papered rather than a continuation of the internal water proof wall covering (??) was torn and hanging off. I know these rooms have a lot of through put, but it’s not what you’d expect for what’s supposed to be a Superior upgraded room! Another tip - There are 3 floors. From what we could see, the only rooms with a true unobstructed sea view are the deluxe rooms on the top floor. Ground floor rooms, which are slightly sunken, have no view or a garden view and the next floor although called sea view, because they are at pool/ground level, largely have their view obstructed by the pool parasols etc. Now for the positives: The location and surroundings are beautiful, but a little isolated if you don’t want the 20 minute walk along the sea path into Sami to eat in an evening, where there are a fantastic selection of Tavernas. There is only one Taverna close by. However, we enjoyed the evening walk after eating! The staff are wonderful, still always smiling and helpful despite it being the end of the season. We only booked Bed & Breakfast, so we can’t comment on the evening meals, but our breakfasts were excellent with plenty of choice with lovely staff, especially Rulia who also doubled up as our room cleaner as well! Tip - as tempting as it may be, don’t sit outside unless you want your breakfast bothered by very persistent wasps! Never any issue with obtaining a sun lounger in a morning - so nice to be at a small hotel where you didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to secure a bed. Overall, a very enjoyable week and the fact that we would definitely return again shows the above points did not detract from what was otherwise a lovely hotel, but sadly couldn’t quite give it a 5 star rating.

Very good hotel we stayed in a superior room with pool and sea view which was ok but the bathroom needs updating. Plus points however are it was kept spotlessly clean by the maid Adriana who seemed to be always cleanjng. The breakfast room was very inviting with plenty of choices and the two ladies there were very pleasant and helpful. The pool didn't really have a shallow end so not suitable for non -swimmers as was stated by several people because difficult to access. Lovely setting with small private beach. Two tavernas close by but no local supermarket. There was however a bakery. Easy stroll into Sami about 20 minutes where there are many excellent restaurants. Please note that the sister hotel Athina has use of the pool. The Athina bar however at night is lovely with reasonable prices. Bar at the Emerald lacks atmosphere and is usually empty.

From the moment we arrived, we felt so looked after at the Ionian Emerald Resort. The staff are honestly what makes this place so special – the lovely ladies at the pool bar always greeted us with the biggest smiles and made us feel at home, and our cleaner was incredible, keeping our room spotless every single day. Everyone went out of their way to help us, nothing was ever too much trouble. The views from our room were absolutely breathtaking – we’d wake up every morning and couldn’t quite believe how beautiful it was. The pool was just perfect for kids, safe and relaxing, and the breakfast buffet each morning was such a treat with plenty of choice. Yes, there are a couple of little maintenance touches that could be freshened up, but honestly that didn’t take away from how wonderful our stay was. We left with such happy memories ☺️

The view from our room was 5*, it was disappointing to find that half board certainly wasn't. We were presented with a menu on our first evening and discovered that it remained the same for the duration of our stay. The food was fine albeit poor erratic service. However after 3 nights it became monotonous and the main course choice in particular bland and boring. The hotel was unwilling to improve or alter the restricted menu so we gave up and walked 20 minutes along a stony path to Sami where there was a vast array of restaurants to choose from. We felt hard done to as there was an a la carte menu for b& b guests to select from which had much more choice. The restaurant and bar lacked atmosphere and guests were few and far between on the nights we were staying. The pool was good with comfortable beds which had stained mattresses and we weren't impressed by the neighbouring guests at a cheaper hotel using the facilities for which we had paid a 5* price. W3e used to watch them first thing in the morning making a bee line for what they considered to be the beds in the best position. The room could have had more storage and there was little point in having a safe that wasn't attached and could have been picked up and carried away. The bathroom needed a refurbishment. Each time the shower was used water ended up over the floor causing a puddle in front of the toilet. Thank goodness for the view we really enjoyed that but won't be returning to the hotel.

The hotel is situated about 20 mins walk from Sami town. Sea front rooms are spacious and have lovely views across the bay to Ithica. Our room was cleaned daily. We stayed B&B so cant comment on the evening meal but there are many good restaurants in the town. Overall this is a nice hotel but is by no means the 5 star claimed. In our opinion there are a number of issues that could be improved to make it so much better. As others have said the swimming pool appears to be open to all, whether staying at the hotel or not. It is often crowded with lots of people using inflatables despite signs asking people not to. Staff are generally very pleasant but it appears the are not enough of them. Breakfast is self service, the choice of food is limited and the breakfast room is dismal. We have had much better breakfasts in Greek 3 star hotels. To sum up, we had a enjoyable holiday. Would we go back to this hotel - no.