Crithoni's Paradise Hotel

Leros is one of the dodecanese islands further north from Kos. The hotel is situated in Crithoni, in easy walking distance from the town of Agia Marina. The hotel stands in well maintained garden style grounds with a lovely pool. Sun beds were not charged for, but we thought there might not be sufficient seating round the pool in busy periods. Rooms are of good size, clean, and with good amenities. They are a little "dated" however, with dark wood furniture. Staff were friendly and pleasant. The food we had as a group was hotel buffet style, with good choice. Agia Marina can be reached on foot along the main road, which can be quite busy at times. It is a nice town with plenty of bars, shops, restaurants etc. A stroll along the beach from the harbour to the far end of town takes about 20 mins, and there is a quaint "industrial" bar there to welcome you. Catamaran Ferries run from the harbour to many other island destinations. We belive there are buses taking travellers to other towns, but we did not use them.

The public areas of this hotel, including the pool, restaurant and bar are lovely but the rooms and some of the service were extremely disappointing. We were promised a garden view but we looked out over the maintenance service dump and rubbish (see photos). The room was very tired and in need of full refurbishment. There was only one power point, no safe, no tea and coffee making facilities, torn bed covers, scratched and dirty walls, light bulbs missing. The bathroom was fitted with a plastic shower curtain , the shower hose leaked and on first use flooded the bathroom floor. The hotel was unresponsive to reported problems eg the back was missing from the remote control for our aircon unit meaning it's functioning was intermittent. Pool towels were in short supply, we had none for the first 24 hours of our stay. Inadvertently we then received 2 sets on our second day but were able to pass 2 on to friends who still had not been provided with any pool towels 2 days into a 3 night stay. Many other people in our group told us of issues that they reported but were not addressed. It is shame that these easily remedied problems detracted from the enjoyment of our stay.

Food: Our tour plan included a breakfast and dinner buffet. Both included a variety of dishes, with breads, rolls, fresh fruit at breakfast. The food was always very good. Most days I had a tasty omelet or yummy cheeseburger at the Pool Bar, followed by ice cream. Our paper napkins kept blowing away! A/C: A remote controls the A/C. The one in my room was very quiet and did a super job. You have to leave a room key in the control panel to have it run while you are out during the day. Lights: They are conserving energy, so hall lights are sometimes out. I had a flashlight with me at all times, but someone noticed that there are light switches along the walls. Grounds: Beautiful gardens! Lovely setting! The Aegean Sea sparkles and beckons! Room: I slept soundly and had no issues with noise, either from adjacent rooms or outdoors. The closets and storage were ample for my needs. There were spare blankets and pillows available. Housekeeping was skimpy with fresh towels and there were no hand towels or wash cloths, only full size bath towels. I bought a few wash cloths at a nearby store and left them behind. Had I known, I would have packed a few. Staff: Overall they were lovely, eager to help, and always courteous and polite. My tour group arrived after midnight, but Reception was still awake and gave each of us our room keys swiftly, with instructions how to navigate to our rooms. Coaches: The hotel provides transportation via their coaches to/from the airport and ferry landing. The drivers were excellent, always ready early. The coaches have seat belts and were quite nice. Conference room: Some felt it was chilly, but the temperature can be adjusted easily. We had a presentation with slides and everyone could see it clearly. Water was provided by the hotel. There was a problem with the sound system and electricity, but they made every effort to fix it quickly. It was a minor blip and in no way detracted from the presentation. I highly recommend Crinothi’s for its pleasant atmosphere, friendly staff, and good food.

The location of the hotel was very good. We could walk to the hotel from the port. Check-in was very easy and our room was ready at our arrival. The room had a balcony with pool view. It was clean though the furniture seem has to be renewed. The only thing I did not like was the bathroom which was too small with a very narrow shower bath. The breakfast is good enough with sufficient sortiment of dairy and bakery. We did not rent a car, when we needed we called a taxi which arrived latest in ten minutes and costed ten € on average. There good, clean and quiet beaches around where you can have bed and umbrella, lunch and bar. Wi-fi connection was good in the room. We thank very much to the front desk staff, they were very polite and helpful.

It's a very nice hotel 10-15 minute walk from the little port where you’ll find some nice bars and a few places to eat. Some of the furnishings are a little bit old-fashioned but still look good and it's clean and perfectly comfortable. Breakfast is really good, staff are helpful, towels and toiletries replenished daily, bedsheets every other day, bedspreads look a bit dreary for a 4 star and could do with replacing but they're clean, the carpet is unusual for Greek accommodation and I thought I'd have an issue with it but it was absolutely fine and I needn't have worried, the balcony furniture coud be more comfy but perfectly fine to take in that beautiful sea view, the location might be an issue if you don't like walking along roads but take a torch be careful and you'll be fine or get a taxi or hire a car which we thought was reasonably priced and makes seeing the island easier. The pool and bar area are perfectly fine, there could be a problem high season with the amount of sunbeds, there's a tiny beach just to the left of the hotel across the road and has a little cafe/bar that we enjoyed, a further 20-25 minutes walk away brings you to a big bay with more bars/tavernas and sunbeds. I would have liked a kettle in the room and could have kicked myself as I didn't think to bring my travel kettle but it wasn't a big problem. The gardens are lovely. Theres a really nice bakery across the road called Stellas that sold sweet and savoury as well as tiny yummy icecreams and drinks, the frappe was really good. All in all we had a great holiday and adored Leros, this hotel is much better than these luxury all inclusive places springing up everywhere and spoiling the culture and local charm. We travelled with Olympic Holidays and couldn't fault the services and transfers.

The first room I was given was filthy with blood on the bedspread and filthy marked headboard. The second room had black mould hanging from the shower. The shower head was replaced after a strong complaint. On checking I'd left nothing behind, I found a glass half full of something covered in mould,in one of the drawers and a half packet of biscuits in another.