Utopia Blu Hotel

We're just coming to the end of a 2 week stay at Utopia Blu, so thought I'd add my thoughts, which pretty much reflect most of the other reviews I've seen. If you can't be bothered reading all of this, it's a solid 4 out of 5 from us. If you are reading the rest, here goes.... Firstly, the complex is stunning. It's so pretty, really well maintained, spotlessly clean, and very established, despite only being 3 years old. There are about 700 different pools, there's never any real issue in finding a sunbed, and because of the way the hotel is designed, you're literally never more than a 1 minute walk from a bar. Which is very important if you want to rehydrate with pina coladas throughout day. The main pool is quite hectic, with lots of activities and quite a loud (and repetitive) playlist (if I hear Guantanamera again I will rip my own head off), but all the other pools are much more relaxing. We don't really get involved with the entertainment so can't comment on the overall quality, but a couple of the singers were belting out Tom Jones hits very impressively one evening. We had a suite with pool, number 1006, and I emailed the hotel beforehand to request a sunny room, because I was a bit fearful of paying a huge amount of money for a room that was in the shade all day. The hotel duly obliged, and we've got a room that's in the sun until around 2pm, at which point we decamp to one of the swim-up pool areas. Some of the private pool rooms are definitely in the shade for most of the day though, so consider yourself warned, and definitely request a sunny room in advance. I think that 1010-1013 pool rooms are probably in the best postion sun-wise. A lot of the swim-up rooms definitely have more sun throughout the day, and from what I can see, they all have nice wooden sunbeds (and not the beanbags that we've got). Our room is long and wide, and probably one of the biggest we've ever had. The suites with pools do seem to vary in size though. Our terrace is only small, and not big enough to accommodate sunbeds, so we have 2 big beanbags, which is fine as they're very comfortable, although there are 3 of us, so we have to keep swapping or lie on the floor. Not ideal, but hey ho. Our pool is also a decent size, cleaned daily, a lovely temperature, and around 4m x 3m in size. It's also very private, with screens and shrubbery surrounding it on all sides. It makes such a difference and is one of the highlights of our holiday. Food has been pretty good and is nicely varied. It's your standard all inclusive fare. All of the desserts do seem to taste of banana though, regardless of what flavour they're supposed to be. There's a nice shady area to the rear of the main restaurant, flanked with established olive trees and pretty string lights, which is a nice place for your evening meal if you prefer eating outside. There were never any queues, although we usually went a bit later, around 8pm. The choice of drinks with dinner is a bit restricted, but if

Beautiful Designed Hotel built 2020 Plenty of pools, and areas to sunbath, lovely grounds with plenty of space Downside Hotel pools FREEZING, have not been able to use any Food good choices, but everything Luke Warm , Drinks OK Resort tired, resturants/bars closing down daily Very windy, but warm Room Beautiful, Suite with Jaccuzi Indoor pool Spa, very small 20 euros pp, to use

I will start by saying this hotel looks the part if you want nice pictures that's pretty much all it is good for! The main areas of the hotel are spotless but unfortunately that's the 2 main good points. Lunch was always good and the Mediterranean restaurant. We booked a 2 week all inclusive and we ended up spending a fortune on drink and food away from the hotel it was awful! It cost us an additional £2,000 in food and drink and we are not even that fussy. The supermarket opposite was full of Utopia guests buying their own alcoholic to take back to the hotel and at breakfast they were buying pastries and sandwiches. The drinks in the hotel were watered down and the staff acted like it was coming out of their wages every time you asked for a drink. They were miserable and you couldn't even get a smile out of half of them. The restaurant waiting staff were all amazing so attentive and really made you feel welcome. They couldn't do enough for you. The manager and customer relations, don't get me started they are horrendous no people or customer management skills. The food: Breakfast was not 4* plus quality, there was very little choice. The omelette station is placed behind the scrambled eggs so if you are waiting for an omelette people are pushing through to get eggs. It was very awkward. Everting is a little under cooked the sausage and bacon never looked cooked. We ended up getting breakfast out or getting pastries from the supermarket. Lunch: I thought was really good, there was plenty of choice if you like salad, veg options were great and lots of fresh pizza. Dinner was atrocious and certainly not what you expect from a 4* plus. I was more like what l imagine a 2/3* would be. We actually only ate in the main restaurant 3 times for dinner despite the themed nights everything was the same each night and lukewarm at best. I have never stayed in a Greek hotel where they don't serve lamb and when I asked the hostess do they ever have lamb and she shrugged! Other guests had also commented that they had never seen any lamb and complained the food was well below standard. A la carte. Elia is just amazing the food was so good and the service was impeccable. Amr made the experience so special. We are twice in the Mediterranean. Il Brunello a la Carte was okay the salad a pizza was really good but the mains were disappointing everything was so creamy it made me feel a bit sick. We decided not to eat here again and cancelled our second booking. The room. You will see above I commented how clean the main areas are this does not apply to the rooms. I am not sure the floor was cleaned once during our 2 week stay. I actually took a picture of my feet after I had been in the shower and walked from the room to the balcony, they are filthy. I note someone has recently commented that they had an issue with the room and the sun. We also had a similar issue and our neighbours advised they had received free upgrades to rooms in prime locations

We stayed at Utopia Blu for a week in September as our first abroad holiday with our little one. The journey from the airport is less than half an hour and upon arrival, the hotel was presented immaculately and we were made to feel welcome by the staff. The information and directions given by reception was a little overwhelming all in one go but we were helped to our room by a staff member on a golf buggy. The cleanliness of the hotel was great and the landscaping was very well maintained and really varied, certainly one of the best I've seen at hotels. Our room had a private pool, but it was north facing so the water wasn't the warmest and the sun loungers never actually got any sun. The room had suitable amenities and the cot bed was a good size too. The cleaners were great too. We spent most of our time at Pinko land during the day which was great for kids. Restaurants were nice, good food choices and layouts and the servers were friendly and quick to take plates away, however drinks service was always very slow and they never tended to come round and offer anymore after the first drink. The Italian a la carte was really nice too, however when there were a couple of large groups present, service and attention to other diners was poor. We were there for 2 hours and still hadn't got desert so we left as we didn't want to miss the kids evening entertainment. Entertainment was nice and varied and always seemed busy with guests. Most of it was put on by the in-house entertainment team who did a good job considering they had worked all day too. The beach was a 10 min drive away but the setting, amenities and cleanliness weren't very desirable. The sea was full of litter and beach full of cigarette ends. Not sure the hotel could do much more with what they provide but it certainly wasn't appealing to go back again after our 1 visit. The main thing that let the hotel down was it's lack of baby changing facilities. There is only 1 baby changing table located at the toilets at the reception. This even seemed like an after thought as it was a table against a wall in the corridor to the main toilets rather than a dedicated baby changing room. No baby changing facilities at the actual kids pool, play area, crèche or any of the restaurants is a massive flaw. Overall we would recommend the hotel to others as it was a lovely stay, but it just had a couple of flaws that let it down from being a 5 star review.