Ξενοδοχεία με Explore Messinia - Canyoning Neda waterfalls, Zacharo

Stayed here for 2 weeks at the beginning of September 2024. Greeted by one of the owners, Nikolas. Warm welcome and given a room on the second floor overlooking the pool and harbour. Room was spotless with daily maid service. Good breakfast with normal cereals toast ,pastries, sausage and eggs, and the normal continental style with ham, cheeses tomatoes etc. Orange juice, tea and coffee fruit and yogurt. We hired a car for the 2 weeks from Kiriakoulis rent a car. Excellent service. We didn't eat dinner in the Hotel but ate several times at Pementzo which was a minutes walk out of the Hotel on the right. Had some of the best fish dishes we'd ever had in Greece. We also ate at Karnagio and Ammos who are both about five minute walk away. These were both excellent and reasonably priced. Special mention to Lefteris and Aldo at the bar with their friendly service. Unless you just need to chill at the Hotel, a car is definitely a must. Visited Olympia, Ancient Messene , Peristeria and Neda waterfalls. Holiday Rep didn't recommend Neda falls as its a very tough trek. Would definitely return to this Hotel.

There was a lot to like about this pension, but I’m afraid the positives were overshadowed by the fact that the AC failed to cool the room to a pleasant temperature for sleeping. I rarely leave negative reviews, but I’m compelled to share here that I wish we had stayed somewhere else. To be fair, we stayed here in July. The high was around 91°F/33°C that day. We arrived around 7 pm and found the room (up one flight of stairs) unbelievably warm. It felt as hot or hotter than the air outside. We turned on the AC and quickly discovered that there was no way to leave the room together while the AC was cooling it off. The key card had to stay in the slot. No other card would work to keep it on. If we opened the door to sit on the balcony the AC turned off. We couldn’t sit by the pool. We were reluctant to go to dinner. We were hot and sticky after visiting ancient sites all day and had hoped to cool off at the hotel. Around 8:30 pm, we headed to dinner at the restaurant on property. We told the gentleman at the reception that the room was very warm and wasn’t cooling much and asked if it would be possible to have a second room key to continue cooling the room while we were at dinner. A polite no. Was it possible to get a fan for the room? Again, a polite no. My husband and I both slept quite poorly. Even by morning, the room wasn’t particularly cool. Our kids had a room across the hall; while theirs was a little cooler when we arrived due to the sun being on the mountain-side of the building, theirs wasn’t particularly cool by morning either. For reference, our thermostat at home is set to 75°F/24°C in summer. Most folks we know keep theirs even colder. We weren’t looking for an icebox, just a pleasant temperature for sleeping. The positives—this is a lovely spot with beautiful mountain views. The rooms are comfortable and very clean. Our dinner onsite was delicious. Breakfast was ample and tasty; fresh juices were a treat. We enjoyed being off the beaten path, away from crowds. The underperforming AC made it hard to rest well. I’d prefer to stay here a different time of year.

This is a reasonable 4 star hotel. Our room was an OK size with a couple of stairs going down to a small sitting area and the balcony. Unfortunately once we put a suitcase on the luggage rack at the bottom of the bed it made it a bit tight walking around the bed. The room had a view overlooking the swimming pool. There was a small pull-out clothes line on the balcony which we really appreciated. The bathroom was a reasonable size although there was a bath with a shower over it rather than a walk in shower. The hotel is up a hill and the distance to the town is not very far. However, it is a very steep hill. We walked down very carefully and caught a taxi back which only costs us 5€. There is free parking at the hotel. There was quite a range of food available for breakfast. On the second morning of our stay there was someone cooking omelettes to order which was great. On check-out the receptionist told us there was a charge for mini-bar items we had consumed. We told her that we had not consumed anything. She quickly said “sorry, my mistake”. She did not check anything and we were left with the feeling that this had been a “try on”. Regardless, it would seem that this is something that the receptionist should check before advising customers of an additional charge because last impressions count. Without this incident I would have rated the hotel as very good rather than average.

This is a little jewel box of a country hotel. Laid out in a Hacienda style, the setting immediately puts you at ease and in a relaxed frame of mind. Add to it the tranquil bucolic surroundings and you’ll begin to slip into the proper attitude to take in an enjoy this deeply historic town. Olympia really cannot be understood, let alone enjoyed without some acclimation…primarily letting go of the urgency to do something or be somewhere. Checking in at the Hotel Olympion Asty is an excellent first step. Sitting by the pool at sunset, or just enjoying the view from the balcony in the room will do wonders for your psyche and your mental state. The Hotel Olympion Asty is also located on the top of small hill and overlooks the town of Olympia, suffice it to say that the location automatically makes wandering around town or shopping “not an option.” This enforced detox is exactly what your soul needs to begin to truly enjoy Olympia, to fall into that frame of mind, that pace that allows you to truly understand it and why this place was so special to the ancient Greeks. Ok, let’s talk nuts and bolts. The rooms are new and well-equipped. The air conditioning leaves much to be desired, but that’s just continental. The bathrooms are all steel and glass and the toilets are new, sturdy, and clean! There is plenty of space and I appreciate hotels setting out sufficient counter space next to the sink. The rooms are spotless and give you the feeling of being luxuriously clean and neat, tastefully appointed and thoughtfully functional. The room we had had a split level with a separate sitting area with a sofa bed, and a balcony overlooking the city and the plains….just gorgeous. The kitchen out a very solid buffet dinner on the day we arrived and the breakfast was just as good the next day. While you may not get a buffet, it is clear what the kitchen CAN do and you are in good hands at the Olympia Asty. The pool is great. It was clean, spacious enough to do laps comfortably and deep enough to be thoroughly enjoyable…likely deeper than most hotel pools at 2.9m at the deep end. There is a small pool bar as well.