Zephyros

We booked our trip in the spring with Expedia as a Prepaid but with a condition to be able to cancel at any moment before the trip. For us this sounded a great deal as we have two small kids and anything can happen. How wrong can one be. We used the booking and found the location of the hotel really nice, the beach was rather close and beautiful. However, the parking of the hotel is in a steep hill with flying stones and dirt when one tries to navigate up the hill to find a parking place (be sure to unload the car before trying this and good luck after the night falls; no lights). The apartment itself was rather ok as a first look, new windows and fresh paint overall but under the paint the doors were swollen with the humidity and not closing properly. The kitchen was lacking in cutlery, dishes and other equipment. The beds were old and in one you could feel the springs poking your back. There were cracks in the bathroom and the shower floor was collecting water in a inclination that had formed along the many years. Additionally, the remote of the air conditioner of one of the bedrooms was missing and we only received a replacement a day before departure even though we requested it in the morning of our second day. The rooms and cupboards had a musty smell and the use of air conditioner made it worse. Every day, in and around the kitchen sink we found many ants since day one. The day before our departure the hotel owner contacted us to pay the bill. He came to our door and requested to have the payment. He explained that Expedia did not give him the means to bill us hence we need to do it manually. He said that the prepayment was money reserved by Expedia and never paid or moved to him as we had the option to cancel at any moment. Unable to check on the spot we foolishly trusted the owner’s word and paid. After the payment the owner promised to provide us with the invoice, which he did not and still hasn’t to this day (we have the POS receipt safely stored though). Once able to verify our account movements dating back to spring we were able to see that Expedia indeed charged us for the hotel which meant that we were charged twice. We contacted the hotel owner who told us to claim the money back from Expedia as he did not receive anything from them and hence he had the right to make us pay the second time. He was and still is after multiple days extremely reluctant to solve the issue as he needs to secure his money before considering us (his words), the customers. We are still waiting to hear back from Expedia on their plan of action in regard to the hotel and our double charge. Therefore, if you plan to stay in this hotel please be clear about what have you paid in advance and what should you still be charged for not to be fooled by the owner. Additionally, do not pay anything before the invoice is presented to you as a printed copy. It is clear that we will never be staying in this place again and do not recommend it to anybody.

We had a lovely stay at Zephyros, with sea view from our room. The room was clean and the airco worked really well, which you need. Zephyros is well located near a nice beach, just a 2 minute walk. Giorgos is aan excellent host, he picked us up from the port and brought us back. He also gave us voor tips where to go (and where to rent a car). We would definitely stay here again.

Zephyros is a clean and well maintained complex of apartments. The upper units have a good view of the sea and the owner takes great pride in ensuring your stay is excellent. There is an optional breakfast that we enjoyed each morning consisting of a selection of local food. You can eat in the kitchen area or on your patio. Most people would rent a car to explore other beaches and tavernas, but we decided to visit the local beach, tavernas, and take the bus into Tinos town on occasion. The bus stop is a short walk from the hotel.