5 star hotels are few and far between in Greece, and if you are looking for swim up rooms then these will normally be found in apart hotels which do not have a star rating, they are graded A,B,C and tourist, grade a is the highest [roughly equivalent to 3 + stars]

a reasonable 4 star on Zakynthos is the iberostar Plygos beach but it doesn't have swim up rooms [some pictures in my media in the gallery.

yasus
wizard

Thanks wizard for taking the time to reply .... appreciated. Having stayed in the forementioned Islands on BB and HB, I thought perhaps they may have up their stakes in the 5* all inclusive catagory....... but perhaps not?

Think we may look elsewhere if nothing more is forthcoming.

Regards,
Pat

Have a look at the new Thomson 'couples' brochure, available to download online. They have several 5* AI in Kos, Rhodes, Cyprus etc etc.

Denny.. they are not 5 star.. they are Thomson 5T [own rating] they could have an official rating of anything from grade B apart hotel or 3 star upwards, the grades given by tour operators is the cause for many of the complaints of "not up to standard" that you will find,
always check the Official rating

yasus
wizard

Look 5* to me?
We went to the Thomson couples hotel in Egypt and that certainly was 5*, I realise Greece may be different though

We have just returned from our 6th 5* All Inclusive holiday to Egypt 2 weeks ago, and while we found them to be of a fair standard (apart from the last one ...... letter of complaint on way to FC) they by no means equate to what you would class as 5* by European standards.

Regards,
Pat

pat

thomson have a couples hotel in psalidi Kos- oceanis beach & spa resort. Its a no kids hotel It has suites with private pools and jacuzzis. We have looked at this hotel ourselves for a holiday We have been to kos and really loved it.

HTH

Lily.

We have been to kos and really loved it.

leavening for Kos ourselves in a few hrs... half board Aegean Village

wiz

Thanks Lily ....... will take a look.

Regards,
Pat

Pat - from my experience, the majority of people go to Greece for the food, people and chilled way of life. A good quality 5* will be very hard to find. The standard of Greek accommodation is nowhere near their European counterparts, but I'm not saying that there aren't exceptions.

100% agree with helen T,the magic of greece is completely wasted on anyone staying in an AI hotel,you might aswell pick your holiday by hotel rather than destination if going on this basis and many islands are experiencing a bit of a revolt against the tour operators over it with publicity campaigns aimed at getting tourists back into resorts and therefore putting their money in the local economy,the rise of the AI hotel has got to the point where entire resorts are desolate ghost towns. You specify wanting somewhere not too commercialised,well in an AI you'll almost certainly get that seeing as most of them are in isolated locations out of town with often virtually no other commercial businesses around them,apart from other AI hotels.

I've been into what are said to be among the very best 5* hotels in Greece and by UK/International standards they are 5* on facilities alone,not standards,plus compared to other countries Greece is VERY expensive for the top line properties,so general VFM goes out of the window,it's just not something they're very good at,and the better ones i do know of,certainly on Rhodes,have awful beaches and a somewhat sterile atmosphere.

Plus there's a huge Russian invasion.

Take your money,put it into the locals pockets

Probably not the most helpful reply but a heartfelt one all the same.

wizz

have a fab time-im so jealous we have fell in love with the greek way of life and the food- all round awesome holiday

Probably not the most helpful reply but a heartfelt one all the same.

I have to agree totally. If you want AI Greece is not the place to do it. Businesses & villages in the growing areas of AI are being destroyed, along with the atmosphere & feel of being in Greece. Not to mention that very little of the money you pay to stay there goes into the Greek economy as few of them are Greek owned.
AI is very popular in places where it is not such a good idea to go wandering on your own (particularly at night) & they do it in many of those places very well, but none of this applies in Greece. The walk around in the evening, choosing local tavernas to eat etc is what makes a holiday here. Many of the AIs in Greece get a lot of complaints about repetetive food of not so great quality & people end up eating out anyway, false economy!
Please don't support AI in Greece, as Sambacasual says, there are many ongoing campaigns to reduce existing AI complexes to a reasonable level, there are several online petitions set up too, it really is a contentious subject to Greeks, residents & Grecophiles alike.
Having said that, there are still some good hotels (not AI) to choose from, but a much wider choice of where to be, including less commercialised locations, anything more than B&B is a waste.
I suppose the way to choose the right the right place/board/location for you is to ask what made you decide you want to come back to Greece? People, sites, food, walking, scenery, will you hire a car, beach holiday only?

Another one here in complete agreement. Greece has so much to offer that will be missed in AI.
However there must be some demand for it or it wouldn't exist.

I have to sgree with all the above, for me too, the magic of Greece is walking around trying all the food in the restaurants and above all, meeting the locals!
We have made some very good friends in Greece over the years and are return visitors to Poros in Kefalonia. We look forward to returning each year and it we look forward to the locals coming out and shaking our hands and welcoming us back when we walk into their bars or restaurants. To us it is like coming back home!
This is an experience you would never get in an AI resort.
With regard to Kefalonia, there was an AI resort opened several years ago. The Kefalonia Aqua Beach Resort. It changed it's name to the Kefalonia Garden Village. It was going to be operated by First choice if i remember and was dogged by controversy. It cost an awful lot of money to build and a lot of the locals weren't happy about it.
However, it only operated for about 18 months maximum before closing it's doors. It is now standing empty, a blot on the lanscape of the wonderful Lixouri peninsula.

John

I'm another one in total agreement with the previous replies. I suppose that if you have young children and believe that an essential part of their holiday is allowing them to consume unlimited quantities of ice cream and fizzy drinks from dawn till dusk, an AI probably makes economic sense. Or, as someone else mentioned, if you are visiting an area where stepping unaccompanied outside the resort is inadvisable, then an AI makes sense from a safety point of view.

However, for anyone else, to want to visit a safe, friendly country and then be confined by the fact that you've already paid for everything to a hotel which could be anywhere in the world, makes no sense at all to me.

This argument starts EVERY time somebody comes on and asks for an AI recommendation in Greece, can anybody actually answer the question asked by the Pat and recommend some hotels please?

Thank You
Graham

I don't see anyone arguing Graham,seems more like for once everyone that's posted is in complete agreement" Maybe the best thing to do for the OP would be to look elsewhere for packages on offer that meet their requirements, get a shortlist together of hotels they fancy and then post on here for any feedback, look in the reviews on here and elsewhere and go from there, i'd wager although some may know,most posters in this section wouldn't even know where to start for a 5* AI in Greece, what they do know however is a lot of other information on the country that is of great use. i've lived in greece for years and even i find a lot of things out on here i would otherwise never know, unfortunately that doesnt extend to 5* AI as,in keeping with the above posts,good ones are rare and don't seem to attract British guests in the way they do Europeans and now the Russians.

My opinion boils down to one thing,if all the members of HT ever did was answer the basic question on every topic and leave it at that, then HT would be a desolate forum like many others on the net, part of the attraction for most on here is probably the fact there are so many members that are active that can offer such a varied,informative and often entertaining input, without that where would you be?

seems more like for once everyone that's posted is in complete agreement

That is true, however I am sure there are many other members who could help in a positive way with the OP's original question but won't come on and give an answer or advice re the AI question as they know that it will lead to further ' non constructive discussion', indeed I am sure the OP hasn't been back as a result of some of the answers given so far which have not in any way addressed or answered her question, in fact they have been less than positive in answering the request for advice.
Instead of helping the OP's idea of going AI to Greece the majority of replies have been knocking the idea, each individual is entitled to have the style of holiday that they feel suits them without coming on and asking for advice and then being knocked down for it.

Maybe the best thing to do for the OP would be to look elsewhere for packages on offer that meet their requirements, get a shortlist together of hotels they fancy and then post on here for any feedback, look in the reviews on here and elsewhere and go from there

I presume the OP had come on here to form a basis and get advice then start looking elsewhere on any helpful and relevant suggestions offered.

My opinion boils down to one thing,if all the members of HT ever did was answer the basic question on every topic and leave it at that, then HT would be a desolate forum like many others on the net...

There is a difference between answering a basic question and then going on to expand on it in a helpful & constructive manner and those posts which then become unhelpful and I feel are a personal insult to some peoples choice of holiday and their reasons for choosing it.....

I suppose that if you have young children and believe that an essential part of their holiday is allowing them to consume unlimited quantities of ice cream and fizzy drinks from dawn till dusk,

There are a lot of members that have great knowledge and information on HT that are willing to share it freely and give advice whether they agree with it or not without preaching down to those that have a different idea of holiday, hotel or destination, what one person wants from a holiday is not what everybody else wants and we have to respect that.