zakynthos as a whole is a great island, much maligned i think.
it is true that zante has suffered greatly from poor developent over the last 20 years and the big resorts on the island (Laganas, Alikes, Tsilivi, Kalamaki, Argassi) have suffered greatly from poor town planning and lack of imagination. they are jam packed with big, ugly concrete tourist blocks and full of tired old neon signs.
Building has completely stopped in the last couple of years because they simply cant fill the beds they have got. most of the specialist tour operators pulled out of the island five years ago or more.
the big resorts have a tired fell to them, often half empty and without the money coming in to really look after them. i really do feel sorry for the locals, their tourism is on such a decline. but they have simply made a mess of some of the most beautiful beaches in europe.
however, as i said, zakynthos zante is much maligned. i have been to many greek islands and zakynthos is one of the most friendly. it has many good restaurants and tavernas all at reasonable prices, and some really beautiful countryside. the island has a lot of water on it so is surprisingly green for a greek island, they are often big barren rocks.
so give zakynthos a go, if you do a bit of research first on where to stay and things to see around the island, you'll have a fantastic holiday at a reasonable price.
this website has lots of info on the island
http://zakynthos.foi.org.uk