This site is a review of the Kivo Hotel & Suites at Vasilias Beach on Skathos Island, Greece. The hotel was formally known as Kivotos Hotel. Their website can be accessed at www.kivohotel.com [1].
We can be reached at disappointed@kivohotelreview.com [2] or you are welcome to add comments at the bottom of this page.
Review
In August/September of ’09 my partner and I stayed at the hotel for 4 nights as part of a two-week trip to the Sporades Islands. We settled on the hotel after reviewing a number of websites, and the Kivo gave the appearance of being modern and comfortable, with a four star rating.
We found the hotel to be very different, and in no way justified the €190 per night we were charged. My partner and I have visited some 40 countries between us over the years, and have stayed at all level of accommodation, ranging from 5 star resorts to hostels to motels in third world countries. Neither of us have ever felt so disappointed and appalled as we do about our stay at Kivo Hotel & Suites.
Watch a video of the hotel room at Kivo Hotel Skiathos.
Below are some photos that provide a stark contrast between what was promised on their website, and the room we were provided with. When we were first shown to our room I went back to reception and requested a different room. They indicated there were booked out and that was all they had. We became hopeful the next morning when the girl on reception said we would be moved to a better room for the last two nights of our stay. After staying two nights we checked with reception to ask what we needed to do to change rooms as we would be out all day on a tour. She indicated that we could simply move when we get back in the evening. Upon returning to the hotel and asking about the room change we were told that they gave the room to someone else as they weren’t able to move our things in our absence. After we questioned why we were told that morning that we could move our bags in the evening they essentially said, the room is gone – too bad. No ‘sorry’. No gesture of conciliation. Nothing.
Further to this wonderful service , we experienced the following delights during our stay:
- The room often smelt of sewage, and was dark with very little natural light
- There was no view, where as the website indicated every room had a view. In fact, our room felt more like a dungeon
- There were no glasses in the room
- The room safe was not secured to anything, so anyone could walk out of the room with the safe (see photo)
- Exposed electrical wiring throughout the room, and hotel (see photos)
- Bright glowing lights on the wall and from electrical circuit box (see photos)
- Poor 'patching' of holes in wall (see photos)
- The mattresses provided little support, and the oversized pillows resulted in painful neck aches, and despite their in room ‘hotel guide’ indicating they have other pillows, when we requested them we were told that was all they had
- We called room service and requested two champagne glasses. After 20 minutes of waiting we called again, to which there was no answer. Finally we went to the lobby in person and were told they were out of champagne glasses and gave us wine glasses, but when we asked them why no one called us back to advise us we were met with blank stares
- The hotel played the same CD from the ‘80s constantly. From the moment we arrived, through all the breakfasts, sitting by the pool, checking out, and at all other times, the same CD was playing. If I never hear Winds of Change by Scorpion again it will be too soon. (This may sound a little petty, but it was reasonably loud and constant, so it got to you after a short while).
You might overlook one or two of these issues with a three star hotel, but Kivo represents itself as a Four Star hotel, yet it has holes in every wall, exposed wiring, cheap furniture, poor customer service and communication, and deceptive images on their website.
Photos
The following are some of the photos we took of the room, along with a few images from their website to give you a sense of the contrast, and why we felt deceived.
[3]Bathroom shown on Kivo website
[4]Exposed wiring in bathroom
[5]Shower facet in bath 
From Kivo website with doctored image for view 
[6]Room 'safe' not secured to anything 
[7]View of our room from outside 
[8]Holes in walls revealing exposed wiring 
[9]Holes in the walls covered with drink coasters 
[10]Glowing circuit box and light switch 
[11]Electrical cable tastefully exposed
Other Reviews of Kivo Hotel & Suites Skiathos
As it turns out, we should have been a little more diligent in checking reviews for the hotel. Since returning home we’ve found a number of other guests of the hotel disgruntled with their experience at Kivo, including a couple on honeymoon. If we’d been stuck with the room we had on honeymoon we’d have been very upset. Devastated might be more accurate. With this in mind, we felt we should post our experiences online to provide a point of reference for other people considering the Kivo Hotel Skiathos.
Feel free to leave your comments below about your stay at Kivo Hotel & Suites Skiathos.
Some other reviews can be found at:
http://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/kivotos-suites.en.html [13]
http://www.hotelscombined.com/Hotel/Kivo_Hotel_Suites_Skiathos.htm [14]
http://www.triptake.com/hotel/41505/237377/Kivo-Skiathos-Hotel---Suites-Skiathos_reviews/page-3.html [15]