Philoxenia Hotel

It’s took me over 6 months to write this and I’ll still keep it brief as I don’t want to revisit it The cruelty to cats is unbearable, the staff kick at them, the cleaners pour bleach water over food, the German guest chucked stones at them, the guest kids pulled kittens legs and tails and would separate them around the hotel away from their mother Kittens were dying in broadday light The local shop keepers hate them too All the cats are thirsty and drink pool water or shop keepers leave mop buckets with bleach water out The Greeks do not like cats, they see them as vermin and there is no humanity in doing anything good by them The cute hotel cats will either die or starvation/ be killed or be thrown in the countryside where there is no food once the season is over. It’s torture to see. The hotel owner who walks around all day probably is the r richest man in Halkidiki, why doesn’t he spend some of that money and make the town great by having higher ethical standards for the cats, and the dogs. We are modern Europe now I need to move with the times. There are village dogs too who just need love and vet treatment, and the shop keepers have no shame about how they are all manky, they seem to feel heroic as they let the dogs get some shade or a few scraps. Cats however are less fortunate. The staff at the hotel are quiet horrible, in particular the restaurant head staff, a bellowing woman and a charming older man. Both seem to be close friends of the owner rather than trained in hospitality. It seems the owner keeps his types of friends in the team as they have the same hard line / money grabbing/ customers are money machines rather than human beings, kind of attitude. The older man would talk and joke about women customers, very sleazy and chauvinistic to younger girl staff who had to laugh as he is more powerful. The older women would bark at you and had a disdain for people. The younger staff were all lovely, but under the iron rod of a few key older staff and the owner who walks around all day, they couldn’t be free and be warm with people, as it’s not the culture that’s promoted The spa woman, who was not supervised, was a wonderful warm woman and the entertainment girls were warm too. But any bar or restaurant staff being watched by the older types weren’t able to be as warm. It seemed like a hard working environment Halkadiki town is small and if it’s off season is quiet a claustrophobic place

A beautiful hotel set back from the beach. Its gardens, rooms and restaurants are very well maintained. The special thing about this place is it staff. From check in through to every single person we engaged with, they had a smile and only good things to say about the hotel management and the care given to the staff. Big praise to Killiakos (I may have misspelled) and Claudia in the bar. Also to the male Life Guard who stood on duty all day every day making sure our children were safe. Finally to Aris and Michael in the restaurant who made our children laugh and smile. In summary, the pools were immaculately clean and crystal clear. The food in the restaurant was plentiful and fresh and the accommodation well presented. The free safe and free air conditioning was a pleasant surprise. The hotel is nestled about 6 minutes walk from the beach where a number of places provide good quality sun beds in return for your custom. The resort/beach area itself has a handful of restaurants which was plenty for a week. Some take cards and some only cash. Overall we had a great holiday at this hotel and would definately recomend this as a place for singles, couples or families with and without young children.

Having read some harsh reviews I was really wondering if I'd made the right choice in booking. On arrival we were greeted at reception by 2 lovely ladies who were more than helpful and given the keys to our room in block E. The room was spotless, plenty of space for myself and my husband. Yes we could hear the noise of the road but honestly it didn't spoil the holiday. The whole complex is spotlessly clean. All the staff we met greeted you with a smile and hello. The pool bar staff were fantastic, never waited long for a drink. Mealtimes we always found something to eat and a table. The resort is out of the way so if you feel you could drive then a car would be helpful. There is a 5 minute walk through the forest to the local beach which has some lovely bars and shops. If your looking for a party/boozy holiday this is not place for you so please do your research as the harsh reviews aren't needed. Would we return???? Absolutely

Our stay here room was good but the block we stayed in had some traffic noise that was the only negative thing I can say about the hotel. Room was spacious and the bed was comfortable balcony was of good size and it was cleaned every day except Sunday. The food was always good with plenty of. choice, so thank you restaurant staff and kitchen staff. Service in the bar and pool area was great the drinks were good and the atmosphere was great, entertainment on evening ok,the bands were good. Hotel kept clean and tidy all the time ,all in all we had a fantastic time here at the philoxenia hotel. Thank you again to all the staff. Loved it.

So many reviews on here are unjust and could be off-putting - I did wonder what we had booked when I read the reviews beforehand! The hotel is clean and modern with lovely hardworking staff. The Food is buffet (the al a carte restaurant was fab) but there is plenty to choose from and it is all perfectly edible with plenty of fruit options and a great salad bar as well as lots of different meat and or fish as well as the fresh food bar. And what a treat having your drinks orders taken and brought to you at the table, it saves you queuing at a bar for 10 or 15 minutes, yes they could take longer when it was busy but so what, you are on holiday, relax and enjoy your surroundings! There are plenty of drink options to choose from, loads of different cocktails (a Greek Summer was my favourite!) the menu is marked up to advise what is and isn't included and the staff tell you, if you try ordering something that isn't included on the all inclusive option. We were all inclusive but still went out for meals on a few nights and would 100% recommend Almyra for a meal (we tried others but went here twice) - the food is authentic and Anna the owner was such a lovely genuine person, she gave advice on places to go in a car or on the bus and I even saw her give her personal mobile number to an elderly couple taking a car in case they had any problems. The beach is very close by, you have three different routes down a hill or steps, all take no more than 5 minutes, sunbeds on the beach are free, just buy a drink and there is no hassle whatsoever. If you needed anything you just had to ask the hotel staff and they were more than happy to assist, get to know the staff by name and try a few Greek words, it is much appreciated! Don't be put off by other reviews, it is a great location if you like peace and tranquility, you will need a car if you want to go out and about as the buses are not particularly great but the roads are good to drive on and parking is plentiful - we used Chalkidiki cars and thought it was a good deal. If you like a walk or a run there are some great trails that go way past the road. If you are a party animal then I would say you would probably fare better with a livelier resort but we loved it!

Recently returned from the Philoxenia.. We were (3 couples) a little worried having read some reviews but how wrong they were. We had a lovely holiday …. Rooms ….very modern, clean and spacious.. we had pool views which I would recommend although used the main pool area which was much better…. Always plenty of sun beds. one little thing the pool doesn’t open until 10 in the morning which we found late as are all early risers Food…. Excellent, we were Al inclusive ..good choices at each meal . We really enjoyed the al la carte restaurant .. the drinks were very good .. no pre mixed cocktails.. reviews said a long wait for drinks as you can not order at the bar but we found it very quick and all the staff were efficient , friendly and couldn’t do enough for you. We were never left waiting for a drink from water to beer to cocktails🍹🍹 Location … 10 minutes if that, walk to the beach with a street of restaurants and bars. We spent a couple of day at the beach.. Sun beds and umbrellas were free if you just had a drink from the bar. We ate down there twice which we would really recommend.. Entertainment… this was very limited and not very good however this did not deter you from having a good time.. the 2 ladies were very friendly.. Would highly recommend the Philoxenia , in fact a family member has booked on our feedback and going next week .. Overall excellent choice for our holiday……

We stayed at the end of June / beginning of July so still quite early in the season. The rooms were lovely, tea and coffee tray provided, free safe and air conditioning which worked brilliantly and was very quiet when operating. Rooms were kept clean, our sheets were changed once during our weeks' stay and towels and water were replaced daily if required. Reception staff were great and the waiters etc. were (in the main) great too. We never waited long to be served. The buffet style breakfast always had plenty of choice as did dinner. The salad bar was particularly good. Fresh and delicious options every night. We were poolside in the quieter end of the hotel which was ideal for us. The main pool area was more busy with families and so on. They only downside we found was the location. The hotel is built on a fairly steep hill, so whenever you leave, you are going to face a climb coming back. The main street by the beach has a good selection of beach bars and tavernas. We ate at Nikos Taverna during our stay which was lovely and very reasonable. There are several routes down to the main ***** but all are fairly steep and rough, would definitely be a problem for anyone with limited mobility. We're luckily not limited in this way, but tackling that climb in 30 degree heat was still a bit of an ask. Even within the complex it's steep going from one building to another. Also, if you tend to be tasty to mosquitos, be well prepared as I was a real buffet for them this time! The area is surrounded by forest, which is beautiful but also means the mosquitos love it. The beach itself at Psakoudia is sandy and gorgeous and the sea is shallow quite a way out. The beach bars are happy for you to take a sunbed for the day providing you buy your food and drinks from them. All very reasonable. What we loved most about Psakoudia is that it is very Greek. No full English breakfasts or egg and chips and no bars named after English footballers! It's worth knowing a few Greek phrases, as we did get stuck a few times, and Google Translate had to come to the rescue! All in all, great place but not for those who can't manage hills.

A real find! The accommodation was excellent with great attention to detail and very clean. Very convenient location in the centre of Town. The Owner had gone the extra mile and decorated it for Christmas. Would highly recommend.

From the outset this was a disappointing experience, we read reviews advising to book a pool view room, this meant the rooms overlooking the pool had exclusive use of that pool. BUT no one pointed out that rooms D01-008 have exclusive sunbeds x2 and an umbrella per room. Leaving just 14 sunbeds and 4 umbrellas for the rest of the pool view rooms. Fortunately the weather wasn’t the best whilst there but when it was it was nigh on impossible to sit by the pool because of the reserved beds for the rooms were out of bounds. I asked the lifeguard and he said not to sit on any of the empty reserved ones. Food was okay but very repetitive, I guess that’s our fault for choosing a small hotel. As previously stated rooms very tight for unpacking. There were only 5 hangers but housekeeping did give me 5 more. Bathroom is very tight. Drinks servers ignored us a lot, lucky we aren’t great drinkers! Best part was no wristbands. You just quote your room number which depicts board basis. We hired a car and drove over 600 miles we saw some beautiful scenery and villages - it made our holiday.