W Costa Navarino

I returned to W Costa Navarino for the second year in a row. Aside from the food the view and the live events - the service from the amazing people is the best I experienced around the world. In Greece we say φιλοξενία- hospitality is the trademark of the country. Please allow me to share whom we became friends with and consider friends. We will always think of them with high regard. Thank you Ευχαριστούμε- Ματινα, Εφη, Τηλεμαχος, Δημήτρης, Ελένη, Δημήτρης, Κωνσταντίνος, Γερασιμος, Αναστασία! Matina Efi Telemaxos Dimitri’s Kostantino Eleni Dimitris Gerasimos Anastasia Luka.

100/10 experience. The food, beach, people… thank you Matina, Efi, Mike, Dimitris, and gerasimos for the unbelievable service and hospitality. This is the best resort I’ve ever stayed at. I’ll be back next summer!!!

Our second stay at the W; everything under the sun. The service is perfect, location fantastic, options for activities, meals, sea/pool, exercise/gym; everything you need ; . The golf courses are fantastic. We have been treated so well at breakfast, lunch and dinner that we need to exercise more when we go home. No rush/problem to find a sunbed or a quiet place with a parasol. Even congratulations/snacks/beer when our team won important matches in the World Cup.:) We will return:)

We stayed at W Costa Navarino for one week and, overall, had a lovely holiday. The location is stunning, the hotel has a beautiful design, and there are some truly exceptional members of staff who made our stay memorable. At the same time, there were a number of recurring issues that prevented the experience from matching the price point and the standards we’ve come to expect from other W Hotels. The positives The setting is absolutely beautiful, with a long sandy and pebble beach and spectacular sunsets almost every evening. The entire resort is easy to walk around, and although buggies are available, we never felt the need to use them. The rooms are stylish and modern, and the WiFi is excellent throughout the resort. One thing to be aware of is that the room layout is very much designed for couples. The shower is separated only by glass and a thin curtain, while the toilet sits behind a frosted glass door with very little sound insulation, so privacy is limited. Breakfast offers an excellent variety of food, and portion sizes throughout the resort are generally generous enough to share. The lounge serves excellent cocktails and drinks, and Tiffany deserves a special mention for being consistently warm, efficient and genuinely fun. The gym is one of the best hotel gyms we’ve used, with excellent indoor and outdoor equipment. It could benefit from additional free weights, as there is only one set of each weight, making it difficult during busy periods. Nick, who leads the fitness team, was one of the highlights of our stay. His yoga and Pilates classes were outstanding, and we’d love to see the hotel invest in more dedicated space and an expanded fitness programme. The spa massages were exceptional. Sofia gave one of the strongest and most effective massages I’ve ever had, even compared to treatments I’ve had in Thailand. She has an incredible ability to identify and relieve muscle tension. A special thank you also goes to George, the sommelier at Parelia, whose wine recommendations throughout the week were consistently excellent. Most importantly, the staff are genuinely friendly and welcoming. Many clearly understand what luxury hospitality should look like, and whenever we managed to speak directly with a manager, any issues were handled quickly and professionally. Where improvements are needed Unfortunately, the overall guest experience lacks consistency, and many small issues added up over the course of our stay. Housekeeping was inconsistent. And on one occasion our room was left unlocked overnight after servicing, which is a serious safety and security concern. We were particularly disappointed that no apology was offered, only that the matter would be passed on to housekeeping. The cleaning itself was also inconsistent, with dirty towels and linen occasionally left unchanged, and the outdoor loungers and terraces in the swim-up rooms often covered in leaves and bird droppings. There is also no traditional evening turndown service. Staff simply ask whether additional towels are needed rather than preparing the room for the night, which feels below expectations for a hotel in this category. Breakfast service was inconsistent. Coffee orders were regularly forgotten, water often required asking multiple members of staff, and the à la carte menu was not proactively offered. While the food selection itself is excellent, the service often struggled. At Parelia, service could also be inconsistent. Simple requests such as sauces or salt and pepper sometimes took ten minutes and multiple reminders, by which point the food was no longer hot. We also found it disappointing that fresh fish was frequently only available in portions exceeding one kilogram, making it impractical for couples, whereas other restaurants in the area offered much more flexibility. The Wet Deck bar experience needs attention. There are QR code menus at the beach loungers but not at the bar itself. Instead, guests are handed worn, sticky paper menus that feel out of place in a luxury resort. It was also often surprisingly difficult to order a drink, as staff tended to remain gathered behind one section of the bar without acknowledging guests waiting just a few metres away. The Costa Navarino app also feels underdeveloped. Rather than allowing guests to make bookings directly, it simply generates requests that still require phone calls or callbacks for confirmation. Discounts, such as at the spa, also appear to be applied inconsistently. The app has potential but currently adds little convenience. Attention to detail was often lacking throughout the resort. Salt and pepper shakers were frequently missing from restaurant tables, toothpicks were never available, one had to follow up on their order, and these are small touches that contribute to the overall feeling of quality. One of the biggest disappointments was the lack of enforcement of hotel policies. Despite signage and stated rules, sun loungers were reserved for hours without consequence, guests filled bags with food at breakfast, people took video calls in restaurants and communal areas, played music loudly by the pools, and large groups were frequently disruptive. The spa was particularly disappointing in this regard, with guests taking phone calls, recording videos and leaving used glasses around the wet areas while staff rarely intervened. Safety enforcement also appeared inconsistent. Lifeguards were sometimes distracted by their phones, some pools were left unattended, guests continued diving head-first from the jetty despite clear prohibition signs, and people remained in the pools during thunderstorms without being asked to leave. Overall Despite the criticisms, we genuinely enjoyed our stay and would happily return. W Costa Navarino has all the ingredients to be a truly outstanding luxury resort: a spectacular location, beautiful design, excellent facilities and some exceptional employees who clearly care about guest experience. However, the hotel would benefit enormously from more consistent staff training, stronger attention to detail and, most importantly, actually enforcing its own policies. Luxury hospitality should feel effortless and predictable, not like a daily lottery of what level of service you’ll receive. At this price point, consistency matters just as much as the setting. We hope these areas improve because this hotel has the potential to be one of the very best.

This was truly one of the best hotel experiences I’ve ever had in my life and I’ve traveled the world. Specifically the service is what stood out to me. Konstantinos, the guest experience manager, ensured our stay was beyond perfect and was willing to accommodate any of our requests. Aris, the manager by the pool restaurant / bar was constantly checking in on us to make sure standards were met. The attention to detail and service is what made this experience so memorable. Nobody does hospitality like the Greeks, that’s for sure!