Zante Maris Suites

We stayed in the hotel almost 7 years ago and it was amazing and always said we would return so in December we booked through their website the Honeymoon Suite to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. The booking process was simple, card used to guarantee the booking and we accepted the hotel would use this card to take a 30% deposit. We then received this email:Please find below the payment link for the 30% deposit which is required in order to secure your reservation. Keep in mind that once you open the link you will have 30 mins to finalize the transaction. Your link will be active for the next 72 hours. As soon as you make the deposit, please let us know in order to provide you with that payment receipt. Confused as to why we had received this email we wondered if it was genuine as on the email there was no amount to pay stated, the signature on the email had no other information which was strange seeing as it was supposedly from someone at the hotel, no job title and no hotel information. It was also worrying as the booking confirmation stated: 30% deposit will be applied to your credit card regarding the reservation. This is normal so why send a link? Especially as it was only valid for 3 days and we had to inform the hotel we had paid-this was at a time when everyone in Greece would be celebrating their Christmas. We didn't click on the link but instead used the contact form to question this and email the hotel directly, the reply I received was: As per your below email we would like to inform you that the email with the payment link it was sent by us. It is not a scam. We kindly request to procced to the payment via the payment link that we have sent to you. So, no reassurance or explanation as to why I had to use the link, a link that according to the original request had expired days before. I emailed the hotel asking why I had to pay through a link plus I also emailed Xenos who own the hotel and so far no reply. As a result, we have just cancelled our booking, sadly we cannot cancel the flights so we have lost €446 but it's better than losing almost €3,000 if it is a scam. This could have been avoided if the hotel had taken the time to explain/reassure us of a reason for changing the way a deposit is to be paid. We would have happily rang the hotel and paid over the phone or transferred the money to their bank account but neither option was given. I have doubts about it being a scam but I'm not 100% convinced it is genuine, either way, the communications I've received is certainly not what I'd expect from a 5 star hotel. The point of this review is not to put anyone off staying at the hotel as 7 years ago we had a fantastic time and we were sure it would have been the same this time. The point is, if this is a scam by a disgruntled ex-employee hopefully this will stop anyone getting caught out.

I absolutely love the Hotel Zante Maris Suites on Zakynthos Island! We first visited in 2016 for our honeymoon and have returned every year since. The staff, especially Katharina and our favorite Andreas, provide exceptional service. George mixes the best cocktails, and they've become like family to us. The a la carte dining and carefully selected wines are outstanding. Having traveled to many countries and stayed in numerous hotels, nowhere else feels as comfortable as Zante Maris Suites. Thanks for everything, and we're eagerly anticipating the summer ahead!