Imaret

The Imaret is a world on to itself. Pale ochre walls, high ceilings, Ottoman arches, lush gardens, bubbling fountains and tempting swimming pools all set this property apart. On a long weekend from London, it's tempting to check in and never leave! The ancient architecture means you should choose your room carefully. We particularly wanted lots of natural light and we ended up going for a more expensive Water Suite, with a view of the sea. Some rooms are cool and dark. Maybe too dark for my taste, rather like a cave room. There is an excellent restaurant on site and in the height of summer, it is very pleasant to eat out on the terrace, with a view of the town and the sea. Eating here is an elevated experience. It is more of an event, than an ad hoc affair . There is a multiple course tasting menu (do tell them your food allergies and preferences in advance. They coped really well with my vegetarian requirements). We did manage to leave this oasis on a few occasions. The reception desk were very helpful in arranging a taxi to take us to the classical ruins at Phillipi. It is also fun to wander around the old town and to have lunch at some of the fish restaurants down by the port. One final word. Cats were mentioned in previous reviews. On our visit the felines were corralled and did not roam the restaurant or common sitting areas. Cat lovers can seek them out, however they were not roaming all over the property.

I have been planning to visit Imaret for about 15 years and somehow didn’t make it until the time of my 50th birthday. Well, the waiting was worth it ;) The place takes you back over 200 years ago in a stunning masterpiece of Islamic architecture, character and history. The whole setting is very stylish and somehow cosy and relaxed. The Dome room was extremely comfortable and elegant. Perfect size, very comfortable bed with fine bed linen, chic furnitures and details that make your stay special such as calming background music in the room, very cosy lightning, beautiful fresh flowers and lovable good night ritual. Dining in Imaret is also superb – they offer 4 course daily set menu that is very well prepared. Service is also top and the overall ambiance in the restaurant is lovely and romantic. The Imaret team knows how to treat their guests right and I felt very welcome and comfortable. Thank you for making my stay there very special! Yes, there are few resident cats in the hotel and also I fearless little dog but for me all this just adds more color to the setting. Parking is not available in front of the hotel but knowing that it’s the old part of town you do expect limited parking. I highly recommend Imaret hotel to visitors looking for something authentic and special!

Beautiful hotel, clean, dreamy and amazing views of Kavala. The staff went above and beyond during our stay. They made sure we had everything we needed. We were also invited to do the hotel tour to learn about the history and it is something I recommend everyone does. The breakfast at the rooftop restaurant was delicious. We will definitely be staying here again in the future.

Great hotel. Calm, quiet extremely clean. Moving to the 18th century. The setting is as authentic as if you were in a Scheherazade fairy tale. The service is top notch. We were most impressed by the food. An extremely tasty experience, original taste and attitude to food will be found here. Even if you cannot stay at the hotel, you must reserve a table at the restaurant. The pleasure is worth it. Thank you all for your efforts to make this place a fairy tale come true. I strongly recommend!!!

Amazing view, convenient location, incredible food, set up like at the theatric scene, very warm welcome and above all, the people are the best hosts. Extremely professional and nicely friendly. And if you love cats, you will be very pleasantly surprised!

Although this luxury hotel is worth a visit, very fascinating and well preserved, the management, if there is any , made us think about coming here again. We were greeted by a gentleman who led us to our suite and suggested we should take a guided tour for the hotel and make an advance booking. But there was no guide, nor the gentleman who checked us in the next morning. He also told us that the hammam reservations were fully booked, though we had no intentions at all to use it. Later it turned out that we were the only guests in the hotel. The suite was beautiful. Just as shown in the pictures on their website. The room reservation came with a 3 course dinner so we had great expectations. It was the most expensive dinner we had , not worth a penny, (except for the fish) too salty ,which was also admitted by the waiter, when he asked to take away our dishes untouched. Very dissapointing. The next morning after we found out that there is no guided tour, it took half an hour to check out by a gentleman who sat behind the desk , talking on the phone to someone to help him solve the mystery to enter a name in the system, unsuccessfully, we were annoyed and just wanted to leave. There were no bell boys present, The waitress had to take care of our luggages, a technician ( we only guessed) assisted her. If this hotel would be operated by professionals it would thrive. Soi if you are planning to go there, I'm sure you will love the Hotel, but take my advise and do not eat there.