Ela Mesa

We came 10 person and 2 kids, and got the worth service ever!. The hotel located in a very nice village, cloth to the see. The rooms were quite nice, and also the pool was o.k. but the owner was horrible! We never met such attitude! He did not like the children noise and he did not like us. He treats us very unpllasently and we felt unwelcome! Do not go there with kids!

Terrible place We stayed in this ‘family’ hotel for 2 nights with our children. When we arrived we were told we were allowed to use only one pool, instead of 2, not to splash in the water or make any noise. Uhmmmm okay.. At the first day one of the emloyees stood near us when we went into the pool and every time we did something ‘wrong’ she told us. She said a pool is not ment for playing but for swimming. At day 2, we quitely stepped into the pool (as jumping is forbidden) and the owner came to us and started yelling. We where not allowed to talk to eachother until 5 pm and there had to be absolute silence in the hotel. In our opinion this is completely unrealistic as it is high season and we are in a family hotel. When we told him this, he completely lost his mind in front of our children. For us this was unacceptable and we left the hotel after 2 nights. Later in we heard this hotel has a bad reputation in Souvala and apperently these things happened more to other guests. What a terrible place. Never Again.

Had a great stay here on our trip to Aegina. Was traveling with a group and booked 8 rooms. Not a single problem. Great views, pools, service and some of the best food we have had on our visit across Greece. Short walk into the local village and to several beaches. Only a quick taxi ride to the port (€13 each way).

This is the second time we have stayed at Hotel Ela Mesa in Souvala and it is still a great hotel. The staff are excellent and catered for our every need. Thrassos, the hotel owner/manager did everything possible to make our stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. He arranged a hire car, sorted out a four island boat trip and cooked a special meal of lamb chops for us. The rooms are comfortable and equipped with air conditioning that is quiet. There are two pools, the one on the upper deck must rank as one of the best on the island. We never ran out of hot water for showering. Bedding was changed frequently as were towels. I’m struggling to find anything negative to say about the hotel so will end by saying it is great value for money so don’t miss out on a stay at Hotel Ela Mesa.

This was a family holiday which included my husband and our 9 and 10 year old daughters. On arrival we were told that during the hours of 3pm until 5.30 pm it was siesta time , so no noise allowed . This may be nice for adults, but not great when you have children that want to enjoy in the pool. Anyway that was the rule so we adhered to it. We decided to take the children out of the hotel every day during those hours, rather than spending the time telling them they couldn’t make any noise. No sooner than the kids were splashing around in the pool the owner came over and told them off. He said “no games, no playing”. So I’m not sure exactly what a 10 & 9 yr old were supposed to do on their holiday in the pool. They were allowed to lie on their lilos, but if they fell off, made a splash e.t.c the owner was out looking at them. My husband and I felt on edge constantly around the pool area, and enjoyed much more down in the friendly town where we could relax. It was a very quiet time at the hotel, with not many other guests, but my husband did approach a couple of them , and they all said how lovely and polite our children were , so I really don’t see what the owners issues were. If you don’t want noise or children playing in the pool, then make it an adult only hotel. Or better still, fix the bottom pool where all the tiles were coming off and hurt youngest daughters foot, and make that in to adult only , so all guests have the choice. Now the positives- our room was big with two balconies, air conditioning and a free safe. Ironing board/iron and hairdryer too. Our room had a kitchenette, and a large fridge freezer. There weren’t many pots and pans to actually cook, but as we ate out in the evenings that didn’t matter to us. There was a toastie machine, which made lunches easy. We ate at the hotel one evening and it was delicious. To sum up we didn’t feel welcome at all, especially the children. Very disappointed as everywhere we go we try and learn some of the lingo, get local information from the owners e.t.c but it just wasn’t to be, which really was disappointing.

Ela Mesa is a fantastic, small hotel that features superb food, a beautifully clean and well-maintained pool (I'm a non-swimmer but it looked tempting even for me) and hosts and staff that can't do enough for you, As someone who wouldn't typically choose a relaxing holiday (but it was my partner's 50th birthday so I left the style and location of our first holiday together entirely up to her) I genuinely couldn't recommend this place enough. Thrassos, Thespina and their staff were really helpful throughout our stay, Thrassos going out of his way to book a boat trip for us - something that my partner had looked forward to doing again after coming to Aegina in 2019. The rooms are clean and spacious, the hotel is in a quiet street only a short walk from Souvala and its restaurants, bars and supermarket. The town of Aegina is only a €12-15 can ride away and the island of Aegina is small enough that nothing is that far away: the town of Agia Marina is worth visiting for the elevated views alone (and it has more gift shops per square meter than anywhere I can remember visiting. I sat outside pretty much all of them so I can't comment on what they are like inside, however. I'd thoroughly recommend staying here - I don't swim, hate olives, haven't sat by. a pool since the 1980s and am not overly enamoured with shopping and even I had a great time...

This place is excellent! It is ran by an ex pro footballer and his wife. It feels intimate as there are not that many rooms, which is really nice. The pools are great, as are the food and drinks. The couple really looked after us, even buying us a drink when they saw us in town!! Highly recommended in Souvali! Thank you for an excellent stay.

Friendly staff, clean spacious room. I had several meals at the restaurant, all high quality, fresh ingredients, decent price. Souvala is a small village. There is not much to see, but with a short taxi ride, you can visit other sites in the island. I would definitely come back and recommend to friends!

Other family members have been going to Ela Mesa for 18 years and it lived up to everything we’d heard. Thrassos and his team of Ursula, Elena, Sacha and Maria made it feel like a home from home, they were so welcoming and were excellent hosts. The hotel and surroundings were very well kept, the garden areas and pools on split levels giving different areas to relax in with plenty of sun beds and areas of shade. The rooms were comfy, well equipped and cleaned every day. The food was very good and be prepared for a substantial breakfast, we never needed a lunch! If you should want to eat elsewhere Souvala is a short walk from the hotel and offers plenty of alternatives. Thrassos helped arrange a car and we explored the island. It’s small enough to take all of it in briefly over a few days. If you go to the Temple of Athena Aphaia treat yourself to a pistachio ice cream at the cafe it is superb and the cafe has an amazing view as a bonus. The island has a lovely feel with nice beaches, historical areas, and Aegina Town has great little shops to mooch around. It really is a good idea to explore whilst you are there. This is a lovely small hotel, so friendly and totally relaxing, we plan on going back!