Simpson Travel Reviews 

We have holidayed with Simpson on and off, for over a decade. As a couple and as a family, with children and then children & grand children. The accommodation is always ‘special’ and the locations delightful. Choosing, booking and personalising the holiday is always easy with the UK telephone staff. Local help just a call away and always resulting in a minimum stress holiday. Everyone has a great time. Ten out of ten, every time.

The high expectations myself and my travelling party had of Simpson Travel were cemented due to their reputation, their website, their promise of personal service, and given the commercials involved, their price banding.

We, a party of 5, booked Villa Ariadne/Amneris (which is it?) in Lefkada, Greece for the last week of August 2025. This booking was made in September 2024, so we had nearly a year to look forward to it.

The booking support was good in the main, although some emails did take a while to respond to. When requesting a larger car due to the amount of cases, Simpson Travel suggested transfers to/from the villa with the smaller car being at the villa. Thoroughly appreciated this suggestion, and it works very well.
The welcome at Preveza airport was good, efficient and a swift transfer through Lefkada's stunning scenery had us at our villa.

On arrival, to say my heart sank is not to sound dramatic, but this was expected to be a cut above. The wonderful representation provided by the photos was not what we arrived to.
To preface, the villa itself is lovely: modern, clean lines, very comfortable beds/bedding. This is as detailed.
But we were greeted with no thought of arrival presentation: two loungers without mattresses, one of the bean bag loungers just sitting there with a huge tear in it, garden furniture just strewn wherever; exterior (and interior) glass had not been cleaned with very evident smudges from previous occupants, as well as unsightly water stains. The stairs to the lower ground area (which the teenagers thoroughly enjoyed) were filthy, with random pieces of metal discarded at the bottom. The area outside of the bedroom of the lower ground area had not been cleaned, possibly ever, due to the amount of cobwebs and dead bugs.

All these issues were immediately escalated on our arrival day. I followed the requested escalation process, however the usual Lefkada concierge needed to return to the UK for the week we were there, so Lefkada was looked after by another. My attempts to contact were futile due to the Greek number given not working, so I had to escalate through the central office email addresses. They then got in touch with the concierge who, to their credit, did pay us a visit on day 2 to have a look at the issues and then returned on day 3 with, I believe, the owners sister who proceeded to walk around with me, making a note of all the issues.

Frustratingly, the only issue that was resolved was the glass cleaning and a token effort to clean the stairs/outside of the lower ground bedroom window, and this was as part of the usual Wednesday clean which had to be extended to resolve the issues. A full week, nothing else was resolved and no communication to inform me nothing else would be resolved. This is not the elite level service we expected.

This villa is supposed to be for 8 people, but that would be a real push given there's only 4 proper sun loungers (if they have the full complement of mattresses). There is a very convenient pedestrian gate built into the electric vehicle gate, but there is no key to be able to use this facility. An explanation from Simpson for this is that when the key is issued, people get confused and lock themselves out.

The lower ground area is a great space, particularly for teenagers. For our 2 teenagers (14 and 13 year old boys), this made their holiday that bit more special. However, it can only be locked from the inside with a key. This meant for them to be securely locked in at night, they had control of the key and the parents had no way of getting in, other than knocking on the door and trying to wake up sleeping teenagers. A small thing, but could be a bigger issue in an emergency.

The main bedroom on the top floor is disappointing and has such a sloping ceiling that if you're of any height over 5'8, you'll be spending your time bent over to get into the far side of bed. Of course, this is unavoidable due to the design, but this should be made clear when people are looking as a booking consideration). There is also very limited hanging/storage space, particularly for 2 adults.

The overwhelming sense of disappointment is cumulative: if the issues picked up had been resolved swiftly upon arrival, then this review would be written very differently. I have stayed in many villas over the years, with villa companies at much lower price points than Simpson's, but they all provided a better 'in resort' service when it came to rectifying issues.

The issues themselves are of a subjective nature, I know that. But regardless, the perception is they have been paid lip service to, aside from a box of sweet treats and a couple of bottles of wine as a gesture.

Lygia itself is gorgeous: unapologetically Greek, fabulous tavernas, wonderful views. But be aware, the dogs in the immediate area bark - a lot!

Have holidayed with Simpsons for last 15yrs, loved Corsica this year.

Their personal service both pre departure and in resort is always second to none. Always attentive but also nicely discreet and there if you need them but never in your face

Always more than blown away with the properties on arrival even after an early morning start

More destinations please!!! Croatia, Montenegro would be nice.

We had read so many good reviews that it is disappointing to share our experience of a suboptimal villa in Lefkada. The air conditioning on all 3 units - the living room and 2 bedrooms - was highly ineffective. The bedding was inadequate. There was no ability to cook outside in the event of a charcoal-only bbq. The building is tired and faded. But the most ridiculous thing is the layout. The kitchen is far far away from the pool - there is no ability to multitask whilst watching kids. It is an impossible layout for young children and even for us with older single digit kids it was inconvenient. The evening sun sets over the front balcony (with unusable bbq) but also overlooks a road busy with everyone parking outside, blasting music and blocking views. Such a shame.

With a fantastic beach location GK Hotel is in nestled into a quiet spot with beautiful mountainous backdrop, yet was a short walk to supermarket, tavernas and the nearby village.

It’s a great option if you have young primary school kids, our 6 year old daughter made some lovely friends and had a blast playing with them in the pool and on the beach by the restaurant in the evening whilst us adults enjoyed dinner and drinks.

We had a car and were able to go on some fun daytime beach, lake, water park adventures although do note that the prettiest Crete beaches are a good 50 + drive away.

Our accommodation was clean and comfortable and we loved the sea view from our bed.

The hotel manager was super friendly, proactively helping each family plan their days.

In terms of improvements, it would be a wider selection of fruit and cereal options at breakfast. Making one end of the pool more shallow to make it even more accessible for kids and their parents.

What another fantastic holiday with Simpson Travel! From the pick up from the airport, all through the 2 week break and the return journey, everything was just easy! Ioanna and Sarah were the perfect hosts, taking care of all our needs.
Our room was fantastic and waking up to the view of a stunning sunrise everyday was simply wonderful.
Service around the restaurant was great and our only suggestion for improvement would be to offer properly made coffee for breakfast instead of using the machine. An iced coffee would have been excellent but when we asked for one, we had to pay for it.
All in all, we loved GK Beach and we look forward to going back soon.

The holiday experience was a joy and seamless from start to finish. Everything was exactly described in the promotional material except the service which was exceptional!

We have used Simpson Travel for many years and have never been disappointed. Their villas (or select hotels) are hand-picked and known by the staff you speak with. Always very clean and comfortable yet not at 'silly' prices . Their staff are also very knowledgable. Highly recommend!

We had a wonderful holiday in Lefkada – what a brilliant destination! Villa Santolina was just lovely: really comfortable, beautifully maintained, and the perfect place to relax. The Ionian Coast is simply stunning, and we loved exploring it.

Simpson Travel were excellent throughout – a fantastic company with great people. Yiannis was especially brilliant; fun, friendly, and incredibly well connected. His recommendations really made our trip extra special.

Thank you for such a memorable holiday – we will definitely be back!

Our holiday with Simpson Travel at their GK Hotel in Crete last week was, in all respects, absolutely marvellous. The hotel is spotless and set directly facing the beach which, itself , is directly next to the hotels luxury pool area. The small 28 apartments are serviced by a small army of liveried staff who take poolside and beach orders for their ample stocked bar with plenty premium brands.

Breakfast is included and has ample continental as well as hot food ( fried eggs, omolettes, bacon,sausages etc) Restaurant is open all day serving lunch and dinner with a great menu
Bed linen and towels are constantly being changed and apartment cleaners come in daily. Perfect switch off holiday Can’t wait to come back again.

Pound for pound, a very enjoyable and trouble free holiday, with good experiences throughout. From scenery, that is hard to match, to sunsets which may not be rivalled, Sivota and the Ionian Coast is to behold. Do yourself a favour ... !

We stayed at the Belle Mare - Corfu this summer and had a fantastic time.
Natalia and Adrianna from the kids club were great. The girls were very well organised with the activities and our children loved the pizza making and building a raft. We will be back :-)

A fantastic holiday through Simpson travel. Great service and a wonderful property in Provence.

Had an amazing time in Megganissi, Thanks to all the Simpson team for the organising and support before and during the holiday. Special thanks to Daniel and Laura for everything you both did!

Simpson Travel organised a fabulous holiday for our 2 families in Ithaca. The villa was fantastic and the travel, care hire and whole experience was very good. This is the fourth time that we have used this travel company and the standard of service and villas is very high and we will definitely book again.

We’ve just returned from a family holiday in Kefalonia. It is a stunningly picturesque island made all the more beautiful by the amazing villa we stayed in. It was perfect and met all our needs - the only “problem” was trying to get the children out of the pool to eat!! I need to give a special mention to our wonderful rep Karen. She went over and above in her care for us. My eldest child has additional needs and Karen was brilliant with her, and in assisting us with any queries we had. She’s an asset to the company and the icing on a wonderful holiday. Thank you so much Karen and thank you Simpson Travel. If I could give more than 5 stars I would!

We have always had top end experiences with Simpson Travel. Lovely destinations, perfect accommodation and helpful reps. Now planning what we can do next year!

This is the second time we’ve used Simpson Travel, and again we’ve experienced excellent service. The team are knowledgeable and friendly and the properties are always the best around! They listen to what you’re looking for and seem to know what to recommend. Highly recommend.

Simpson Travel is a truly up-market travel company.
They provided excellent service wherever they were involved. Shame Easyjet can't match the Simpson standards.

The best specialist tour operator out there. Simpson provide outstanding service and everything they arrange is well organised and runs like clockwork. They have a fantastic range of accommodation and many flight options, with things like private transfers included as standard.