We were in Gouves Mare for a week. We arrived early, the hotel was about nine o'clock in the morning. We were seated quickly and offered breakfast. Despite the "awful" knowledge of English, and even more deplorable knowledge of Greek, we quickly found a common language with Mrs. Ekaterina, who received us.
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We were in Gouves Mare for a week. We arrived early, the hotel was about nine o'clock in the morning. We were seated quickly and offered breakfast. Despite the "awful" knowledge of English, and even more deplorable knowledge of Greek, we quickly found a common language with Mrs. Ekaterina, who received us. Very sweet, smiling and friendly woman.
In the afternoon she is replaced by Mrs. Mariella, she speaks Russian very well.
I took a Russian-Greek phrasebook with me.
But the main thing, I think, is that in Crete they WANT TO UNDERSTAND you, so I had almost no problems with the language barrier.
The hotel is small and not noisy.
The rooms are cleaned carefully, linen is changed every day, towels too.
If you need anything extra, you can always contact the front desk.
The hotel has a doctor. I got a little cold, I was offered to contact him, but I refused. I just asked for pills, they didn’t refuse me, they provided me with the necessary medicines.
The medical insurance for the tour from itour covers the treatment, so I didn’t worry about this issue, I just thought that a mild cold did not deserve more attention)))
We did not use the safe, there was no need. There are few people - everything is in sight. Remove two permanent maids.
A little about nutrition (although "a little", I think it will not work): the food is delicious.
Breakfast is usually scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, vegetables, puff pastries, tea cake, cake, muesli, milk, fruit, jam, chocolate cream and viscous syrup (at first I thought honey, but then it turned out that this is some kind of caramel syrup, as I suspect, from the carob tree) tea, coffee.
For lunch: two types of meat dishes, rice, pasta, potatoes, baked and stewed vegetables - three / four types, fish, puff pastries with cheese or spinach, salads - three / four types of ready-made, as well as separately sliced vegetables and salad dressings, feta cheese, olives/black olives and of course olive oil and grape vinegar. Traditional desserts - baklava and homemade Greek halva (halvas simigdali), biscuits made from very tender dough and cream cakes (the cream is very light, not greasy), there were also jellies and airy creams, fruits. There are three types of juices (pineapple, citrus and apple), but we are used to more concentrated ones, so I read somewhere that they called these juices "Yupi". I disagree, this is not "Jupi", but rather a juice-containing drink (I think, somewhere 50/50).
For dinner: the same principle of compiling the menu. But the dishes are not repeated. I noticed a funny detail - every day the potatoes were of a different separate shape - apparently, so that suspicion would not arise.
There were families with children in the hotel - this was also taken into account, if necessary, the waitress girls are always happy to help. In the evening they are helped by Mr. Manfos - a wonderful person, always friendly and attentive.
Wine red and white, good.
Separately, I will dwell on the situation with water: there is no "takeaway" water. A pack of water in the city (6x1.5 liters) costs from 1.45 to 1.80 euros. a bottle of water separately - from 0.45 euros, so it's more profitable to take packages. If you walk from the building where the reception is, along the road, there will be a small grocery store very close (when you pass the church). If you go further along the highway, there will be a "fur coat" store and an ATM.
Beach: sand, the sea is not deep. Municipal beaches, you can sunbathe everywhere. "Beach set" (two sun loungers and an umbrella) cost 5/6 euros. But if you come with a towel, no one will bother you. It was a bit stormy for two days, but like everyone else, we "jumped" to our heart's content, then it was relatively calm. The water is very clean and transparent.
There are no sea urchins in the Gouves area. Fish appeared - very beautiful: striped, they burrow into the sand and others with yellow tails. The fish are funny, they are not at all afraid of people, they swim right under their feet. A couple of "yellowtails" accompanied me in the water for about 20 minutes))).
There is practically no entertainment in the hotel, mostly quiet. In the evening there is a lounge bar, but we walked around Gouves in the evenings, so I can’t say anything. There is a bar near the pool. The bartender is a woman, very peculiar. Sometimes it can pretend to be "your-my ne panimite", which, in principle, is not typical for the staff of this hotel.
For those who want to spend the evening actively, there are many sports and disco bars, taverns on the coast. There are also taverns in the town. There are also several pharmacies, food and souvenir shops, and several ATMs.
We rented a car at "Balnea" (www. balnea-rent. ru) from Sergey - it's "two steps away" from the hotel.
Before the trip I read reviews about him and I'm glad that they were confirmed. Sergey conscientiously drew us a route, suggested how and where it is better to drive, provided a map, explained the intricacies of driving on the island))) During the day, we managed to visit the Kera monastery (there, next to the cave of Zeus), in cities on the east coast, on the island of Spinalonga ( In the village of Plaka every half an hour a boat goes to the island), we even got to Irapetra)))
If you do not want to take a car, there is a bus stop a hundred meters from the hotel, buses in the direction of Heraklion and Hersonissos run about half an hour, there is a schedule at the bus stop.
In the afternoon she is replaced by Mrs. Mariella, she speaks Russian very well.
I took a Russian-Greek phrasebook with me.
But the main thing, I think, is that in Crete they WANT TO UNDERSTAND you, so I had almost no problems with the language barrier.
The hotel is small and not noisy.
The rooms are cleaned carefully, linen is changed every day, towels too.
If you need anything extra, you can always contact the front desk.
The hotel has a doctor. I got a little cold, I was offered to contact him, but I refused. I just asked for pills, they didn’t refuse me, they provided me with the necessary medicines.
The medical insurance for the tour from itour covers the treatment, so I didn’t worry about this issue, I just thought that a mild cold did not deserve more attention)))
We did not use the safe, there was no need. There are few people - everything is in sight. Remove two permanent maids.
A little about nutrition (although "a little", I think it will not work): the food is delicious.
Breakfast is usually scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, vegetables, puff pastries, tea cake, cake, muesli, milk, fruit, jam, chocolate cream and viscous syrup (at first I thought honey, but then it turned out that this is some kind of caramel syrup, as I suspect, from the carob tree) tea, coffee.
For lunch: two types of meat dishes, rice, pasta, potatoes, baked and stewed vegetables - three / four types, fish, puff pastries with cheese or spinach, salads - three / four types of ready-made, as well as separately sliced vegetables and salad dressings, feta cheese, olives/black olives and of course olive oil and grape vinegar. Traditional desserts - baklava and homemade Greek halva (halvas simigdali), biscuits made from very tender dough and cream cakes (the cream is very light, not greasy), there were also jellies and airy creams, fruits. There are three types of juices (pineapple, citrus and apple), but we are used to more concentrated ones, so I read somewhere that they called these juices "Yupi". I disagree, this is not "Jupi", but rather a juice-containing drink (I think, somewhere 50/50).
For dinner: the same principle of compiling the menu. But the dishes are not repeated. I noticed a funny detail - every day the potatoes were of a different separate shape - apparently, so that suspicion would not arise.
There were families with children in the hotel - this was also taken into account, if necessary, the waitress girls are always happy to help. In the evening they are helped by Mr. Manfos - a wonderful person, always friendly and attentive.
Wine red and white, good.
Separately, I will dwell on the situation with water: there is no "takeaway" water. A pack of water in the city (6x1.5 liters) costs from 1.45 to 1.80 euros. a bottle of water separately - from 0.45 euros, so it's more profitable to take packages. If you walk from the building where the reception is, along the road, there will be a small grocery store very close (when you pass the church). If you go further along the highway, there will be a "fur coat" store and an ATM.
Beach: sand, the sea is not deep. Municipal beaches, you can sunbathe everywhere. "Beach set" (two sun loungers and an umbrella) cost 5/6 euros. But if you come with a towel, no one will bother you. It was a bit stormy for two days, but like everyone else, we "jumped" to our heart's content, then it was relatively calm. The water is very clean and transparent.
There are no sea urchins in the Gouves area. Fish appeared - very beautiful: striped, they burrow into the sand and others with yellow tails. The fish are funny, they are not at all afraid of people, they swim right under their feet. A couple of "yellowtails" accompanied me in the water for about 20 minutes))).
There is practically no entertainment in the hotel, mostly quiet. In the evening there is a lounge bar, but we walked around Gouves in the evenings, so I can’t say anything. There is a bar near the pool. The bartender is a woman, very peculiar. Sometimes it can pretend to be "your-my ne panimite", which, in principle, is not typical for the staff of this hotel.
For those who want to spend the evening actively, there are many sports and disco bars, taverns on the coast. There are also taverns in the town. There are also several pharmacies, food and souvenir shops, and several ATMs.
We rented a car at "Balnea" (www. balnea-rent. ru) from Sergey - it's "two steps away" from the hotel.
Before the trip I read reviews about him and I'm glad that they were confirmed. Sergey conscientiously drew us a route, suggested how and where it is better to drive, provided a map, explained the intricacies of driving on the island))) During the day, we managed to visit the Kera monastery (there, next to the cave of Zeus), in cities on the east coast, on the island of Spinalonga ( In the village of Plaka every half an hour a boat goes to the island), we even got to Irapetra)))
If you do not want to take a car, there is a bus stop a hundred meters from the hotel, buses in the direction of Heraklion and Hersonissos run about half an hour, there is a schedule at the bus stop.
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We were at the gouves mare hotel at the beginning of July 2012. Overall Impression: We loved it! I will say right away that this was our first trip to Greece, but not the first - abroad. And now for the points. )) HOTEL ROOM: The overall impression is very good. There are 3 buildings in the hotel, not 1, as they say on the Internet! Rooms on the first and second floors, no people, very comfortable.
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We were at the gouves mare hotel at the beginning of July 2012. Overall Impression: We loved it! I will say right away that this was our first trip to Greece, but not the first - abroad. And now for the points. ))
HOTEL ROOM:
The overall impression is very good. There are 3 buildings in the hotel, not 1, as they say on the Internet! Rooms on the first and second floors, no people, very comfortable. True, there is practically no greenery, to the west - there is much more greenery! But to whom it does not matter - you are welcome. In the room: bed, wardrobe, air conditioning, refrigerator, paid safe, shower (you can wash together), toilet, dressing table. On TV: 2 Russian-speaking channels, many German ones. Everything is done in the European style - at least everything, but very beautiful. Our room was on the 1st floor. Some rooms on the ground floor, like ours, overlook the pool. By the way, there are 4 pools in the hotel: one - the main one near the bar, and three - near the buildings. Our room had its own descent into the pool, its own part, they clean it, like the room - daily. Towels: 2 small, 2 large for two, but we regularly took one large (and our second) to the beach, so as a result, on the third day they brought us a third large towel
BEACH:
The beach is 5 meters from the hotel. And to be even more precise: I went out of the territory, crossed a small path - and voila! Are you on the beach. Right in front of the hotel is a cool sandy beach! WE walked along the promenade, mostly stones everywhere - we don’t like those, so we always went to our beach. Sunbeds and an umbrella are paid - 5 euros for two - for the whole day. You can, of course, lie right on the sand, but we decided not to be greedy. : ) Sunset in the sea is very good - especially, probably, suitable for children. Not deep at once, you can walk and swim without fear of drowning : ) It was stormy for about a third of the rest, but not strong, and it was even a pleasure - you could jump on the waves. On the beach, trash cans, ashtrays, you can take drinks from the hotel.
NUTRITION:
Breakfast from 7.30, dinner - until 21.00. lunch - from 12.30 to 15.00. In the morning, I personally preferred cereal with milk, there is very tasty bread with jams, I recommend it! ; ) The breakfast set is standard: different types of eggs, cold cuts, coffee. Lunch: I didn’t like the soups, some kind of incomprehensible slurry. Everything is very tasty, but not very diverse. Naturally, Greek salad, fish, olives. There are other salads, meats, cheeses, cuts, even dumplings were kebabs. Potatoes of different types, pasta... for dessert - fruits (watermelon, melon, orange, pineapple... ), in the morning - peaches, and... my weakness... cakes - ice cream! Different types, different flavors! And I could not deny myself this pleasure even once! They are incredibly delicious! But sweets are quickly taken apart (((For dinner - almost the same as for lunch, although naturally the set changes. For lunch and dinner we ordered something to drink : ) beer, wine, juices, cola... for every taste. By the way when you go on an excursion, or just miss one of the trips to eat, order lunch boxes. The day before the planned non-arrival "for food". These boxes usually contain: a sandwich, water, fruit, juice. And the day before trips can be booked "for tomorrow" early breakfast and late dinner : )
BARS
The hotel has 2 bars - closer to the beach, and in the main building (in the same place as the restaurant and reception). WE loved the bar by the sea. There is a good bartender, he made delicious cocktails. The ice cream is also delicious. The second bar has more choice, there are martinis, sambuca, but the OG is only from 6 to 11 pm. And there are always a lot of people. Not our option, in general : ) Snacks - all the time there.
CONTINGENT:
The hotel has people of different nationalities. Most of the others are Germans. There are French, Balts, Russians, Ukrainians, fortunately, few! I think we were the only ones! And, thank God, I wanted to take a break from those you see every day. Everyone is very well-mannered, or we are so lucky. : ) Mostly young families with children (or without, like us), and older couples (mostly German : ) ) .
WEATHER:
Let me tell you, we really enjoyed it! All this time the weather was perfect! There was never a single cloud in the sky! The wind blew from time to time, but it was also a pleasure, because the weather in Crete is very hot! On the last day it was, by the way, 38 degrees! But the water is always warm! Both in the sea and in the pool! But we swam mainly in the sea - because it is more useful)))
EXCURSIONS:
We were only on 2 excursions, and we ourselves went to neighboring large (by their standards) cities. Public bus stop is 5 minutes walk. By the way, when you go, stock up on change (a couple of euros each), because giving us change with 50 from the conductor caused a problem. Buses run until 10 pm. Comfortable. The stops are numbered, ours is number 11. We went to Heraklion (here is the airport we flew into), and we didn’t like it. Ordinary, cramped, dirty... nothing to see. There are no establishments, souvenirs are also a rarity. But if you want to look at a different Crete, you can go.
Hersonissos liked us much more! We just liked him! A pretty town, a beautiful promenade, a bunch of restaurants right above the sea, lobsters, for example, for 50 euros. Loads of shops! Be sure to buy olive oil! Just make sure that the level of bitterness is 0.2 - 0.3 - no more. Prices are different, we have everything we have, a lot of what is cheaper. And what surprised me, there are a lot of fur shops here!! ! And all fur coats are much cheaper than ours! It was very disappointing, because we did not expect to buy a fur coat here, and they did not take the money for it from home : (
Santorini island. Everyone shouts that it is a must see! And I am no exception. The island is really very beautiful, their beaches are unusual, and the excursion is unusual. BUT! Be aware that the price-quality does not match, because it costs 150 euros per person (for the whole day, without lunch), in addition, you will spend more than 5, almost 6 hours on the ferry. On the bus, even more. The island is INCREDIBLY HOT!! ! 40 degrees in the shade, and there is practically no shade!! ! You need to walk along the narrow streets, where there are crowds of tourists. But beautiful, I repeat, incredible, so it's up to you to decide. If you still go to Santorini, take plenty of liquids, hats, sunglasses, comfortable shoes and camera batteries : )
Spilanoga Island. The tour is cheaper, less colorful, but unusual. This is an island - a fortress where lepers lived at one time : ) it takes a long time to get there - until we gathered all the tourists from different hotels, then we had an interesting ride on a boat and - we are there. Then we lay on the rocky (fu-fu-fu) but clean (wow-wow) beach and went to Agios Nikolos. Incredibly beautiful town. Be sure to check it out!
TOUR OPERATOR:
We used the services of TezTour. In general, we were satisfied, but our hotel guide Daria is something! She was always late, had to change plans because of her. Somehow, on the night before the tour, we found a note in our room that it was postponed to the day after tomorrow! And she finally let down some other guys from the hotel: the tour was simply canceled, and she “forgot” to tell them about it! That's it.
THE AIRPORT:
This is a separate conversation. What let us down was the airport. If in Kyiv we go through registration in 15 minutes, then in Crete we stood in line for 1.5 hours to check in, then another 15 minutes to check in luggage, then another 15 minutes at passport control, then another 17 minutes at customs . In short, we flew into duty free, flew out, and immediately ran to the plane. There was no queue, but the flight was delayed by 30 minutes. And further. It was at the airport that we realized that we were returning to our homeland. Here they began to notice people who litter, make their way without a queue, are rude and behave incorrectly. It is a pity that people in our country are so different from Europeans.
Therefore, my main advice: when going to Crete, take money, documents, sunscreen, comfortable shoes, good mood and good manners with you. Do not disgrace Ukraine, behave with dignity! Have a nice holiday! And good luck!
HOTEL ROOM:
The overall impression is very good. There are 3 buildings in the hotel, not 1, as they say on the Internet! Rooms on the first and second floors, no people, very comfortable. True, there is practically no greenery, to the west - there is much more greenery! But to whom it does not matter - you are welcome. In the room: bed, wardrobe, air conditioning, refrigerator, paid safe, shower (you can wash together), toilet, dressing table. On TV: 2 Russian-speaking channels, many German ones. Everything is done in the European style - at least everything, but very beautiful. Our room was on the 1st floor. Some rooms on the ground floor, like ours, overlook the pool. By the way, there are 4 pools in the hotel: one - the main one near the bar, and three - near the buildings. Our room had its own descent into the pool, its own part, they clean it, like the room - daily. Towels: 2 small, 2 large for two, but we regularly took one large (and our second) to the beach, so as a result, on the third day they brought us a third large towel
BEACH:
The beach is 5 meters from the hotel. And to be even more precise: I went out of the territory, crossed a small path - and voila! Are you on the beach. Right in front of the hotel is a cool sandy beach! WE walked along the promenade, mostly stones everywhere - we don’t like those, so we always went to our beach. Sunbeds and an umbrella are paid - 5 euros for two - for the whole day. You can, of course, lie right on the sand, but we decided not to be greedy. : ) Sunset in the sea is very good - especially, probably, suitable for children. Not deep at once, you can walk and swim without fear of drowning : ) It was stormy for about a third of the rest, but not strong, and it was even a pleasure - you could jump on the waves. On the beach, trash cans, ashtrays, you can take drinks from the hotel.
NUTRITION:
Breakfast from 7.30, dinner - until 21.00. lunch - from 12.30 to 15.00. In the morning, I personally preferred cereal with milk, there is very tasty bread with jams, I recommend it! ; ) The breakfast set is standard: different types of eggs, cold cuts, coffee. Lunch: I didn’t like the soups, some kind of incomprehensible slurry. Everything is very tasty, but not very diverse. Naturally, Greek salad, fish, olives. There are other salads, meats, cheeses, cuts, even dumplings were kebabs. Potatoes of different types, pasta... for dessert - fruits (watermelon, melon, orange, pineapple... ), in the morning - peaches, and... my weakness... cakes - ice cream! Different types, different flavors! And I could not deny myself this pleasure even once! They are incredibly delicious! But sweets are quickly taken apart (((For dinner - almost the same as for lunch, although naturally the set changes. For lunch and dinner we ordered something to drink : ) beer, wine, juices, cola... for every taste. By the way when you go on an excursion, or just miss one of the trips to eat, order lunch boxes. The day before the planned non-arrival "for food". These boxes usually contain: a sandwich, water, fruit, juice. And the day before trips can be booked "for tomorrow" early breakfast and late dinner : )
BARS
The hotel has 2 bars - closer to the beach, and in the main building (in the same place as the restaurant and reception). WE loved the bar by the sea. There is a good bartender, he made delicious cocktails. The ice cream is also delicious. The second bar has more choice, there are martinis, sambuca, but the OG is only from 6 to 11 pm. And there are always a lot of people. Not our option, in general : ) Snacks - all the time there.
CONTINGENT:
The hotel has people of different nationalities. Most of the others are Germans. There are French, Balts, Russians, Ukrainians, fortunately, few! I think we were the only ones! And, thank God, I wanted to take a break from those you see every day. Everyone is very well-mannered, or we are so lucky. : ) Mostly young families with children (or without, like us), and older couples (mostly German : ) ) .
WEATHER:
Let me tell you, we really enjoyed it! All this time the weather was perfect! There was never a single cloud in the sky! The wind blew from time to time, but it was also a pleasure, because the weather in Crete is very hot! On the last day it was, by the way, 38 degrees! But the water is always warm! Both in the sea and in the pool! But we swam mainly in the sea - because it is more useful)))
EXCURSIONS:
We were only on 2 excursions, and we ourselves went to neighboring large (by their standards) cities. Public bus stop is 5 minutes walk. By the way, when you go, stock up on change (a couple of euros each), because giving us change with 50 from the conductor caused a problem. Buses run until 10 pm. Comfortable. The stops are numbered, ours is number 11. We went to Heraklion (here is the airport we flew into), and we didn’t like it. Ordinary, cramped, dirty... nothing to see. There are no establishments, souvenirs are also a rarity. But if you want to look at a different Crete, you can go.
Hersonissos liked us much more! We just liked him! A pretty town, a beautiful promenade, a bunch of restaurants right above the sea, lobsters, for example, for 50 euros. Loads of shops! Be sure to buy olive oil! Just make sure that the level of bitterness is 0.2 - 0.3 - no more. Prices are different, we have everything we have, a lot of what is cheaper. And what surprised me, there are a lot of fur shops here!! ! And all fur coats are much cheaper than ours! It was very disappointing, because we did not expect to buy a fur coat here, and they did not take the money for it from home : (
Santorini island. Everyone shouts that it is a must see! And I am no exception. The island is really very beautiful, their beaches are unusual, and the excursion is unusual. BUT! Be aware that the price-quality does not match, because it costs 150 euros per person (for the whole day, without lunch), in addition, you will spend more than 5, almost 6 hours on the ferry. On the bus, even more. The island is INCREDIBLY HOT!! ! 40 degrees in the shade, and there is practically no shade!! ! You need to walk along the narrow streets, where there are crowds of tourists. But beautiful, I repeat, incredible, so it's up to you to decide. If you still go to Santorini, take plenty of liquids, hats, sunglasses, comfortable shoes and camera batteries : )
Spilanoga Island. The tour is cheaper, less colorful, but unusual. This is an island - a fortress where lepers lived at one time : ) it takes a long time to get there - until we gathered all the tourists from different hotels, then we had an interesting ride on a boat and - we are there. Then we lay on the rocky (fu-fu-fu) but clean (wow-wow) beach and went to Agios Nikolos. Incredibly beautiful town. Be sure to check it out!
TOUR OPERATOR:
We used the services of TezTour. In general, we were satisfied, but our hotel guide Daria is something! She was always late, had to change plans because of her. Somehow, on the night before the tour, we found a note in our room that it was postponed to the day after tomorrow! And she finally let down some other guys from the hotel: the tour was simply canceled, and she “forgot” to tell them about it! That's it.
THE AIRPORT:
This is a separate conversation. What let us down was the airport. If in Kyiv we go through registration in 15 minutes, then in Crete we stood in line for 1.5 hours to check in, then another 15 minutes to check in luggage, then another 15 minutes at passport control, then another 17 minutes at customs . In short, we flew into duty free, flew out, and immediately ran to the plane. There was no queue, but the flight was delayed by 30 minutes. And further. It was at the airport that we realized that we were returning to our homeland. Here they began to notice people who litter, make their way without a queue, are rude and behave incorrectly. It is a pity that people in our country are so different from Europeans.
Therefore, my main advice: when going to Crete, take money, documents, sunscreen, comfortable shoes, good mood and good manners with you. Do not disgrace Ukraine, behave with dignity! Have a nice holiday! And good luck!
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