Hotel:
Changed the owner this year, so the situation has changed a lot. It used to be a 5 star hotel, now it's a 4 star hotel. The area is small but cozy. There are no settlements nearby, a village on a mountain. Hotel in the mountain, 1.5 km from the beach. From 10:00 to 17:30, once an hour, a minibus goes back and forth. Visitors used to be British and Scandinavians. Now Russians, Lithuanians, Estonians.
Beach:
Small, sunbeds and umbrellas for free, as well as cold water and small sandwiches in the Tavern by the beach. There are no strangers on the beach, everything is only from our hotel. The water in the sea is gentle, but if it is stormy, it causes all sorts of garbage.
Number:
The only thing left of 5 stars is very large and comfortable rooms, all with sea views. Two rooms, with a living room with plasma and DVD, a fully equipped kitchen, separate air conditioners in all rooms, a large balcony with its own sun loungers, a table with chairs. Also in the room there is an iron, a vacuum cleaner (sand after the beach pours from you), a hair dryer on a deposit of 20 euros, a safe for a fee (we did not take it), beach towels on a deposit of 15 euros. In the refrigerator, every 2 days, they put a 2-liter bottle of water, 2 bottles of soda and 2 bottles of beer. Electricity was cut off almost every day for 15-30 minutes, because. the hotel has its own generator, which could not withstand the load during peak hours. The rooms are not cleaned well. If you leave a tip, then that day they will clean it well, and then nothing until you leave a tip again. Throw towels on the bathroom floor to be changed, do not wait for spare soaps and shampoos. The rooms are very comfortable for couples with children.
Swimming pool:
Small and shallow (1m20), because deeply prohibited by law. It doesn't clean well. There is a separate paddling pool for children.
Bar:
Very tasty cocktails and Greek coffee, but all until 23:00. The bartender behaves disdainfully towards customers and, on principle, at 22:50 left to collect dishes and no longer let them go for free, as a result, he did not receive a tip from anyone. The barmaid allowed herself to frolic and swim during the day with the company of the owner's son in the pool for guests, which we consider unacceptable. From alcoholic beverages, wine, beer, cocktails, gin, rum, whiskey, locally produced cognac were included in the price, but for example, you had to pay for Metaxa.
Restaurant:
We had Uall. They fed simply, quickly got tired of everything, there was little food, and if you came to the end of dinner or breakfast, then the choice was very small. No one was left hungry, but it does not look like UAll in any way. You won’t gain extra pounds, which is good, but a little annoying. The waitresses in the restaurant were knocked down, barely managing to clean up after everyone, working seven days a week, but at the same time, one was so sweet and welcoming that everyone thanked her.
Animation:
For children - a mini-club, in the evening 30 minutes of dancing. From entertainment, aqua aerobics in the morning, billiards, ping-pong (for a fee).
Staff:
The owner of the hotel is a surly old Greek who speaks only Greek.
The owner's son is a young slut who periodically hangs out with the company and behaves ugly.
The manager is an elderly Greek, very friendly, speaks French and English.
2 male receptionists - friendly, speak only English.
The receptionist girl is very friendly, speaks Russian, English, German (she quit on June 21).
The bartender is dismissive and greedy, speaks Russian.
Barmaid (young) - stupid, does not understand English well;
Barmaid (full) - she also works as a waitress at lunch, normal.
The waitresses are full with a bob haircut: a rude woman, she does not understand English well, takes away all the tips from all the waitresses. A young woman with glasses is very pleasant, speaks English, but is inexperienced (works since June 18). Slender 30-year-old smiling waitress, speaks English and is the most helpful and pleasant, works at breakfasts and dinners, speaks English, will feed even 2 minutes before the end of dinner.
The plumber-electrician is a young, healthy Greek, speaks Russian, and will always tell you where it is better to go on the island.
The driver is an Albanian, speaks a little Greek, does not understand English, but is very friendly, explained on the fingers.
Comments:
The smell from the sheep farm on the neighboring mountain really was when the wind blew in our direction, but, apparently, among the inhabitants of the island this is not considered something out of the ordinary, this is an agricultural island and goats graze there on all the mountains and constantly cross the road on serpentines. In general, there are big problems with the service at the hotel, because the staff is sorely lacking. Before our departure, the receptionist, who spoke Russian, English, German, and who helped us with everything, as well as half of the maids, quit.
Advice:
Go there only at the lowest price - then you will not regret it. Rent a car, buy a guidebook and enjoy the sights, beaches on the north and especially the south coast!
Car rental:
Rented directly from the hotel - it turned out to be the cheapest. We traded immediately at 35% below the indicated price, and they let us go. For 6 days they paid 140 euros for a Hyundai Gets with air conditioning and 100% insurance. The car was driven and taken directly from the hotel. When the tire was pierced, then without any problems on the same day, we were changed to a new car, also right at the hotel. Do not forget to order a navigator in Russian, we forgot about it, so we were wasting time looking for the right road. The roads are very good, but they are constantly being built, so some are simply not on the map. If a path is indicated on the map, then it is just a narrow asphalt road on which cars drive around, each clinging to its own edge. There are few signs, more often in Greek, you can go nowhere. Gasoline costs from 1.10-1.20 euros per liter, depending on the place where you refuel. We drove 1700 km and paid 140 euros for gasoline. Take CDs with music with you, because. their radios don't work well in the mountains, or an MP3 player with a connection cord.
Greeks (in Crete):
The people are very friendly. They always tried to help us if we got lost. In the villages, if they bought their oil and drank coffee, they treated them to something delicious. Crime is practically non-existent, despite the fact that almost every Cretan family has a weapon. When the cash ran out, they just offered to give us something to drink in the Tavern by the beach.
Money:
Take more cash to the island than usual. The fact is that you can pay by card only in the city and at gas stations. Chip cards are not served by all ATMs - ours was accepted only by the Trapeza bank (yellow sign, blue letters). You can bargain for cash everywhere.
Attractions:
Palace of Knossos (Labyrinth of the Minotaur) -6 euros, worth a visit;
Zeus Cave - 4 euros + 2 euros parking + 2.5 euros you will want to drink fresh orange juice after the ascent and descent. A difficult climb for children and the elderly, but very interesting and beautiful;
Monastery of Arcadia (the main shrine of Crete) - 2.5 euros;
Saviafon Monastery and others - half free, half 2.5 euros;
Fortress in Rethymnon - 4 euros, awesome sea views;
Phaistos Palace - 4 euros, a miniature of the Palace of Knossos;
Elifonisis beach (three seas, lagoons, deer island wade 150 meters) - 7 euros two sun loungers and an umbrella (we lay on towels, but a little hot). It's better to go all day;
Cape Paleochora - find a wild lagoon with large pebbles, mirror water, lots of fish!!!
Lake Kournas - everything is free, only a catamaran 4 euros. Volcanic origin, indescribable beauty, turtles seen from afar;
Fortress Francocostello - free of charge, black volcanic sand beach (did not swim, a strong wind blew);
Mattala is a lagoon, on one side there is a rock in which there are caves, in which hippies lived in the 70s. The purest water.
Ierapetra - the southernmost city in Europe, again clear water, but few fish;
Chania is a beautiful city, the center resembles Venice. Park in the alleys behind the old city (the first time we encountered traffic jams);
Ayas Nikolas (white city) - very beautiful to take a walk, then to the peninsula;
At least one city must be seen in the evening, after sunset.
Samaria Gorge - you need to take a tour.
A comment:
Don't forget to order Lunch Basket instead of lunch on trips around the island. Be sure to take glasses or a mask with you to the southern beaches. Only mechanics can rent a car, the serpentine machine does not pull. The car must be air conditioned. Don't flatter the Suzuki, they're more passable, but without the convertible air conditioning, you'll burn out and breathe in the road dust on the mountain serpentines. Only serpentines lead to the south, except for the road to Ierapetra, so the average speed is not higher than 40 km / h. In the south, if the wind picks up, then the water is very cold and the beaches do not work, and on the serpentines, strong gusts drive the car. Trips to the south can not be compared with anything - transparent as glass, blue or azure sea!!!
Have a nice rest!! !
We were resting 4 people - 2 girls and 2 guys, so the all-inclusive package was chosen so that the boys could eat to satiety. But the food turned out to be one of the biggest problems!! ! IT JUST ENDED AND THERE IS NO LONGER POSTING!! ! People who were a little late for breakfast, lunch or dinner risked being left without food! Already on the 2nd day, many saw through this topic, and immediately after the opening of the dining room, people crowded around the food, convulsively picking up food on plates. There were practically no fruits, and those that were laid out were immediately sorted out. The food was the same, especially the breakfast. Snacks at the bar during the day are sandwiches with a slice of cheese and liverwurst. Everything. There were no more snacks. We talked with other visitors to the hotel, everyone was unhappy with the food. Local drinks in the bar until 23.00 can be ordered free of charge. The service at the bar is disgusting, the bartender speaks Russian, but he poured drinks with such a face, as if we owe him something.
Internet. Promised free internet in the hotel, it was one of the main priorities for us. THERE IS NO INTERNET IN THE HOTEL!! ! We were fed with promises every day that they would fix some kind of malfunction, and the Internet would appear, they said that the Internet had broken just before our arrival. But no such luck. . . The Russian girl at the reception told us that there was no internet even before our arrival. People who counted on the Internet oh-oh-very hard broke off.
Beach. The beach is about 15 minutes walk, there is a sandy entry into the sea. The bus from the hotel goes to the beach once an hour and is designed for 7 people (they promised every 15 minutes a bus).
There is absolutely no animation. Estonian songs were played on the mini-disco. In the evening, the constant stench of fertilizers. In the evenings, every day the light was completely cut out in the hotel, which could be restored both within 15 minutes and within an hour.
Around the hotel emptiness, no active life. We can say that the hotel is intended for pensioners.
In general, we were completely divorced from the hotel, and as it turned out, not only us : ) A 4-star hotel does not pull in any way.
Another downside is the food. For me it was ok, the girls were whining. But it ended quickly, and many dishes were not delivered. As a result, half an hour after the start of dinner, toko potatoes, spaghetti, etc. , could remain, while meat and chicken disappeared. From fruits, current apples and a couple of times bananas. But the main joke was the lack of tea and coffee at dinner (there was wine, water and cola, which was not always cola - once they brought me a VISCOUS HIGHLY SWEET WITHOUT BUBBLES rubbish, calling it cola), despite the fact that they gave sweet . And coffee or tea was offered to drink at the bar. That is, you (according to the hotel staff) bite a cake, go down from the restaurant from the second floor, go through the pool, go up to the bar on the other second floor and drink a piece of cake there. And so, walker 10, until you eat sweets. Maybe I don’t understand something, but eating cakes in dry food is somehow not a thrill. And it was not allowed to take them with you to the bar (the girls dragged the plate with them to the bar, cursing with the staff along the way). All our requests to make coffee or tea (boiling water and tea bags are right there in the restaurant) were denied to us ("all over the world they drink coffee in a bar"). Even if you crack. In the bar, FRESH SQUEEGED juice was made like this: oranges were squeezed in the morning, rubbish like Jupi was bred, all this was mixed as needed during the day. Juice is ready!
The cleaning of the rooms was also annoying, in the sense that when the dirty towels, which we specially threw on the floor for a shift, were carefully lifted and hung after cleaning..... the girls did not put toilet paper. And if they didn’t have time to track it down during the day, then they had to drag napkins from the restaurant (in the evening, probably, the pantry was out of reach) in order to ask the reception for a roll in the morning, which they were given at the RECEPTION.
Specifically, I was strained by the stench that came from a lamb farm nearby. Especially when you are sitting at dinner in a restaurant, trying to enjoy the food, and then, if the wind is in our direction, a persistent rich smell of shit hovers. Amateur, you know. . .
They never swam in the pool - they were disdainful. By the number of children floundering there and the quality of the cleaning of the hotel and, for sure, the pool... we made our conclusions and decided not to risk it. Yes, and not lovers of swimming in the pool, having arrived at the sea.
The only good thing about this hotel is that the rooms are large.
About the hotel, in fact, everything. Read more from Janina.
My advice: do not go to this hotel.
Have a good rest and make the right choice.