Hello

I have been really looking to this holiday all year , i just read the last 2 reports from 2 familys who have just arrived back and it has put me on a bit of a downer,i fly out on Tuesday 3rd July from Glasgow airport and thats another shocking event,so i am hoping there is not much delays..We have been on 5 all inclusive holidays and the worst one by a long shot was the callela palace in callela and reading some of the reports from there most people seem to love ??!!...So i am going on Tuesday and will judge for myself i will be completly hounest with my reviews,Lasy year we were at the helios bay in obzor Bulgaria and we had a fantastic time we couldnt fault anything, and i couldnt believe some of the reviews that i read about families been there the same times as us.So nothing is going to dampen my hols i am going positive thinking....as long as i have sun, sea, sand and a clean room i will be happy...and meet lots of cheery people....

Gail

due to the way tour opp's write their broaches and asses property can lead to disappointments this is when most complaints happen, i have been to hotels with a t/o 5 star rating which only had official 2 star its just the way they assess priorities, so the Petra officially is a CLASS A apart hotel i doesn't have a star rating but if it did it would be between 21/2 to 31/2 star
if you want to eat ""ENGLISH"" style food then in most cases you will find the menu repetitive if you eat local dishes as well then along with the usual salads/fresh bread most hotels do offer a fair range, however i will say if you want an English breakfast it wont be like home, although usually plenty to eat, many Greek hotels do not have toasters either, when it comes to staff the Greeks are about the friendliest i have met HOWEVER you must treat them as you would wish to be treated, if you are polite and courteous they usually are the same, if you learn the pleasantries in the local lingo this will also enhance their perception of you,

I hope and trust you enjoy your holiday and please offer your review upon your return

wizard

Thanks wizard for the reply,my family are not fussy eaters so will never go hungry,we have been to corfu halkidiki and zante a good few years ago before the kids were born and what i remember the greek were so freindly, we met a lovely greek family when we were in Halkidiki and they invited us to there home for a meal and they couldnt have done enough for us,i always treat people the way i like to be treated so i guess i will have no problem with greek staff...I have just heard that flights are more or less back to normal at Glasgow and we should get away on time on Tuesday morning...

Hi Gail I just wanted to wish you a happy holiday. I know exactly where you are coming from I have been looking foward to this holiday very much too but as you know you cannot please all of the people all of the time! I am sure the food will be absolutely fine. Personally I find the food at home can get a bit repetitive too! I personally am not expecting a full English breakfast and I love trying the new cuisine. As long as they have fresh fruit, salad and pasta my kids will be happy. I have been all inc twice before and on both occasions it was fine but you till had people complaining!

Anyway you have a fab time and cant wait to read your review.

Love Redcrop xx

Hi Gail
Hope you do have a good holiday, it is what you make it and as long as you are prepared to try different food,etc, then we should all be fine. At the end of the day i go abroad to broaden my families horizons and try different things.
There is not alot we can do now anyway.
Take care safe journey.
Beth
i don't recall anyone talking about a courtsey room, although most hotels have a room for luggage, we have booked aroom and i believe you can book a room when you get there, if you need it.
2 weeks to go and i am going to make the best of it.
See you soon.
Donna

we're going to the petra mare in october. wondered if anyone who had been this year could tell me what trips there would be. we went to turkey last year and saw boat trips to rhodes, does anyone know if there are any boat trips to any of the other islands or is lerapetra too out of the way. never been to crete before.

had a wrist op yesterday...was told ytwo weeks in a cast and now their saying between 3-5 ..which includes my trip im hurting and fuming

Hi Bronco
Sorry to hear about the op you will have to put a bag over it t go in the pool.
See you there.
Donna

bronco

if you still have plaster/strapping on you will need to get yourself a fit to fly letter from your doctor

wizard

we returned from the petra mare hotel on the 19th june , it was a wild holiday due to the huge measures of vodka being served at the snack bar . we went with our 3 children and they had brilliant fun although the pool was freeeeezzing!!!!! me and my wife love the pool on holiday but this was a big let down, our son took swimming lessons (great value) he could only last 15mins of the 30min lesson as the pool was so cold .our older son (8yrs) enjoyed the slides but apart from that he was a bit bored as the kids club was a bit babyish for him. our youngest (2yrs) went to the tweetie creche ,and she loved it the child minder (jumping jenny) was a credit to first choice , i would reccomend to any parent with kids under 3yrs to try the creche,jumping jenny has the patience of a cretan saint and still had the time to talk to the whole family whenever we seen her . the hotel its'self was nice and clean at all times and the reception staff were helpful and freindly your apartment gets cleaned every day wheather you like it or not . if your having a sleep in, remember to put your sshhh! sign on the door before you go to bed or the cleaning lady will be in first thing in the morning. the food was good but got a bit boring after the first few days ,they had pretty much the same thing every night. you can get a really good meal(if you like greek food)at the taverna along the road(go right when you come out the hotel 5mins up the road) from the hotel it`s right on the fabulous view of the sea and the kids can play in the rockpools while you enjoy the rest of your meal.the nightly entertainment in my opinion was great the first choice reps were really lively and really tried to get the crowd involved in loads of daft stuff.i pesonaly think that the reps could have arranged more activities for during the day they seemed to be sitting around doing nothing when they could have been doing a bit more to entertain there holiday makers.you even had to hand the afternoon quiz into reception and the results of who won got posted on a notice board the next day.after the nighly entertainment you could try the old el paso bar its open later (pay for your drinks after 12am)they have a bit of a disco . sometimes they have a careoke which is run by german reps which we really enojyed to begin with,our kids and other kids wiated for about 1hour for a shot on the careoke then when it was finally there shot the german rep who was running the show decided to swcith it off because there was`nt enough germans in the bar!!. there were alot of upset nationalities in the bar that night!!!
for a change one day i would highly reccomend that you try the go karting it`s about 15mins away from the hotel all you need to do is ask at reception and the go karting guy comes and picks you up in a people carrier and takes you to the go karting you have loads of fun then they take you back to the hotel when your done.

Ginkster

Glad you had a good time.

We dont go until 2008.

Could you tell me how much the go karting cost - sounds like a good day out - there will be 9 of us going (2 families).

Thanks in advance

Hi Ginkster thank you soo much for posting a good review of the hotel - all I have read is bad reviews and it is soo nice to read a good one as that is why I booked it in the first place!

My little one who is 18 months already has 12 sessions booked at the creche so it is great to hear he will have a fab time.

My eldest two are are 11 and 8 will love the pool as they have no sense of feeling when it comes to cold water lol

I think my eldest would love the go karting and you are the first to mention this so thank you.

Glad you had a great time.

Redcrop x

Hi Keitha1065

Thanks for replying .
They have leaflets at reception desk (go-karting), if you cant find them just ask reception to call them for you. The go-kart people oppperate a free mini bus pick-up service for anyone who wants to use the track. They will then drop you back at the hotel when you are ready to go back.
As we`ve already mentiond we had a great time go-karting. After visiting the track twice in 2wks we worked out it costs 10-12 euro per cart, Realy good value!!!!. while mum, dad ,and older kids done the racing the older owners of the track looked after our 2yr old daughterer untill we got back (she was spoiled),. free ice cream, free cuddly toy, free food , free love . WOW!!. All in All a great change from the hotel!!.
any more , just ask.. enjoy your holls. (the go-carting is open from 10.00am (morning), untill 02.00am in the morning

do they have two seater cars on the go karting so the little ones can have a go??????

hi,
could anyone who has been lately tell me who's running the el paso bar this year - is it still the tunisian man in the white suit, little ali and the two blonde german girls?

No. They only have 1 seater karts , but they are big enough for 1 adult and 1 kid (10-12 euro per kart). PS. watch the engine on the karts as they get very hottt!!(your right arm will be burnt).The go-karting people will adjust the speed of the kart to suit the driver.(ie, fast or slow). We went as 2 adults , 8yr old 4yr old & 2yr old. And our 2yr old was looked after by the very Old Cretan owners of the track, (granny & grandad) , while the rest of the family done go_kating. We loved them as they are down to earth people.(Typical Greeks). I could write a whole page just abbout the Cretan people as they are Saints.

cheers also have 2 yr old so sometimes limits what you can do looks like we will be going karting tho

also have a 6 year old will she be allowed on her own????

we strongly advise that you try the go-karting no matter what age you are .(3 to103) the staff will totally look after your every needs . we even got free drinks ,
And the kids got free ice cream . we also got free raki , don`t worry you won`t get done for drunk driving here .!!!.

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wizzard

make that 25