I have just been reading quite alot of reviews about the hotel I am going to stay at in May. I have stayed here before so knew what to expect. What I didn't expect was the narrow minded Brits who have never visited the Greek Islands before and after their first holiday have systematically trashed this hotel.........not all I may add. The biggest bone of contention was the B and B basis, people complaining that they only had bread,butter,jam,tea,coffee, etc: This is the norm all over the Continent of Europe that's why it is called a Continental breakfast, if you want a 'Full English' then you have to pay, then second on the list is room size, my question is just how long do you stay in a room, I just sleep in mine, I certainly don't live in it, This is Greece and the rooms are small, of course you can have a larger room if you choose 4 or 5* Then there is the pool temperature! I cannot believe people complain because it is cold water, what do they expect bath water temperatures. Expect to pay if you want to keep your room a little longer, due to your flight times, 1200hrs is the norm for vacating rooms, and the hoteliers cannot let rooms out for charity they are running a business.
Then there is the resort itself, I always tend to look for very quiet sleepy resorts, wherever I go in Greece, so why complain when you choose a quiet resort where there is no nightlife, and rows of Neon lit bars blaring out music, do your research check out what type of resort suits you best. The Greek people will do all they can to help you, all you need is politeness, good manners, a few Greek words like Parakalon (Please) Efcharisto (Thank you) and you are half way to forming a freindship. I feel I had to write this as there are a small amount of British Tourists who somehow think that Greek people owe us something, they dont!! More importantly enjoy Greece and her islands, she has much to offer, YASSOU
Well said!
As for the resorts,no idea who you've met on holiday but i've never come accross the attitude you speak of.
I'm posting this as a resident of some 8 or 9 years in Greece who has worked in and around the tourist industry all that time,including in various apartment complexes.
90% of the time you will arrive to find a ramshackle building built in the 1960's and barely touched since,with tiny rooms,old wooden beds,a miniscule bathroom with a useless shower,no curtain or hook for the showerhead and a noisy toilet,a kitchen that consists of a 'kitchenette' unit that is simply 2 paltry rings,an old fridge and a draw full of obscure mismatched utensils,
Oh Yes- and when I get the above I know I've arrived back in my beloved Greece. A holiday is far more than a room to stay. In fact, if I arrived to find a huge room with all mod cons, I'd want to get back on the next plane because I'd think they'd brought me to the wrong place
Well i have only visited the islands twice and i can honestly say that i have not been disappointed with my accommodation at all , we only use it for sleeping, so what if the kettle or kitchen utensils are dated mine are at home compared to others but do i care
i for one couldnt care less what the kitchen facilities are like, im on holiday i dont do cooking as there are so many lovely restaurants to eat in, the only thing i do like is a mug rather than a small cup and if its not a mug like last year i went annd bought some and brought them home with me as a souvenir
When or if Greece goes the way of Spain I'll find somewhere else for our summer holidays.
After approx 25 hols to Greece (& 15 to Cyprus) it's the way of life I fell in love with, so much so that I also live in Greece now. I only ever wanted, or needed, a place to sleep & a bathroom, as long as it was clean I couldn't care less about dated, scruffy or lack of kitchen equipment! Far too many 'posh' hotels are the same, you could be anywhere in the world they are so anonymous, it's the quirky basic accommodation that makes you realise you're in Greece!
If it becomes like Spain there'll be a house for sale here........................
the bathroom has no curtain on the shower..... not unusual as they are mainly wet rooms
the bedroom/apartment is too small.. why are you holding a summer ball in it or sleeping in it
the food is c***p [no chips no fish fingers or chicken nougats] and no most cant provide a so called English breakfast [which can differ around this country] do you really expect them to import English sausages, Scottish black pudding, DANISH bacon just for a few moaning Brits
and the one i love why doesn't anyone feed the cats why do we have to feed them [when will the British learn that cats are feral animals] they are tolerated in the grounds of the hotels not as pets but pest control [they can eat a fair few Roaches in a day and when holiday makers feed them they don't do their job] so PLEASE don't feed the cats
please go to Greece, enjoy the scenery,history,weather and, the brilliant local food
and remember you will only have 2 times to worry about Light o'clock and Dark o'clock
so chill out and enjoy
yasus
wizard
Holiday companies like TUI,TC etc are now cutting rooms rates all over greece to around 6E per person per night(i refer to the contract rate they pay to the hotelier) whereas 15 years ago it was around double or even treble that,this is almot exclusively down to the lack of proper maintainence carried out and the often shoddy state of plumbing,electrics and fittings,many properties simply employ an out of work english worker do to a bit of painting every winter and leave it at that{i could list tens of owners that call thuis sufficient maintainence). I know you can't compare Greece with spain and if they were alike then i for one would be guttred but the Greeks need to realise why theyre losing out to the rise of AI chain hotels,say what you like about charm and character,there's no nexcuse ofr poor maintainence.
nothing wrong with feeding the cats,ive got 8 strays outside my patio that now all have names,no fleas,full bellies and a bit of locve and affection,anyone that can ignore the little buggers simply has no heart.
Cats are part of the Greek way of life and we always feed them. They dont only hunt because the're hungry, its in their nature. I know of several Brits resident in Greece that look after cats. I also know of Greeks who like cats. Sorry Wizard but nothing will stop people feeding cats. We even met a Swiss couple in Lesvos who took 2 tabby kittens back to Switzerland (they had driven) because the end of the season was approaching and they might have been culled.
I remember from last year in Crete a dutch couple were taking a stray dog back home with them , they had made friends with the dog while on holiday and when they made enquiries what will happen to him and others like him they were told that they would be culled they had to have him so apparently they took him to the vet got the dog vaccinated and checked out and paper work , i dont have any reason not to believe what these people told us , but they just couldn't leave that dog behind .
If the success of my holiday depended on 5* accommodation, then Greece would be a non starter, and I sincerely hope it never gets that way. Luckily I need to feel like I'm in a foreign country - the sights, the smells , the music, the welcome, the people, the food - shall I stop now - and if the shower curtain falls on my head, then I'll pick it up and carry on
The only thing I DON'T like about Greece is the cats- They wouldn't be so much of a problem if people didn't feed them but when they're used to be given food by the holidaymakers, it's only natural that they will hover in the restaurants etc. The last thing I want when I'm enjoying my food is a load of cats around my feet and under the table
This was a family run 2 star hotel and it was one of the best holidays we have ever had.
People moaned about the food which was wonderful Greek food and about the size of the shower!
We met some lovely people ,some who we still keep in touch with.
We are going to Rhodes this May so we hope we have as good a holiday as the one in Elounda.
I love Greece as well and we usually try to avoid the more touristy places. We don't mind that the self catering facilities/bathrooms are sometimes not that great. This probably explains why the holiday costs are often pretty cheap. However last year we went twice to Spain, never having been before to the mainland. I think some posters on here are giving Spain a bad press. It's like everywhere else, you need to research before you go. If you don't like the idea of the touristy Costas catering for the Brits and loads of ex-pats then go somewhere else.
There are smaller resorts to be found. Last year we went to Alcossebre on the Costa de Azahar, north of Valencia. It caters mainly for Spanish tourists, many of the people do not speak English. There are no high rise buildings. There are 5 fabulous beaches all with wonderful facilities. The food is Spanish and yes the accommodation is more spacious/comfortable than you get in Greece. It was also very reasonable for food and drink.
Nerja on the Costa del Sol was also a place we enjoyed. Great beaches, windy cobbled streets, lots of character and plenty of restaurants and bars, boutiques etc. We had a couple of tapas runs as in most bars the tapas is free - a fabulous experience.
Although we are returning to Greece this year, visiting Lesvos for the first time I hope we will return to Spain before too long. If you have not tried it please give it serious thought. Just leave the high-rise resorts alone!
Yiamass, Jean
Holiday companies like TUI,TC etc are now cutting rooms rates all over greece to around 6E per person per night(i refer to the contract rate they pay to the hotelier) whereas 15 years ago it was around double or even treble that,this is almot exclusively down to the lack of proper maintainence carried out
This is incorrect, it is down to the fact that the Tour companies have virtually no competition as they did years ago from Golden Sun, Kosmar, Priceright/Libra and the smaller ones that do exist the owners are scared of due to going bust etc.
i think you'll find this is correct mate,this is coming from hoteliers i know and work for and also from my missus who works both in resort and in the finance side of the contract process,this rate cut down to 6E pppn was started by the so-called greek specialists like kosmar back in around 2005 in some kind of attempt to balance out the rates paid to basic old and run down properties and the more upmarket and newer built hotels,and the rest seemed to follow suit straight away,competition is actually tougher than ever,not only with the growing size of the independent market but also with tour operators from other european coutries such as poland,the czech republic and slovakia coming in to resorts they'd never had any presence in until recent years,for instance in Faliraki/Kalithea British tourists made up over 70% of total visitors in 2000,they are now estimated to make up only 50% on average,with the deficit being made up of eastern europeans,this is easy enough to see for your own eyes in resort,just as easy to see are the number of accom. properties now either contractless or that have gone from being exclusively british to being totally mixed. It's also a fact that these nationalities are far less demanding on the whole when it comes to standards,whereas the British tend to complain more about poor plumbing,dangerous fixtures,unreliable electrics etc,and quite rightly so too,if the Greeks want to remain competitive in the commercial market with the rise of places like Egypt,Bulgaira etc then they simply must improve their accomodation,it's simple economics.
The independent market is ok, but guests can book two nights here, three nights there and that is more work for the cleaners/laundry etc and a nightmare for the charting and signing in of guests and I know this is not what the owners want.
Bulgarian properties would be similar in standards to the Greek ones and Egypt is the type of holiday where you stay on campus.
Faliraki is an interesting point though, and I think Holidays move in cycles of where people go. 2003 Faliraki was THE place to go if you were young, 2005 it was the place to go for young families. It lost its pull completely, and still hasnt recovered. I bet Laganas isnt made up of only 50% Brits, 70% minimum.
Speak to most reps in most greek resorts and they'll have hundreds of tales of constant arguments with property owners that refuse to fix the showers or rewire all the lights or fix the doorlocks,the cracked pool tiles,the leaking aircon that's not had a new filter for 6 years,or even just paint the place,i know these issues exist at all levels in all countries but in Greece they simply cannot accept that there's a connection between falling contract values and the dilapadated state of many of their apartments.
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