We had a spacious 2 bed apartment which was great. The flat was cleaned every day except Sunday so top maks for that. The apps are situtated just off the main street at the far end of Platanias so handy for shopping etc but further to travel on the bus.

Downsides/Problems. Here are the problems we encountered:
1. The balconies in our apps look towards the neighbouring apartments - not great for privacy!
2. The pool is shared with at least one neighbouring complex and that could make it crowded. There certainly aren't enough loungers round the pool for so many people which means you have to find a spot on nearby grass.
3. No sun parasols round the pool. So if you don't want to bake in the sun, the only option is to find shade in trees a little way from the pool. Not ideal.
4. The old "towel on the sunlounger reservation" problem hated by brits everywhere. To be fair there is a sign up in English and Norwegian saying this isn't allowed but this was totally ignored.
5. Noise at night. There was some disturbences at night (about 3am) when some Norwegians/Fins/Swedes arrived on night flights.

Overall we had a nice time, but having been to Agia Marina 3 times previously, we would go back there next time. We prefer smaller app blocks with Sun parasols!

These are nice apps, but be aware that you are in a big complex area with plenty of others people around. If you want quiet smaller apps, Sophia Beach isn't for you.

The Sofia Beach studio we rented was basic, but comfortable, and great value.
The surrounding area is reasonably quiet but just one minute's walk from the beach and the main Platanias street.
We sampled half a dozen local restaurants but found that the hotel's own food was the best value of all.
Really friendly, helpful staff (Victor and Sofia) were the icing on the cake.

Although only 2 stars the rooms are basic but very clean and practical. The grounds are very well kept and there are two clean, well kept pools and a 2 minutes walk straight onto a lovely beach. The family who own the hotel are fantastic!! Nothing is too much for them and Victor the barman is a star! Although his english is limited he was always there ready to meet and greet with a big beaming smile! Theo the owner and his daughter Sofia do all the cooking which is very good and excellent value.
Sofia even arranged a birthday party for my partners 50th birthday! Really made us feel special.
Would highly recommend for couples or families!

I was a little worried as the accomdation only had a 2 star rating in the brochure, this was not necessary as the apartments were spotless,The bathroom was very modern and again spotless.We were made very welcome by all the staff and especially victor the bar man.The food served in the pool bar was very good especially the greek dishes made by theo and sofia.Victor always made sure you were never kept waiting for drinks or food both on the beach and round the pool.The maid service was excellent apartments cleaned every day except sunday.I would recommend these apartments to anyone who enjoys a beach side location there is as much or as little entertainment in resort as you wish.

Hi

We had a lovenly break in May 2009 at the Sofia, brilliant location, lovenly apartment with everything we needed, on top of the beach, shops restaurants, buses, 30 mins to Chania which was beautiful,

We have just booked literally 20 mins ago to go back for May 2010 and take our daughter back for her 30th birthday. Sofia and Victor were the perfect hosts, food and drink and atompshere was fanastic.

My husband and myself spent a week 20th -27th May 2008 at the sofia studios and apartments. We were very happy in every way with the accommodation and the friendlyness of the staff. We felt nothing was too much trouble for the staff and they went the extra mile in the service that they provided. the accommodation which was a first floor apartment was excellent in every way, and we would not hesitate to visit again.

The Sofia Beach Apartments was excellent in nearly everyway, apart from the food, it was ok but very limited choices and there was very little entertainment at night, but with all the pubs and resturants just a few minutes walk away theres plenty going on.
All the staff were really friendly especially Sofia and Victor!!!
Everything was very clean inside and outside the apartment.

We have just returned from a fantastic two week holiday at the Sophia Beach Apartments in Platanias! We only booked two weeks before we went and so, naturally, we were a little wary of how they would be. No worries at all. The apartments are large and situated on a lovely, leafy "avenue" leading up to the pool and bar. In the brochure, it states that the pool is shared and we were concerned that it might get overcrowded, but it never did. The beach is literally 20 steps away from the pool - you couldn't ask for anything better. Now the boring stuff is out of the way, let us tell you what (or more to the point, who) really made the holiday. The wonderful Greek family who own and run the aprtments and pool bar, dad Theo, grandma Sohpia and last, but NOT least, daughter Sophia ( she thinks she is Greek but is actually Albanian!!- or so we kept telling her. Right from the minute we arrived, Sophia gave everyone a warm friendly welcome and as she has an excellent command of the english language, we had a very interesting introduction to the area and facilties. Later in the evening, when we went for our evening meal there (don't be fooled by the words "pool/beach bar")we were treated to outstanding cooking, courtesy of Theo, a very modest man who could match any celebrity chef! Every day virtually, we were given "tasters" of traditional Greek food and loved everything - we even had stuffed flowers one night! If you are not the adventurous type when it comes to food, Theo is more than happy to make nuggests and chips, chicken etc. However, I would urge everyone who goes there to give his food a try (Sophia also dabbles in the kitchen and is equally as good)and if you do, you will not only be surprised at the quality but Theo will encourage you to try more as he adores cooking. We, as a family, are not fussy eaters when it comes to things like spices etc, and can honestly say that nothing we were given was too "foreign" and therefore suitable for all. We only ate out twice in the fortnight and didn't enjoy either experience and vowed to eat only at Sophia's as the quality cannot be matched NEITHER can the prices - far cheaper than in the town.

Grandma Sophia is a true lady, although she does not speak English, her warm smile conveyed the message that she was glad to see you - we communicated through hugs and smiles and really took her into our hearts.

On our last night, my husband instigated a water fight between himself, Sophia and two lovely friends we met there, Jean and Cliff. However, in the excitement, Grandma Sophia got drenched - luckily she took it all in good fun and laughed it off - not many 77 year olds would have done though.

The general staff at the apartments are also very polite and welcoming, especially mad Viktor, who REALLY IS Albanian and doesn't speak much English, but is always mad as a hatter and up for a laugh. The cleaners come in every day apart from Sunday and our cleaner Roxanne did an excellent job of cleaning the apartment and always left the towels in a fancy pattern on the beds!

The apartments are literally a 4 minute walk to the main strip where there is an array of tourist souvenir type shops and plenty of restaurants and bars.

A bus trip in Chania (pronounced Hania) is only 1.6 euros and takes 20 minutes approx and there you can get high street fashions, bags, shoes etc. Be warned however, try to go to Chania after 4 in the afternoon as the heat really stifles you around the harbour - where most of the restaurants and bars are - as the white flags on the floor reflect the heat and there is little shade.

We are going back to Sophia Beach Aprtments next year as we couldn't have asked for nicer hosts that Theo, Sophia and Grandma Sophia.

The lady on reception is called Pat and aparently she is a guest that just won't go home!! Bob kept asking everypne who she was, but no one knew!!

Thanks to all, Amanda, Bob & Kimberli Smith

We as a family have gone back to sofia beach 5 times so far, we are great friends with sofia and keep in contact with her and her family, we all loved our holiday at sofia beach, and spent many nights having water fights, or me and sofia would be thrown in the pool, at least three times.

Sofias grandma and father are fantastic cooks and sofia is as well, victor is also fantastic and we got on with him really well.

I love this holiday destination, and would recomend it to anyone, I can't wait to go back and see all the many friends were have made there over time.

We have just returned from a fantastic holiday at Sofia Beach apaprtments. It was my first time abroad and I could not have wished for a better place to go.

The staff were faultless, and victor worked so hard making sure that even if we had a day on the beach we were still attended to.

The cleanliness of the apartment was excellent and the food cooked at the pool bar was out of this world, we are missing it already.

We were just disappointed when it was time to go home.

Thank you all for a fantastic holiday.

Jan and crazy wayne