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| Location : | Good | | Quietness : | Good | | Cleanliness : | Good |
| Tim O'Sullivan (August 30, 2003) |
Lots of good points.... (takes deep breath !)
Very pretty 2 story stone mini-villa, nice ethnic feel, beautifully set in an olive/fruit tree grove, cleverly positioned to give both a view of the sea and a degree of privacy from the other half dozen villas on site, overlooking the sea, lots of wildlife (lizards, insects..) and farm animals (hens, goats, cats..) to keep the kids happy, far enough from the road (100 m ?), seemed like a million miles from anywhere sitting outside at night watching the stars, v.friendly and athmospheric family run restaurant at the end of the lane, equally helpful and friendly supermarket ~ 400m away ran by a very helpful lady (our unofficial rep !), excellent base for exploring the quieter and v.scenic end of the Vasilikos peninsula etc etc etc
Spoilt to a limited extent by some niggles with the place itself, including some that were potentially serious - eg an earth-leak to the sink and shower (rubber sandles ?!), a socket hanging off the wall (we tried to fix it !), damaged railings on balcony (amusingly, someone had painted over the busted bit), just one saucepan to cook with in the kitchen, a day to get the gas cyclinder changed when it ran out, no toilet paper on arrival and so on. Others seemed to have similar probs, some quite funny - one neighbour boasted they had two saucepans on arrival !
The attitude of Manos when such probs were raised was "disapointing" (am being polite). Eg "thats the way the Greeks are" (at best not true from our experience, at worst racist ?), "its cheaper to eat out" (true, but why pretend its self catering ?) and, most irritating, "raise it with the owner". The latter was the standard response whenever the more serious problems were raised. Also not very practical as he did'nt seem to speak English.
The different contact/emergency nos they gave were also dodgy - responses included someone saying Manos had wrongly given us the Panorama number, then a Greek answer phone message when we tried, then no answer etc. Probably unfair to blame the reps on the ground though - ours seemed very stretched
Some might also have probs with the location of the Villa (a hilly 1.5 km from the nearest beach along dangerous, pavement-less, unlit roads) and being woken up by dogs, cock-a-doodles doos etc (we did'nt..). A car, ideally a jeep, is probably a must for most. Note also there is no safe/secure facility - our building could easily be broken into
Niggles aside though, we loved this place and wish we could have stayed longer. If only a more caring and responsible tour operator were in control..
t
PS We left 4 toilet roles for the next occupants...
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- UK