These apartments should be shut down!!!

Advantages: Swimming pool
Disadvantages: Rude manager, unclean apartments - see review!

...complaining to her about the water (and one girl had even got a rash from the swimming pool!) Anyway, things calmed down that day. The next night, we kept awake all night by a group of Dutch girls on our floor running up and down the corridor banging on doors until 7am which WE got the blame for! One night we didn't even return to the apartments but the manager blamed us for having a party on our floor - I couldn't believe it, we weren't even in Hersonissos that night!!! We were completely discriminated against and when we complained about the Dutch girls (as did the English parties), we were laughed at and told to shut up. We felt very threatened by the manager and had to sleep with things against our doors as he was very aggressive and walked into our rooms using his key TWICE when we were getting showered etc. In short - DO NOT stay...

Tasha16661 06.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Adams Apartments, Hersonissos

Cretian Jewel

Advantages: Excellent
Disadvantages: None

...First of all a HUGE thank you to Nikos, Angela, Tilly and Billy for making our stay so enjoyable and making us so welcome from the day we arrived to day we left. Nothing was too much from the minute you wake until you finally crash out... (the pool bar is open 24hrs but not rowdy so if you dont want to stay in the bar til 4am as i did on more than one occasion you can go to bed with hardly any noise) The apartments themselves are very beautiful the pictures in the brochures do not to it justice. Everything is kept so clean and picturesque. The rooms are all a good size and are just what you need for a comfortable stay. The location is brilliant.... 10 mins up the hill are traditional greek tavernas and restaurants that serve the nicest food great value for money... 10 mins down the hill and you are in the main town of Hersonissos...

Em1980uk 07.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Dia Apartments, Hersonissos

Fun in the sun.

Advantages: Plenty to do on site.
Disadvantages: Located up quite a steep hill.

......

sbyrne 30.12.2006 · Read review
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Review of Royal Belvedere, Hersonissos

"Tell your mate to shut up and sunbathe!"

Advantages: None spring to mind
Disadvantages: Rude, unhelpful

...Yes really, this is what a Cosmos Rep said to me - "tell your mate to shut up and sunbathe!" I booked a holiday through Cosmos to Hersonissos in Crete. 6 of us girls went (all around 22 years old) an our main holuiday destinaton was Malia but we decided to stay in Hersonissos as we thought we would get a nicer, more upgraded apartment than in the Malia strip. We got our own transfers to and from the airport and we wern't really interested in excursions or anything - the only reason we went through Cosmos was for our apartments (which turned out to be a complete dive - please see my review on "Adams apartments - Hersonissos".) We had so many troubles at our apartments with the manager, he hated us, there was no water AT ALL for 12 hours (couldn't even flush the toilet etc!). When we complained to Cosmos, the rep came to see us...

Tasha16661 06.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Cosmos

ConCrete

Advantages: nice outside the peak season
Disadvantages: can't imagine being there during the peak season

...or: Concrete Crete (meaning we went to see the island and I won't present abstract ideas here!) One week at the beginning of November last year to fill ourselves up with sunshine before the drab and dreary season starts in Germany, how could we know that Crete would greet us with a cool wind blowing dark clouds across the sky and the tourists away from the beaches? We chose the resort Hersónissos, 40 km east of Heraklion, the capital of Crete, because it's nearly in the middle of the north coast and we thought it would be a good starting point for excursions. Hersónissos is the busiest resort on Crete with the most hotels and an active night-life, we had read about it in a guide book and heard about it from a taxi-driver, we didn't notice it, though, as the tourist season ends at the beginning of November and the pavements were...

MALU 08.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of Crete (Greece)

Minoan wonders and package holiday hellhole

Advantages: Some fascinating history and beautiful areas
Disadvantages: Tourist hellholes

...The island of Crete is a strange mix. On one hand, it has some of the most fascinating archaeological finds in the world, the island having been home to the Minoan race. On the other, it is the site of some hellish package tour resorts, most of which have sprung up in the last ten to fifteen years. I first visited Crete almost twenty years ago (around 1981), and although I was only very young at the time, I remembered it fondly as a beautiful and mysterious place. Upon returning in 1998, I was disappointed to find that the island had changed enormously. The coastal resorts of Hersonissos and Malia were now the destinations of countless package tours for tourists from predominantly The Netherlands and Britain respectively. All seemed hell bent on a week of debauched and inebriated entertainment, and the discotheques at Malia pumping...

MykReeve 02.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Crete (Greece)

A tranquil retreat

Advantages: Close enough to nightlife to get there easily, but far enough away to be peaceful
Disadvantages: air con didn't work upstairs

...When my boyfriend and I started searching for a holiday earlier this year, I knew just what I wanted: a simple apartment in a small complex in a quiet location, but still close enough to shops and restaurants. I think I chose well! We booked for the last week in June (2007). It was a Thomson package deal, booked though www.thefirstresort.com. We were able to book online with a deposit and the phone to pay the outstanding amount at a later date. The apartments are situated in the village of Koutouloufari, which is 30mins by coach transfer from Heraklion airport. Koutouloufari is a hillside village, with the livelier Hersonissos being a 20 minute walk down the hill. This is also where you will find sandy beaches, watersports, lots of shops, and nightlife. We stayed in the Petra Village apartments which are on the edge...

sophialouise 24.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Petra Village Apartments

Staying in Stalis

Advantages: Sun,sea,good food.
Disadvantages: Some AWFUL accomodation

...there is kareoke, bingo, quizzes, films and FOOTBALL on huge screens. For more lively nights Malia and Hersonissos are probably more likely to meet your needs. Shopping addicts like myself are so spoilt for choice, as well as tourist souvenirs there are shoe shops, clothes shops,spice shops and supermarkets. There are no really interesting historical sites in Stalis itself but there is a historic Cretan House in Hersonissos within walking distance. Just beyond Malia there is the ruins of an ancient Minoan Palace. To see more of the island you will either need to hire a car, go on an excursion or catch a bus. Excursions go all around the island and also to Santorini. They are expensive through tour operators but much cheaper booked through the excursion shops.Prices do not generally include admission prices at the destinations. We...

baeswoman 05.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of Stalis

Crete overall

Advantages: Sightseeing, markets, weather, amenities, culture, friendly people, nightlife, food.
Disadvantages: Euro rate. Some places shut due to economy. Drivers.

...Welcome to Crete. Do you want to come for a relaxing holiday or to go crazy clubbing all night. You can do both on this island, but if you dont want drunken teenagers at all hours disturbing you do not go to Malia or some other areas where Club 18-30 or equivalent teenage holidays operate. Check with your tour operator first before your book. Also, if you have walking problems or small children, check that the hotels are not stuck up a hill as some in Hersonissos area are and pulling a pram up steps in heat is not much fun. Crete has a wide range of things to do and see. The beautiful scenic area of Elounda and Chania is for a quieter holiday. You can also visit Santorini on a day trip but beware that the boat can be a bit choppy sometimes and delayed. There is also the 'leper' island of Spinalonga, which is interesting...

Phweeter 28.04.2009 (25.09.2009) · Read review
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Review of Crete (Greece)

  Some Of My Own Nitty-Gritty On Kriti

Advantages: Large island - plenty to see an do. Friendly people. Superb weather
Disadvantages: Doesn't feel like an island. The drivers

...I've just spent autumn half-term in Crete. It's somewhere I'd already been to ("in a previous life" as my wife calls it) and she's always wanted to go to. Having not been there since 1974(!), fearing the worst excesses of tourism, I was reticent, but as she'd booked a stay nowhere near my previous haunts, I was quite happy with this state of affairs, especially given the amount of ground work she puts into choosing a location. Please bear in mind that this was the very last week of the (British) tourist season, so you may have other views on the places I describe, relating to how crowded they were at the time. Where we actually stayed was a village called Koutouloufari, which lies just inland and uphill from the seaside town of Hersonissos, and slightly east of Heraklion Airport. Heraklion (or Iraklion, which is nearer to...

BNibbles 04.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of Crete (Greece)