Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: escapades- jul 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : lianne- wales (18,19)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
the rooms in aegean sky are very basic and thats the only bad thing about it! the pool area is always clean and plays music from 9 in the morning so dont expect a lie in.
mike the bar man and pavos the owner are AWESOME and truly made it an unforgettable 2 weeks!
malia itself is packed with bars and clubs yiasu and banana club being my fave!
if your going with escapades i recommend u do the trips theyre worth the money, but also as good as u make them! booze cruise being my fave!
Oh dont expect 2 bring any lads back 2 the hotel tho coz alex the security guard will send them away and you 2 bed:(
overall amazin holiday and be back at the aegean next year!!!!!!!!
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades- september 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Emma, Security sonia, Gez aka Arnie (22,24,22)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived at our hotel at about 7am and were suprised to still see people out on the beer. We were escorted to our room by what looked like freddie mercury in a security outfit...it later turned out to be the mad security bloke called 'RAMBO'!!! Although we only had fresh towels and sheets twice a week , the cleaner was funny and she did give us an endless supply of loo-roll, Cheers Olga!
The pool bar opened at about 9am banging out the tunes and making mad cocktails ! Mike and Dennis were mad and made our holiday a right laugh! Our escapades welcome meeting was a bit of a dissapointment cause all the rep was trying to do was get us on really expensive nights out! We eneded up doing the bar crawl which was a rip off, Don't do it! You pay 15 euro's for a t-shirt basically cause they take you to the most expensive bars with no drink offers!
Eating out i'd say the best place was the red lion which is quick and the meals are huge and nice! The worst place was the Royal oak, food was nasty and it gave my buddy a dippy tummy. Good bars are the newcastle bars which do 4for1 on drinks and cheeky 1/2 is fun!Just watch the PR's cause they can be annoying and keep clear of the little greek kids in the sreet selling hats and stuff cause they can be pick-pockets! If you want a quad then the guy at extreme is british and was very helpful to us!
All in all i would definately return to malia! And to the Aegean sky
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades - July 2005
Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Jo 19, Sarah 19, Kate 18, Riva 19, Danielle, 19, Lou 19
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Hey, spent a wicked two weeks in Malia this year with my mates!
I would recommend Malia to anyone who wants a lively, drunk, hot holiday.
Accommodation:-
The hotel was nice, only prob is some rooms have no terrace or balcony but as our party took up 3 rooms, two of the rooms were nice, big. our room had two balconys, one off the bedroom & one off the lounge and was big enough. the showers arent too great but they do for the time ur there! Some of the rooms had ants and there is no air conditioning so sleeping can be a nightmare.You can hire fans at reception but have to pay 20Euros per week for them! same with safety deposit boxes.
Pool:-
The pool was always clean, a good size, and is right outside most of the rooms. There were plenty of sunbeds and they play wicked songs all day long by the pool. Pool is open 9am til 7pm so plenty of time to swim & top up ur tan!
Bar:-
The bar staff were nice once u got to know them but could irritate a bit at 1st. I would suggest you buy drink at the local spa and drink in the room before going out as the bar prices are extortinate!
The food at the snack bar is nice though and quite cheap which was a result. But if you dont like it theres soo many places to eat not too far away.
Surroundings:-
Aegean sky is down a little side road so you dont hear the noises from the strip. The strip is only about 5 mins away and there are so many bars and clubs whatever music you are into you will find sumwhere to go! The PRs do get on your nerves trying to get you into the bars though! We found the Loft bar was the best to begin ur night out as all spirits or beers are 1 Euro! so best to go in there get lashed and then go onto the other bars and clubs!
Some of the other bars tell you its 5 for the price of 1 but the one drink you pay for ends up being about 20 Euros so beware!
We found that club 69, malibu bar, and premier bar were the best! The bars are open til 5 in the week and 7 at weekends.
Whatever you do dont go to any bars before midnight as the whole place is dead. nightlife doesnt get started until 12am and later.
The beach is probably about a 15 minute walk through the stip but again worth it!
The beach is lovely and the water is gorgeous. We tried some watersports which are ok priced and well worth it!
This is the place to go if you are up for a good time and want to party 24/7. i definately would go back again.
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades - June 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Katie, Emma & Nat - B'ham (22, 22, 21)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived at 2.30am, poor bar was still open which was a bonus.
Were woken up REALLY early by stupidly loud music and the rep banging on the door so don't expect a lie in!
Apartment was really big and clean and we were 5 secs away from the pool and the pool bar! Everything was clean and lovely, our rooms were cleaned everyday. Would recommend getting a fan tho!
Bar staff Mike and Dennis were great, always up for a laugh and we met some wicked people around our pool.
I wouldn't bother with all the organised escapades trip, bit of a rip off.
For food, go into the Old Town (5 mins walk away) order meze which lets you try a bit of everything. Chat with the waiters and you'll get free shots of raki afterwards too!
The reps are a pain but it means you can get loads of free drinks as there's so much competition to get you into bars. Fish bowls are either watered down or stupidly strong so beware!
Corkers was wicked esp for all you wannabe pole dancers!!
Defo more blokes than girls which we were pleased about!!
Oh and hire a quad bike, so much fun!! Just be careful about running out of petrol!!
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: escapades-June 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : 22 , 22
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived at the hotel very early in the morning,hotel looked ok. Got up early to a bad welcome meeting (we had to find our rep). From the outside the place looked really nice, however there's only 1 cleaner and she only turned up once during the week of our stay. You receive 1 towel per person untill the cleaner changes them. You get 1 toliet roll then you have to buy your own (no mention of this by rep or brochure). they only have 1 cd to listen to by the pool so take a ipod.
Malia is a good place lots of fun, watch the PA's. if they offer you food say you've already ate and if they offer you booze say your looking for food. everything is open till the early hours of the morning.
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades - June 2005
Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Belinda and Lynsey - Scotland (25, 22)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Had a brilliant holiday in Malia, the weather was gorgeous and so was the hotel. Very clean and friendly with a great atmosphere but they do start playing their poolside music at a ridiculously early time so don't expect to get a lie in! The pool was small but more than adequate with plenty of sunbeds around it.
The barmen Dennis and Mike were such a laugh and kept the drinks (and whipped cream) flowing. The BBQ night was a good laugh (especially the Cretan fire-dancing) but costs 20 euros as does the Pool Party.
If you're going on excursions, book them in town as the reps' prices will rip you off (especially for Water City which is NOT worth it). Also if you're going on the escapades booze cruise, take some alcohol with you as the drinks on board are NOT ALL free, despite what the reps may lead you to believe!
Best bars in town are Cheeky 1/2 (cheesy tunes), and Havana (hip hop and RnB) but don't forget to check out the Help Bar for a fishbowl. You may find one of those is all you'll need for a drunken night!
Beware of the PRs outside the clubs, try to get as much out of them as possible, but don't be lulled by the old 2for1 line, get at least a free cocktail and shot out of them too. To avoid too much hassle by them, we found carrying a bottle of water worked pretty well.
If going to the beach, try the one to the left of the main strip rather than the one on the right if you want to avoid loud dance music banging away in your ears and PRs fighting to get you to use their sunbeds and bars. It's quieter and the sunbeds are cheaper too.
Would definitely recommend Aegean Sky in Malia for a girly drunken holiday but would not consider it suitable for families or older couples.
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades - August 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Carly, kelly and Jo (20.19,18) from Ebbw Vale, South Wales
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The Apartment-
Very nice, spacious and clean with a luuurvly view of the pool!!
The bar staff looked after us well and were great fun, especially Mike who kept the cocktails flowing!
The Reps-
WILD, DRUNK and GAGGING!!!
They were great and always made sure we were enjoying ourselves!
I recommend all of the escapades excursions - they were all different but SO fun!!
The resort-
Excellent for clubs, bars and restaurants -crap for shopping!
The strip was about a 5 minute walk. It was very lively with good deals on drinks!
My favourate club was club uk! oh and factory for the foam parties! All of the clubs were wild though!
The beach-
As Jo said, it was a good 15 minute walk. We only saw it in the night- in a moment of madness!! haha
Over all - MALIA is THE place to be for a wild, young and lively (guaranteed to pull)holiday!!
Hope you enjoy it as much as us, luv the welsh chicks!! xxx
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapdes - August 04
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : Carly, Kelly and Jo - Ebbw Vale
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The hotel was great and mike the bar man was really funny!!
The reps were really great and not bad looking!!
Malia is the place to go if you want loads of boys!!
The nite life was great but a long way from the beach, so if you want to skinny dip be prepared to walk for a good 15mins!!
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: escapades - july 2004
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : danni 19, bristol
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
when we got to the aegean sky at 3 in the morning it didn't look great, the bar had shut and it was just the barman waiting for us to arrive. when he showed us to our room though i was amazed, it was so big. three beds for only two of us, all the kitchen equipment you could need, the bathroom actually had a bath AND a shower curtain that worked, definitely not a luxary id been treated to in falaraki the year before! the room was clean and decorated nicely and the wardrobe was more than big enough.
when we got up the next morning it was even better. the staff really look after the pool and bar area, it gets cleaned every day, and e had the most amazing view of the pool, the bar and the mountains behind malia, you just look up! because its down a side road with just two hotels there isn't too much noise from the quads and scooters so it was nice and private aswell.
the escapades reps were fantastic, if you wanna do their trips thats cool and if you dont thats fine by them, they still come round to check your havin a great holiday all the time. they're not pushy like some of the other young and lively companies.
malia itself is amazing. its much bigger than falaraki and yet its so much more relaxed and theres a much more fun atmosphere over there. there's a good choice of bars and restaurants (try the red lion) and any music you want you can find in malia. we had an amazing time and i'm gonna try to get back in september to relive it all again!
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades -2004
Opinion submitted in May 2004 by : Natalie - Enfield 20
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Aegean Sky wasn't the nicest of apartments. me and my sis met some lovely blokes in this place, its really open planned and doing the walk of shame the next morning was not nice especially when your getting cheered from round the pool which you have to walk round to get to any room! Dennis the bar man is wicked we had such a laugh with him hes so funny and is out 4 a laugh 24/7. The pool is small but nice. No a/c so its a nightmare to sleep but you get used to it!!!!!
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades - Date Not Specified
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : 19, 19
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Looking in a brochure, you never expect your accomodation to look like the picture. This is a rare one off.
The room we shared was spacious, clean and had a gorgeous view of pool and mountains.
Although it is expensive to get a good nights sleep (hiring a fan is a must) it is worth it when you enter other rooms.
Malia itself has a brilliant nightlife. Beware of the PRs as they do almost force you into bars. 'Meeting friends,' 'Reps meeting,' or 'Going home thanks' seems to work. Also, people selling flowers, BEWARE they will attempt to remove all personal belongings in a second.
Our fave bars were Cheeky 1/2s, 69, Corkers and Camalot Castle (at a cost but well worth it).
Wish we were still there. Enjoy
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Aegean Sky - Malia
Operator and Date: escapades - Date Not Specified
Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : 19
Resort Rating: Poor
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
the rooms lacked facilities and had a funny odour, the cleaning staff was non-existant and the pool was not to eu standards as stated in the brochure. the food available was limited and disgusting! the lager was less than desirable and in general was a total waste of effort! i would not recommend this hotel to families singles or couples.
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: Thomas Cook August 2007
Opinion submitted in August 2007 by : Matt, Aaron, Mark, Glen & Steve 24 - 26 South London
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Had an excellent week in Malia.
The hotel is well run by the 2 brothers. They are good to you if you play by the rules but they wont take any cr*p.
When we arrived we were checked in and had all the rules explained to us which did include strictly NO visitors would be allowed to our rooms, however if we meet girls in the hotel thats fine! Also warned about all the other bars and how their alcohol wasn't safe and that the only place we should drink was the hotel bar! Probably partly true but it may be because the bar was empty st night!
The hotel has 2 pools, one has water slides & a kids playground although i wouldnt advise the hotel to young families.
The room safe was 19 euros although it costs 66 euros for air con for the week!
Rooms pretty basic and towels and linen werent changed often enough. The bar is run in the evening by Manos who was great.
Malia itself is a very lively place from midnight. We heard a couple of stories and told to be careful. One guy we spoke to said he had been threatened with a knife twice. Our favourite bars were Zoo, Banana club & Yiassu. You have to visit Pleasure Beach & the Hed Kandi event on Sunday evening.
The Thomas Cook rep was excellent!
If you're looking for a lively holiday in a basic but well run hotel about 5 min walk from the start of the bars then this is a great hotel. Just don't get on the wrong side of the owners!!!
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: Direct Holidays - July 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : Chin - London (25,25)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
Fair Enough the apartments are neat and tidy but Malia is a young and lively resort and its about time the manager realised this. im 24 and my mate is 24. We went to malia expecting to have fun and let loose really but that was not in the manager's agenda. NO VISITORS were allowed in our rooms. WHY? "Because visitors from outside the Aeolos Beach will come and still from other rooms in the hotel". How stupid and ridiculous. "Can my mates from other apartments come and chill by our pool?? " YES if they pay 3 Euros. Hmmm why would they pay 3 Euros when every other pool in Malia is FREE. Fustrated so much we wanted to moved but it seemed too costly. The manager seemed to quote everything at 50 Euro. Anything to get money off us. NEVER NEVER NEVER again. If your goin as a young and lively tourist I advise stay away. This hotel in the MIDDLE of YOUNG AND LIVELY MALIA is more suited for Families. Oh the IRONY.
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: September 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Lesley - Staffordshire (34, 32)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having had my hotel changed to the Aeolos Beach the day before departure I was unsure what to expect - I was very pleasantly surprised!!
ACCOMODATION: The rooms are typically greek! - they are clean and tidy but very basic, we stayed in the new block but the shower left a lot to the imagination as it had a large washing up bowl in there, not sure what that was for??!! We were on the ground floor which concerned us safety wise but the french doors were upvc and very secure. In fact the whole complex was covered by cctv. Manager was a bit 'steely' but was always pleasant and always had a wave for you, the bar staff (especiallly Manos!!) and the cleaners were very pleasant indeed.
LOCATION: The location was ideal, it has a very pretty beachfront setting so you can eat your breakfast looking out onto the beach. The hotel is situated about 4/5 minutes walk to the main strip of Malia and the start of Stalis is the same again in the opposite direction. It was far enough away though not to be disturbed by any loud partygoers!!
FOOD: Breakfast at the hotel was continental, it was the same everyday (cornflakes/co-co pops, toast, fresh bread rolls, shortbread, orange juice, coffe/tea) It was very nice and fresh but did get boring even after a week, however you can get breakfasts in Malia for a couple of euros.
PLACES TO GO: We hired a quad for 40 euro for 3 days and went to SISI (approx 20minutes ride away) it is very pretty and picturesque here and a definate must to visit, lots to places to eat etc and the beach we found was almost uninhabited. We also ventured up the mountain to MOCHOS (about 20minutes ride) this again is a typically greek village where the Kretans sit around in the square at the local tavernas. You can walk around their village and see them in their traditional environment (definately an eye opener!!) on wednesday nights they have a greek night where all the locals entertain the tourists - we didnt make it to this but will definately go next year when we return to Malia.
All in all we has a fantastic holiday, the setting was ideal as if you wanted a chilled night with some lovely greek tavernas then Stalis is for you just a few minutes walk away or if you want a mad night out walk in the opposite direction onto the 'strip'.
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - Aug 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Laura Thomson Holidays
- Glasgow
(18,21,21,21,23)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
This was our first time in Malia we are just back and have already booked up for the same hotel again next year!!! people are on talking about the 2 brothers who are sweet and are only there to look out for you. Yes they did keep our passports but as our rep told us there is alot of people who wouldnt think twice about stealing it so it's for your own safty and we could get them back when we wanted. the hotel prices for food are quite high but the sports cafe just beside the hotel does great food and cheap a full english for 3 euros. we loved the full place and if you go defo book the beach party through your rep a 2 hour free bar and free food and its the best to be honest. also try the wkd bar we went there all the time and they were all up for a good laugh so if you go to malia i would go to this hotel and if you are going say hi to paul and thom at the wkd bar from all of us oh and your rep jip tell him the weegies said hi cause he was the best to but enjoy and maybe we will see you next year!!!!!!!
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - OCTOBER 2005
Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : Audrey & Carly (37, 17)
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Were rather worried after reading some of the reviews about the brothers, however to be fair they didn't bother us at all! (infact we hardly saw them).
We were in the old block nearer to the beach and bar.
The apartment was clean but very, very basic e.g. the shower curtain pulled round on a swivelling metal pole and would not stay closed! The shower was so small that if you dared to move to wash or shampoo your hair you actually ended up wearing the curtain, because once wet it clung to you like a bath robe! We laughed about it everyday and it became an ordeal to get into it! The fridge was miniscule and broken, it had a padlock which was a real nuisance. The beds were okay, but if you have already booked don't look at the mattress until the last day!
Breakfast is bread, toast or rolls everyday and does get boring, so we ended up not going but going to town as it is pretty cheap anyway. You can get a variety of snacks from the bar but they do charge around 15euros for two toasties and a soft drink! Although the bar is right on the beach they take money for the loungers on the beach and try to encourage you to stay at their pool!
The maid was a lovely little lady and she bleached everything, (thank god for small mercies!)
Malia was closing down and was quite dirty looking, Stalis was okay but just the same as anywhere you go, usual little shops with tat, etc.
I expect in summer Malia would be a haven for teenagers as it is one club after the other! Great for young folk who go clubbing!
We couldn't believe everyone buzzing about on quads, mum, dad and two kids, all on the same quad! Some folk had their babies sitting buzzing with them on the quad, what a laugh we had watching! We were advised by the rep, whom we seldom saw, that it was silly to hire a quad because when you return it you are told you have crashed it and fined a lot of money even when they tell you that you have full insurance! (we were disappointed as we wanted to join them instead of trying to dodge them, as in Stalis there were no pavements and we thought it would be safer to actually zoom about on a quad than jump out of their way every two seconds!)
If you want to visit other places it is very easy to catch a bus! You stand on the highway with cars flying past you at about 80mph! It is dirt cheap too.
Honestly I am laughing typing this as it was one of those holidays where you make the most of it!
We had sore jaws laughing and won't be going back!
By the way, yes they take your passports and keep them until they check you haven't damaged anything, although we had no hassle but others have.
Lastly, if you are going in Oct take lots of trousers as we were actually really cold and felt like slobs by the end of the week wearing mostly the same clothes. (it was only hot enough once for two hours to go to the beach).
All in all, it's really a place for clubbing and sleeping all day I think!!!
So happy clubbing!
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays-September 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Pam Bradfield-Devon (43,39,6)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Being English,I was most upset to find the accomodation didn't supply kettles or fridges at all in the new block (obviously we were in that one)and found that the kettles and fridges in the old block came at extra cost.The air conditioning is NOT that powerful so maybe you should hire a fan from reception.The pool wasn't cleaned in the 2 weeks during our stay,(most other accomodations clean the pools every evening)HOWEVER the owners were very friendly and the cleaners were there in force every day(except Sundays) and they were very friendly too.
Don't hold out for a great continental breakfast unless you like bread,toast or rolls with just spread (not butter) and jam.
ACCOMODATION ASIDE.Malia is a fantastic place to go.This is our third trip to the resort in less than a year.
The Malia waterslide park is a great place to go in the day,it's to the right of Beach road and takes about 15 mins to walk from Mcdonalds.Roulla and Mike (a policeman) are great.If you are there every day all the slides are free.If you only go once you pay 5 Euros for the highest slides,but you can stay on them all day.The only courtious condition of using the park is that you buy a drink or food.We went every day,breakfast is 3Euros and you do get a good sized portion.Roulla's mums Mousaka is the best my hubby ever had.
The KINGS ARMS food is the closest to English tasting pub food i've had in all the times we've been and the great thing about the Kretans is the more they see you the more you get discounts and good service.They are the nicest,most friendly bunch of people.Nikos the owner of the kings arms even bought us presents before we left this time.I miss his mashed potato already.It's moorish!.Themis the greek waiter and Mike and James are great.Laz owns THE LOFT next door and he's a nice SINGLE man,a bit shy perhaps but very genuine,his bar is always buzzing with the younger generation.
BAR INFINITY is where we spent every night.It was the only bar you got drinks that hadn't been watered down.Kostas the manager is now a firm friend of ours.We never paid for a drink unless we could get money in the till without his knowledge.I would help myself to drinks and other holidaymakers thought i worked there.The atmosphere in the bar was a very happy,friendly,welcoming one,although i think too many youngsters didn't go in because it wasn't dirty enough!.
BEWARE of the gypsy type men selling hats,women selling flowers and their children selling glow bangles,they will pick your pocket.Especially the "dear sweet children"
If you rent quads i reccommend you turn left away from Mcdonalds,just before the driveway to Aeolos Beach.The owner of the quads and bikes there has all the insurance details written in English.Always get SPECIAL insurance and don't pay for anything until you understand exactly what you are getting. If you are offered a deal that is too good to be true.IT IS.You will take the bike and when you have an accident or someone else damages your bike(which happens sooo often) you WILL get stung with a very hefty bill.I can't remember the name of the place we got our quad from but i was so impressed that the insurance was written in English that we rented a brand new 150cc quad for 7 days for 100Euros and got an extra day free.You do have to haggle.Tell them that another one up the road offered you the same deal for 110 and somewhere else offered you for even less but you knew that was a dodgy deal you can usually get a good deal.The lady was very nice and explained everything.We even had a NO EXCESS on our special insurance.We rented a car from Athena.(The lady lent us a fan for our room for 2 weeks)The lady there can be trusted and she gives good deals.She is very hard to haggle with so be warned.I don't remember her name.But she's lovely and seems to have made a lot of friends who go back to her every year instead of shopping around for a better deal.
THE BEACHES have lovely soft sand and the water is beautifuly clear and warm.If you have a quad you could go to the beach without sunbeds.Turn up beside McDonalds and head towards Malia Palace,You will pass the beautiful Cemetary and Malia Port.Keep going,At the fork in the road keep to the left,keep going just around a big right hand bend and a bit further (about 100yds)is the beach of NO SUNBEDS.You still get the showers by the side of the road and there is usually a life guard on duty.There are lots of little rock pools there and you get to see lots of little sea creatures.The kids will love it.
OLD MALIA.if you are staying in the old Malia part of the resort be careful at night.DO NOT WALK THE STREETS OF OLD MALIA ALONE.Girls And Boys have been attacked and mugged.It's beautiful and the people are lovely but the locals and police don't know where the muggers are from,it wouldn't be fair to cast aspersions on any nationality so i won't.
MAYBE YOU WILL SEE ME AND MY FAMILY THERE IN 2006.I do hope so,You will love the place and the people as much as we do.
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays-Sept 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Alan Hamer-Wrexham 54 52 50 48
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We were in the new block and found the accomodation to be very spacious and clean, only downfall in this block no fridge. The staff were very friendly even the two brothers that own the complex whom many people on this site complain about. The food served at the pool bar was excellent value plus free sunbeds around the pool which were plentyfull.
The complex is far enough away from the main noise of Malia but not to far to walk into if you want. The restraunts are plenty full and the portions in most are far to much to eat, ask for a doggy bag. We had no problems getting our passports back after handing them in for registration. I just asked and he gave them to me. They do require all passports for the party not just the lead name like in other countries.
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: Direct-July 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Paul,Pete, Danny n Tim (18,18,18,17)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Good holiday overall.
Mailia is a quality place though, be sure to check out zig-zag's and factory nightclubs if you are out on the strip.
No self catering facilities is a bit ridiculous. However location is ideal for the beach and nightlife. Banana boat is a must for all young people!
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: Direct - Sept 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Allexie - Yorkshire (50,55)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Friendly reception from 'The Brothers' and they were really OK throughout, (despite being nicknamed The Brothers Grim by other guests!). Hotel basic but spotlessly clean and staff friendly. Wonderful setting - we were in the new building facing the sea. Strange that no blankets were provided...just sheets...you have to ask for anything more!
The only problem we had was with the mosquitoes and that was despite having every spray, stick, electrical device, burner and even a mozzie net. They really were vicious and every day we collected several more bites til we were quite battle-scarred.
Didn't see much of our Direct Hols representative and he gabbled through the Welcome Meeting at such speed that we gave up on him in the end.
Some nice restaurants in the town and the rule seems to be that they are cheaper in the Stalis direction rather than the Malia one from the hotel. The Cordon Bleu (with singing chef) does a brill veggie taco dish. Symposium was good and the Indian restaurant in the main street was pricey but really, really good.
One word of warning regarding the local supermarkets.....if you turn right out of the hotel, past the Sports Bar - use the first supermarket not the second one with the bakery,(they are next door to one another). The woman in there did us out of 5 euros in our change on our first visit....seems she tries it with everyone as we found out when talking to fellow guests later on.
Oh, and another thing...don't book your trips and excursions with Direct...they are at least half the price when booked in the town.
All in all, a very good and quite cheap holiday.
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - June 2004
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Steven Williams - Ipswich (28, 27, 25, 24, 24)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having read some of the reviews on this hotel I was rather concerned about the brothers who run the hotel ruining my lads holiday with bogus complaints of broken doors and dirty towels. We needn't have been worried!
Unless you're a complete bunch of tools intent on destroying the place then you really will have a brilliant time. Yeah, the brothers will keep your passports but they're probably safer there and despite our arrival at reception which suggested some tension ahead this proved unfounded and we ended up having a good laugh with Minolos (Good Cop) and Vangelis (Bad Cop) celebrating every Greece performance in Euro 2004! "Hellas!". The pool and bar area is excellent and can be really chilled out. And being right on the beach sometimes the sea breeze provides the perfect tonic to the scorching Crete sunshine.
The restaurant food is not bad but I wouldn't bother getting up for breakfast (bread AND cheese - wow!) not that we did. It might prove a bonus if you get back from Petrino's at 8.30am to know a cup of tea can be had!
The Direct Holidays reps are spot on and I can't thank Alex et al enough for helping make the holiday a winner. Definitely do the waterpark even though when you get there the place looks like it's gonna suck it's actually superb fun. Bring your own food and drink though.
For the lads and lasses going, do the happy hour at the hotel (mmm cocktails!) and then get into town, get some 2 for 1 drinks down you and have a blast getting off with each other! You're a short walk away from the main strip in Malia. Say hi to Angelo at Odysseus restaurant and his "family business" on the way and get down to cheesy tunes in Cheeky 1/2s and RnB/Hip-Hop/Garage mostly everywhere else! Harry, Nikos, Manos and the gang at Chasers are brilliant. Most places are pretty decent to be fair, had fun at all of them though the foam party at Camelot was very disappointing.
For the families now living in fear of going(!) you might tire of the quad bikes flying about in Malia so head the other way into Stalis. It's quieter and a lot more relaxed. A 12 Euro cab ride to Hersonissos is a good option too. Loadsa Irish and Dutch there so a good time is always had.
The Red Lion in Malia does big and tasty breakfasts but for value hunters there are plenty of 3 Euro full English breakfasts out there that include drinks. A night out at the Mexican way up the strip is a must and the Indian/Chinese buffet up near there is where you prove if your eyes are bigger than your belly.
If you can, stay in the newer hotel block at Aeolos, but the place is great whatever and you should have a really good time. We did and would definitely go back. Oh and if Kate from Cumbria reads this: "Hellooooooo! Grr!"
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - May 2004
Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Wayne & Pauline (40 , 43 )
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Arrived in Crete at 3am on the Saturday Morning after a 4 hour flight from Birmingham . It then took another 4 hours until we arrived at our Hotel . The Airport transfer supplied by Direct Holidays was an "absolute nightmare" .In hindsight the 30 Euro taxi fare would have been a worthwhile investment .
On the whole the Hotel is pretty basic , clean and well located on the Beach. The menu at breakfast is either Bread , Bread or Bread , however the Sports Cafe at the end of the Driveway serves a full English for only 3/4 Euro`s .
The main issue with the Hotel though is the Tour operator`s policy of mixing large groups of Youngsters in with families .
We shared our Floor with 3 other Families and 16 Lads on a Stag Week . Not knocking the lads who were generally a decent bunch of Guys, but the noise between 3am and 6am every night was certainly not Family friendly .
Further to this neither the Rep or hotel Management seemed interested in dealing with the problem . In fact nobody from the hotel was on the premises in the Early hours .
Malia itself is very busy , and if like myself you hate the touts outside Bars trying to tempt you in with cheap offers , then my advice would be to stay away ! They will drive you crazy .
A must visit is the Old town of Malia . Eat in San Giorgio`s in the Square , where you will experience a true Greek night out . Another Restaurant worth trying is the Brasserie just off the Busy crossroads
in the Centre of malia .Good food and excellent service .
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Aeolos Beach - Malia
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - Date Not Specified
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : Sarah Munro - 24,25,23
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Acommodation was very clean, the hotel is situated directly on the beach so lots of sunbeds on offer with watersports available on the beach, the hotel is in a quiet location but within walking distance to all main attractions of malia and stalis.
The staff at the hotel were also very fiendly and the rep was extremely helpful. Do watch out though there are a few robberies taking place witin the resort so you need to keep your valubles close at hand. The hotel has a security guard on at night so the hotel itself felt extremely safe.
All in all one of the best hotels i have stayed in on a greek island.
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Agapi Beach Studios - Malia
Operator and Date: Freestyle - October 2005
Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : Louisa and Louie - Coventry (both 19)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived at the Agapi Beach Studios in the middle of the day, owner didnt speak much english, as soon as we got there he took our passports and we neva seen them til the day we left!! We were so worried!There was a cockroach in our room and it stunk like a wet dirty dog, it was mingin, sum1 had p*ssed the bed as it was already stained and the covers were all ripped!
The location was right on the beach and right on the strip which was fab! As we went end of season there were no watersports or anything that was mentioned in the brochure like the freestyle excurtions or anything!
We didnt see a rep the whole time we were there and all the best clubs were closed, the Greeks are lovely though and its great if ur on a budget the fags and booze from the supermarkets are so cheap and a meal in a restaurant is really really cheap, the measures of spirits in the bars and clubs are HUGE!! And its so cheap, we paid 5 euros in a place called 'ZIG ZAGS' on the strip and we got free bar all nite!!
I wouldnt go back their again, its very basic and u cant flush toilet paper, you have to put it in the bin even if uve dun a u no wot.....
I would reccommend it 4 those who want a base just 4 sleepin and gettin ready and drinkin and goin 2 the beach all day.
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Hotel Anastacia - Malia
Operator and Date: airours may 2005
Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : melissa peoples- derry (25, 31, 4)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
the hotel is lovely and clean and great for families with young children, although teenagers might get a bit bored. the staff go out of their way to help you and are so friendly and genuine.
we went half board and arrived around 12:30 am starving. we were offered a cold plate, but i recommend to everyone, no matter what your tummy grumbles, don't accept! for one, it is totally gross ( the meat looked like canned dog food), and if you go half board this cold plate counts as one of your evening meals. although the cold plate was not up to scratch, the breakfast and dinner buffet are excellent with something for everybody, even my fussy child. the restaurant is also good quality, but the bar is a bit pricey, as i found the same 9.00 med/ dry white wine in the supermarket priced 2.50, so stock up your fridge!!
the childminder, rania was also really lovely, and highly qualified. all in all i would definately go back as this hotel has everything for a relaxing but good holiday.
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Hotel Anastasia - Malia
Operator and Date: (Cosmos Direct) Cosmos
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Lynda Bell-Stockport (46,14,9)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Hotel Anastsia is an excellent Hotel for Famalilies,older people,and single people alike.The rooms are clean and spacious.They are cleaned daily and of a good clean standard.The restuarant is lovely serving a buffet self service.The choice is exceptional and of a very high standard. The barbacue night has lovely food also.The staff are very friendly.The entertainment is low key but on most nights-the Greek night is very good-really fun.The resort is quite commercialised and full of Brits-but the location of this Hotel gives ease of access to many other nearby resorts via a bus service(on the doorstep) or car rental.
I will definatly be taking my two girls back here-we loved it.10 out of 10 for this Hotel.
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Angelika Studios - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades - July 2006
Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : Brummys - 20,19,18
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
I was expecting the apartments to be a lot worse than they were (not saying they are any good though!) the rooms themselves are quite small, n the bathrooms are a joke! You have no shower curtain, just a little tray with a shower attachment so the water goes EVERYWHERE. Although some of there rooms are better than others, but bathrooms are all pretty much the same. Gutted if you are on the 'roof of doom'
By far the best thing about the apartments is being able to use the hotel next doors facilities. Staff are really friendly n a good laugh, n always something going on.Our Escapades reps were also brilliant. Malia itself is a good place if you enjoying going out of a night n getting steaming!!
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Angelika Studios - Malia
Operator and Date: Escapades jul 2005
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Scraggly Do & The Shrimp (20,20)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived at the ann studios early morning and were so excited we started screaming and getting very rowdy, we were then met by "Big Trouble" who told us to keep quiet or we were out of there!, sorry but or first girly holiday an we were v excited!
once we got ova the shock ov the security guard (which was the bar man, receptionist & waiter)all rolled in to 1, we started looking round the room, tiny shoe box with a tiny bathroom. the shower leaked everywhere an we had to use one of the towels that they supplied, we complained the next day, but nothing happened, so we left the towel there, afta an all nighter the maid came barging in and charged us 30 euros for the towel! it was only dirty and wet but she claimed it was un-replacable!
we got our second warning for knocking a cup of the balancy! we were then warned that one more and we would be sent home, we made sure we was very good afta that!
Malia resort is amazing tho, everywhere everyone was really friendly an out 4 a good time, cheap and cheerful! i wouldnt recommend the packages the reps try an push on u there not worth it, we found the same deals on the same nites in town on sale alot cheaper. defo go back to malia again but not stay in the studios, they were a joke an nothin like the picture! it doesnt even have its own pool u have 2 use the pool bar next door!
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Angelika Apartments - Malia
Operator and Date: ESCAPADES JULY 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : ross (20,21,21,20)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
by far the best holiday we've had as far as the resort itself goes. the strip is brilliant and is open til 6am weekends and 4am weedays, once the clubs close the 24 hour bars are the place for the hardcore element to end up, these are dotted all over malia.
as far as the accomodation goes it is by far the WORST apartments that i have stayed in. as soon as we arrived the owner checked us in (in his kitchen- no reception) and took us upto our two rooms, there was 4 of us sharing two rooms. we complained the minute we set eyes on the rooms about the size of them, the toilets were disgusting and tiny (no bigger than a broom cupboard). to sit on the toilet you had to jump in the shower close the door then sit side on. the only good point i can think of about the hotel was that it is clean, however, the staff are rude (cleaners in particular).
i definitely WOULD NOT stay in this hotel again but would definitely go back to malia some day.
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Angelika Apartments - Malia
Operator and Date: (First Choice Discounts) First Choice - 2005
Opinion submitted in Mar 2006 by : barber-stevenage(50,48,36)
Resort Rating: Poor
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
the place malia is excellent if u want fun and pub crawls !nice people that make u feel very welcome?Food is very good n reasonablethe place that we stayed was Angelika ap they show a nice picture but its of the other hotel kristilli! the apartments are not kept clean!When we arrived water left all over the floor from deforstin fridge,toilets were dirty n no toilet roll? Not recommended.
Just have a good hoilday cause u will want to go again ,and again(no probelm wot ever age)
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Anna Maria / the Four Seasons - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thompson - 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Leonie - Oldhamm (18, 17 ,17)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
When first arriving in the area i was abit scared because it luked pretty rough and outta the way, but it was dark.Once in the hotel we were greeted by the hotel manager and his wife who are just BRILL!! They are there morning day and night!!!!And will do just about anything to help you and make ya holiday that bit better.
Our room was in the anna maria apartments situated behind the four seasons but they are all basically the same hotel! The only downside was that we had to trek up 4 small flights of stairs to get to our apartment but once we were there it was all worth it. We had a quite a big apartment (for greek standards) an additional bedroom, small bathroom and basic cookin facilitys...which was all we needed and it all worked fine. The room was very clean and the bin got emptied regularly and the maids changed the beddin twice a week. We had a balcony over looking the decent sized pool, which was cleaned daily without fail.
All the bar staff werre minted!!!Includin speros (the managers son), weneva he got cocky we just threw im in the pool which happened at least twice a week!!The food served at the hotel was bang on and so where the drinks (well strong, let me tell you).Everyone was dead friendly, we never heard of anything bad like breck ins or anything going on. Wenever you brought anyone bk to your apartment you had to pay 25 euros which helped to prevent things like theft because the door guy was always watchin!!! Malia in general was WICKED!!! Everyone was dead friendly...we were advised to stay away from the Apollo as it was menna be pretty rough and anywere past mcdonalds...so we did!! Cheeky 1/2 is a definate must go!! wicked 70's and 80's cheese.The factory was gud aswell...and the place to be wen we were there was definatly CLUB UK!1 everyone went there.
Anyway have a gud holiday, i know i did ;)
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Anna Maria / Aloni - Malia
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel- Aug 2005
Opinion submitted in Jan 2006 by : LAUREN B- GATESHEAD (17,17,17,17)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
on arrival at the apartments we were greeted by a bunch of lads claiming they had had their door kicked in. they were very drunk and very loud.
we met the hotel manager who checked us in and left us to carry our luggage up to our room(and find our room) ourself! there were no bar staff, porters receptionists, no staff at all except the manager and the maids whom we seen once in a week!!!! we couldnt possibly sleep because of the constant noise!
we were very disappointed with the pool area which consisted of 3 sun loungers(in august) and a pool that could fit no more than 5 people in it HONEST! the bar area was small and unattractive- you wouldnt wanna eat there!
the room was very very very basic but clean enough! however the bathroom was literally like a box and the door could not shut because of the toilet bein in the way( take your own towels)
the whole place was really basic but i suppose its only really 2 sleep in!
malia itself is fantastic if you wanna get smashed every nite not sleep a wink n basically go wild then its the place 4 u.
the restaurants are nout special but the bars r brill. NEWCASTLE bar and CLUB UK made the holiday!!!!
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Anna Maria Apartments - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - August 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Victoria Halpin - Durham (21, 20, 19, 17)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
The accomdation is at basic greek standard, with decent sized rooms.Cooking facilitities were canny poor (2 hob rings).Rooms were cleaned bout 3x a week & the cleaners were v.friendly.Marcus the manager was brillent,he was helpful & the bar was opened til 6am-he always asked if u were ok.The pool was on the small size but there's 2 other pools to use next door & up the road.
The shops were bout a 10min walk away & the beach was bout 25min.The pubs, clubs were excellent with a full range of different music-loads of R&B pubs(zigzags) cheesey (cheeky 1/2, flares),dance (kiss, club UK).There is a pub called the Newcastle bar which is 4 drinks for the price of 1.Malia is the best holiday ive been on so far,there so much to chose from.
This was our 1st 18-30 holiday & doing their trips doubled the cracking time we had!!!!
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Anna Maria / Aloni - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - Club 18-30 - 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Rhianna Parrish - Shrewsbury (19 ,19,19,20)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
hotel is of course basic as it is greek,had no problems really, it was clean and we had two bedroom in each of our apartments, which was good. only problem was fridge leaked and bathroom flooded!pool is quite small but still nice. there is a good pool just up the road to sunbathe at called Kristali.
marcus is the best host, no matter what time you want food or drink he is up!makes wicked egg and bacon sandwiches! he remembers everybodys names!and if there is a problem he is approachable.
tended to go for breakfast across the road, the guy nicknames himself "sparticus" and claims to have best breakfast in malia!!
in evenings , the best restaurant is the red lion, towards the bottom of the strip, but best food!!
also, the reps were fab, gemma and justin!!
had a wicked hol!!!!!
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Anna Maria Apartments - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - June/July 2004
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Jen Breslin - Glasgow (18,19,19,19,19,19)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
When we arrived at the Anna Maria we were a bit worried that it would be a trek to get to the main strip, but once we learned the way it was fine. The rooms were spacious and clean, although the beds were really squeaky!
Our reps were brilliant and we were really lucky that one of them(Gemma)was in between me and my mates rooms so she was easy to find.
Marcus was approachable if we had any problems.
Most mornings we had breakfast across the road in the Mirage-good breakfasts and easy to stagger to with a hangover.
If your up early enough(or in from the clubs late enough) I'd recommend you get your towels down on the beds as they are limited!
No matter how much you want one dont get a quad!Guys we met got them, one of them had an accident and was on crutches the rest of the holiday.On top of that he had to pay around 350e to get the bike fixed.
PR's are quite pushy so tell them you've already been in their pub that night!(works a treat!)Make sure when they offer you 4 for 1 you get 4 for 1.
Would recommend club UK if your into dance(but be weary) and Havana is worth checking out.Karoake fans get down to the Premier Bar!
Red Vodka and Lemonade is a winner.
Also for a late night baguette theres a place open 24hours just off the strip and he'll make you anything you can imagine!
Boys watch out for any watermelon fanjitas!!!;)
Best Holiday Ever!!
WASTED!!
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Anna Maria Apartments - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - June 2004
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Rhian Smith 23
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Malia is the best resort in Crete if your up for some serious fun and frolics!!
We stayed in the Anna Maria appartments situated in the old town. When we arrived we were greeted by the manager Marcus, he is the most friendliest man you will ever meet in your life and remembers EVERYONES names!! The rooms are clean but very tidy, the pool area is small but well kept.If you don't fancy sitting by the pool every day there is a great pool bar on the beach called pleasure beach and everyone is really friendly. The best clubs are u.k apollo or havana. Best bars are Newcastle, copa cabana and X bar.
Malia is the Best place to go by far i will be back.
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Argo Studio - Malia
Operator and Date: Kosmar - August 2007
Opinion submitted in August 2007 by : 22 - 25
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
When you hear the call of "I LIKE YOUR SHOES!!!" you know that you,ve reached the Argo studio appartments in Malia. I am just back only two days ago and I had a fantastic time.
The hotel in itself was basic but clean and the staff are completely bonkers. All three of us were sharing a room which was quite small and yes there was no air-conditioning. However you could rent a fan for 15 euros. The room did get quite hot as it was south facing, however, we found that opening the doors on the balcony and the room gave a good breeze. The pool is tiny, however this is not just in the Argo studios as most of the appartments that I passed all had about the same size. If you find a pool that is bigger in another appartment/hotel they don't mind if you use it as long as you buy a drink from their bar.
The resort of Malia is completely mad. It has the strip (about 5 mins walk sober from the Argo) which is filled with bars and resturants. The food is fantastic. We had decided on our first night that we would go back to our favorite resturant on the last night, however, we couldn't decide as it was all really good. All the bars don't really start getting busy until around 12 midnight and then its everyone for himself. All the touts will try and pull you into their bars with offers of 4 drinks for 1. The mistake we made was to drink all the four drinks in the space of time you would normally drink one which made us completely steaming. If you don't get pulled into a bar just go in and say that the tout outside offered you 4 for 1 or whatever else you want because that bar staff are normally as pssed as you want to be and will no doubt give you what you order.
The place is absolutly jumping until around 5 - 6 in the morning and it's at that time that a wee sleep in a doorway seems very attractive.
The beach lies at the bottom of the strip and is a 20 min walk from the Argo Studios. It's quite clean and if you're feeling warm the breeze will help cool you down. Some of the bars provide free sunloungers and umbrellas as long as you have drinks from their bar. The one we found done this was Dolfin bar which is on the right hand side of the beach when you approch it.
Try not to get into the Taxi's. We were feeling quite Lazy one ay so we decided to get a taxi to Pleasure Beach for the Hed Kandi party (which was crp) however they took us a good half hours walk away from it. As we weren't familuar with the area we didn't know it was the wrong place. When we asked at the Taxi hut were the g ay bar was, they sent us out into the middle of nowhere (never found it).
In all the holiday was good. If you go with the attitude of getting drunken then it should be good. And trust me the appartments aren't all that bad. If you owned a hotel in a sunny bonkers place where the priority is getting steaming would you have it looking lovely?
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Argo Studio - Malia
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar - September 2005
Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : A Taylor - Lancashire (23,23,23)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
We stayed at the ARGO STUDIOS in Sept 2005 and would not recommend it to anyone for the following reasons:
- The lock on the room door did not work, anyone could push open our door and come and go as they please.
- The hot tap in the bathroom sink did not work and the shower had no shower curtain so the bathroom was flooded after the night showers before we went out.
- The maid only visited our room twice in the whole week we were there and in this time not once did she change bedsheets or towels, we also asked her to change our towels one day and she simply said 'no'.
- We only had 6 days there when we had paid for 7, we arrived on the Sat and flew back the following Sat at 7am yet they kicked us out of our room at dinnertime on the Fri before we flew which meant we only had 6 nights there when we had paid for 7, we should have had our room until the Sat as that would have been our 7th day.
MALIA RESORT:
Malia Resort is brilliant for people wanting good night life, the bars and clubs I recommend are:
- Definitely the MALIBU SPORTS BAR, this is the classiest bar in Malia, and its open air and cheaper than most rubbish bars.
- The VENUE is a brilliant bar for Indie Music, expensive to drink compared to most bars but worth it for some proper music.
- The SANTA MARIA restaurant at the top of the strip (NOT the beach end of the strip) is a brilliant and reasonably priced restaurant.
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Argo Studio - Malia
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar- August 12th
Opinion submitted in Feb 2006 by : Bling- Manchester (22,21,21,20)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
first things first, mac donalds in malia is top notch! Forget petrinos, mac donalds is where the after party lies..
Anyways, as for the accommodation...its erm unique. If you enjoy a little fish in your shower, or a broken back from your bed or even being boiled and baked in a swealtering room then dish in.
On a more serious note, we had some personal items stolen from our room and in our case, the door locked from the outside but failed to unlock from inside, resulting in us being held hostage in our room for almost 3 hours!!! Funny now but not a memory you would like to have from an ideal holiday eh?
Between you and me, the reps even admitted that the hotel wasnt up to scratch.
Anyways we recommend to hire a fan and check that your door locks as soon as you get there..
On a more positive note, the beaches, bars and resaurant were all fab so nearly made up for the poor accomodation.
Have fun!
ps the foam party is a must
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Argo Studio - Malia
Operator and Date: 8 july 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : 17.19. 22
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
where do you start!!!
2 girls, 2 weeks at the argo studios.
This is a very basic hotel, not good if you require loads of sleep.
Easy to sneak ppl in as my m8 bunked in with us for a week and the man(nik)on the bar carried her case up for her.
The rooms were small but big enough, showers are crap its a hose pipe. 1 toilet roll per week then u have to buy your own, maid service suposed to be 3 times a week. we didnt have our bins changed for a week.
no air con so u have to rent a fan not good for the girlies if you planning on wearing your hair down.
Nana moon Classic woman shes crazy and only understands how to ask for money.
Malia itself is amazing best holiday so far would defo go back nxt year.
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Argo Studio - Malia
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar - July 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : between 22 - 26
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
6 lads had a great time in Malia except the accomadation, we were not expecting anything flash just clean and basic.
We had 3 rooms 1 of the rooms only had a double bed, the balcony doors would not close proply and had large pains of green house glass in them,
the second room had the same problem with the balcony doors the entrance door had been broken into therefore the lock was not safe. the toilet seat had been ripped off, they were loose wire's in the bathroom, the shower was terrible as in all 3, the socket were the keyfob goes to give power had come away from the wall therfore bare wires, 1 of the lads got an electric shock. the fridge didn't work.
the third room had been broken in to so again the lock was not safe the balcony doors would not lock, no hot water the safe deposit box loose from the wall,
all 3 of the balcony's had cracks on the divding walls which meant there were loose. the railing was loose and when leaned on broght the rail and pert of the wall away from the rest of it.
The Banister leading up the stairs was loose.
They was a big pile of rubish and broken beds at the top of the stairs.
The door handle leading in to the hotal was broken off, No one was ever on reception.
the bottled beer behind the bar was out of date
4 of us thankfully only stayed here 1 night as we complained and got moved
as they were no more spaces avilable 2 had to stay.
at first the Kosmar manager said it was acceptable until we threatened we wanted flights home if we were not moved.
Malia itself had good night life good beach with plenty of water sports.
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Argo Studio - Malia
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar - 2004 / 2005
Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Claire Glasper
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
it was awful!!!
We went on a girls holiday there was 13 of us mothers and daughters!! We got there in the early hours of the morning and wasnt to happy about our accomindation but because it was so late we all just slept. We woke the next morning to find that we had been sleeping with silver fish in our beds yes thats all 7 rooms had silver fish in the beds the mattresses where discusting dirty and damp we where moved instantly!!! the pool my bath is bigger than it!!!! It tottaly spolit the first day of our hols!!
But on a better not we got moved to a fab holtel and the holiday turned out to be a sucsess we loved it and planned to go bk next month the nightlife is fab!!
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Argo Studio - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook- June 2004
Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : Vincent Mulgrew - Warrington (8 of us all 18)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
Malia was superb! We have booked to go back this year!
The main attraction we found was that there was always something to do, no matter what time of day it was. There is easily a mile of bars, theres a main high street and then a secondary high street, lined with bars.
The beach was fairly clean however it was 3 euros for a lounger which you had to pay for, the sea was very blue. There was a good selection of watersports and the jetski's were fantastic. A friend of mine did crash his but the owners were very understanding. They were 30 euros for 30 mins.
There was always a good atmosphere and the people we met were very friendly always having a chat. I saw 2 fights there the whole 2 weeks, which is quite a fete as round warrington you see at least 2 a night.
The food was very good and there was lots of selection, one restaurant was chinese themed but also had an indian and italian menu (as well as chinese).
There was the old town which was the same distance as the high street but in a different direction. This served authentic greek food if thats what you wanted.
A steak with all the trimmings cost around 10 to 15 euros in most places.
The majority of bars had reps working for them and you did get pestered quite a bit, they offer you 4 for 1 and then a fishbowl between you for 5 euros. To be honest its a waste of time as the drinks are tiny and you only get the same as 1 normal glass, and the fishbowls are vastly watered down and tasted horrible.
It is a shame how most places operate like this, as the 4 for 1 offers only apply to clear spirits such as vodka and gin. I myself like a whiskey and I found only 1 place which actually did a 4 for 1 on whiskey.
The hospitals or medical centres were also very good which was a god sent when my friend split his head open, I recommend getting decent travel insurance !!
The argo studio is on a main road so in the morning there was quite a lot of noise. However our rooms were on the front of the hotel. They also faced the sun in the morning so it was rather hot and there was no air conditioning.
The pool was nice however it was a bit shaded at certain parts of the day.
The bar opened at 10 and stayed open til 3/4 so you could always have a drink. The only disadvantage about the apartments were that they were opposite the reps office so any trouble and you were done for :s we got a written warning for climbing over the balcony as we were told not to. Incidentally my mate split his head open doing this and it cost us 75 euros to make a claim. lol
The people who ran it were very friendly spoke decent english. They did have a tendency to not allow you to bring drinks you had bought elsewhere to the pool which i thought was a bit of a joke in a self catering apartment.
The apartments were 15 mins walk from the beach but it was by no means out in the sticks.
The food served at the hotel was ok for a light bite but they didnt do big meals.
There was no hot water on a few occasions but this wasnt particularly bad as it was 40 degrees at the time.
The argo was basic but good, much like the rest of the apartments in malia.
For a holiday destination this had everything and that is why were going back with 12 of us this time.
Superb place and full of lots of nice ladies :)
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Arkadi Studios - Malia
Operator and Date: Olympic - August 2007
Opinion submitted in August 2007 by : Linz and Tom - Brighton (26 & 25)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
These studios are situated right on the top end of the strip and if you are lucky like us, you will get a front facing apartment which is FAB for drunken people watching!
The poolside bar is good and the pool itself is really nice, even has a jacuzzi!
The maids only came once tho which was a bit of a bummer seeing as we were self catering and got through a lot of bin bags! But the staff are helpful, be aware of what they are charging you for as we got bumped on a 20euro deposit box and told we'd get the 20 back, but then when it came to it they said no!
Malia is well lively so only come here if you want the full on party and drinking scene, we are party people but even we found it a bit much at times, and spent a couple of nights off the scene in neighbouring Stalis (more chilled and they have this wicked bar called Sofakles which has all these hanging hammock chairs!
The best move we made all holiday was to hire a quad bike for the day, go to the guy thats prctically next door to the Arkadi as he sorted us one out for 30euros which is a good deal, if you can find your way to Hersonnasius - do it - cos they have a wickd beach with bungy jumping and electro house djs (Malia is more RnB and cheesy tunes) so if your into dance get over there!
Thats about it really, take plenty of money, plenty of suncream (pack in your main luggage as we had loads confiscated at Gatwick!) and drink plenty of water and AV IT! xx
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Arkadi Studios - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic - June 2006
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived in Malia on 27th June 2006 for 2 weeks!!!
On arriving at our accommodation it was very quiet, well considering it was haf past 7 in the morning! We couldnt have asked for better accommodation, although the rooms were quite small, the place was spotless, pool and everything. And to top it all off, Maria who runs the studios was like a second mum to us all - she gave us free drink!!!
Malia itself is very good, the only thing that pssed us off was the PR's trying to get you into a club - just tell them that you are a worker or you are going for something to eat!!
But Malia 2006 was a holiday we will never forget! But lets hope our holiday (Malia 2007) will be an even better one!
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Artemis Hotel - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic - July 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Lee-anne & Kelly - Lincoln (22,27)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
I was a little nervous about the Artemis Hotel as we couldn't find any reference to it before flying out to Malia.
Location: The Artemis is located on the main road through Malia, (this is NOT the main strip). As we transferred from the airport, we went through Malia and then to our Hotel. It is quite out of the way, and to get to the main strip is about a 15-20 minute walk (please keep this in mind along with the midday sun, as we found out - it is not an easy task sometimes!) About 5 - 10 minutes walk away is a Tavern where you can eat (nice meals, we had pizza (6euros) and swordfish (9euros?). The Tavern is at the beginning of the well lit, built up strip, between that and the Artemis it isn't very well lit).
It took us around 30 minutes to walk to McDonalds (bottom of the main bar strip), which was where we met our friends twice a day!!
Service: We weren't too sure on what to expect from the service as it wasn't explained to us at all from our Rep! The sheets & towels were changed every couple of days and rooms cleaned too.
Rooms: We were in the ground floor rooms and although they were small, they did us for the week we were there. We had twin beds (sides pushed right together), a double and single wardrobe (attached to each other), a shelf underneath we used for suitcases, "reading lights" above both beds (with independent switches), bedside tables, dresser (with drawers) and a mirror. The room had 2 European plug sockets.
The balcony had clothes dryer and a table with two chairs.
The bathroom consisted of towel rail, shelves for our stuff, mirror, basin, toilet, toilet bin and shower (with curtain I might add). Unfortunately as you expect from Greek showers, you had to hold it yourself!!!
Breakfast: We only made breakfast on the first morning, it consisted of, bread, (butter and jam), ham, cheese, yoghurt, honey, tea, coffee, orange juice and was quite nice. As people weren't eating it, on the last day we discovered you had to ask the lady to bring the food out (saves her wasting it!)
Pool: When we booked we were told we would have to walk to the Yannis (5 minutes away), however, upon arrival we found out that we could probably throw things at our pool from our balcony as it was approx 10metres from the back of the hotel - and it's been there 18 years apparently!!! (So the guy at the bar said!)
The pool is fairly big, plenty of sun lounges and a pool bar. They serve drinks, ice creams and hot / cold food. One of the bar staff (trained as a doctor we discovered!) speaks very good English, however others may need you to point at what you would like on the menu. Food is very nice, although many times did we end up with something different to what we ordered - but if I couldn't speak someone's language I'd get it wrong too!!
Other Holiday Makers: Due to the nature of the resort, we expected a loud hotel. Unfortunately we were woken up on occasions at 6am by people coming in from the clubs - it really just depends who else you get staying there {I wouldn't recommend it for people taking children}
All in all the Artemis Hotel was very clean and a nice place, the only down side being that it was so far from the main bar strip (the actual hotel is located a hundred or so metres from the "leaving Malia" road sign), so comfy shoes are ESSENTIAL!!!
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Artemisia/Summer Dreams - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - July 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Lisa - Kent (18,18,18,18,18,19,19,19)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
After reading some of the reviews on here I was very worried, but dont worry you'l have an excellent holiday.
We had Natalie as our rep and she was loely, we were alwayz worried that being with 18-30s we woz gona get pressured into doin fings but we didnt really see the reps that much during the day and if we did they wud b hangin out with us in the pool avin a chat bout the previous nyt!
We stayed in the Artemisa which is ryt next to summer dreams, summer dreams has the bar, snack bar and pool but your ryt next to it all neway. our apartments were lovely and clan, have 2 say the maid made a very good job of cleanin, but definately get on the ryt side of her, she can get a bit crazy! One thing i found strange is that you get no towels and wen we ran out of loo roll she neva gave us more! bit stingy if ya ask me!
The apartments were quite big, my m8s ended up with the best one, number 219, has a bath and a separate bedroom with a massiv balcony bit, but they had ants and the fridge dint shut so they had 2 put the bin against the fridge 2 keep it shut! our other m8s wer next 2 us and wen we arrived they had a mirror frame wit no mirror, the bathroom tap dint work and the door handle fell off! the mirror and tap wer sorte straight away but the door handle continued 2 fall off 4 the rest of the week, luckily this wernt really a problem jus a bit annoyin.
We were only there 4 a week so we wernt really up 4 doin the whole package thing wit 18-30s. Was quite expensive so depends how much muni ya got wit ya. We decided 2 pik a few so we cud do our own thing most nyts. Started with the bar crawl which i thought was gud, ya get an hour free bar altho the bar that we went 2 woz a bit crap wit the worst music in the whole resort but by that point ya dont care cos ur so drunk! We also did the foam party which is a MUST! unfortunately i had sunstroke this nyt, but we had a 2hr free bar b4 we went on2 anuva few, we played some games lyk, ya wernt aloud 2 drink out ya own glass and had 2 get someone of the opposite s*x 2 pour it down ya throat! quite funi i hav 2 say! my m8s came bak from the foam party which was in the club camelot, sed it was the best nyt of their lyf!!!!
The apartments are only bout a 5min walk from the strip which brings u ryt 2 the top, drinks aren't 2 badly priced out there, jus depends where ya go and if ya group of gals jus bargain wit em and ya get mor 4 ur muni! the loft is a gud bar 2 start off at, spirit and mixers only 1euro!! The beach is ryt the way down the bottom of the strip, about a 15min walk, bit of a jar 2 b that far but is really nice down there. I thought the holiday was gr8 jus wish i woz there 4 anuva week!
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Artemisia/Summer Dreams - Malia
Operator and Date: club18-30 - August 2004
Opinion submitted in Mar 2005 by : Suzan Koc - Reading (18)
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived at about 10pm so we thought great lets dump our bags in our room and have a look round. Different story when we actually got there though. We were escorted to reception by two reps who told us there was a problem with our booking and that they didnt have room for all 8 of us. So 2 of us ended up staying in a different hotel for two days. Also as soon as we did get into our rooms the reps were right behind us trying to sell us the excursions. They were really convincing tellings us about all the fun we were going to have. Thats when they hit us with the price 300 Euros! Some of my group paid it i for one was fooled, if only i really what a rip off it was.
As for the apartments they were very clean, the maid came every day and made the bed and tidy up. The maid only likes you if your nice to her! was woken up one morning by her banging the down screaming that someone had smashed a bottle in reception. i answered and said it could ave been anyone. She moans quite alot if you have anyone in your room she starts shouting, if you come home at 5am she there shouting. The reps arent that useful either all they want is there comission.
Also the brochure says that the beach is 15mins away, try 25mins and your be nearer the truth. if you think just taking a dip in the pool will do, think again! it was not cleaned the whole 2 weeks i was there bearing in mind all the drunken blokes throwing beer and gods knows what in it. theres much more that could be said but im not gonna worry you too much.
overall it was an average holiday
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Anvrosia - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook
Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : kat an sarah, 20
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
To start with Malia is the best resort ever! loads of decent clubs and bars playin a range of music garage, dance an r&b mainly. The town is massive so it takes u a couple of days 2 get used 2 it an know where everythin is.
Anvrosia aint the best place to stay, its bout a 10 min walk from the main town (not like it says in the brocure)but the good thing bout that is u can get a decent nights kip.the rooms r ok apart from ours in which we ad a share a double bed for 2 weeks which we wernt best pleased bout. also wen we arrived we discovered we ad no flush on the toilet so instead we ad 2 take the top off, put our hand in the water to pull the lever! it took the maid a week 2 cum an fix it. the pool aint that great- we spotted the maid cleaning the bin out then throwing the dirty water into the pool! there was loads of dead flys in there aswel so we spend most our time in other hotels pools.
the hotel community is quite close-every1 knows eachother. it aint that strict either cuz in most other club 18-30 hotels u wernt allowed ne1 else in your room-even if the people/person was staying there but in anvrosia we were avin room parties till 9am most nights!
the reps r quite pushy an will try their hardest 2 get u2 sign up2 stuff thats how they get their commission so they blag u 4 hours.
the p.r's on the street piss u off a bit pesterin u2 go in their bars then get arsey wen u say no.
an all round gud holiday-id defo do back but stay in sum where closer 2 town.
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: Olympic-July 2007
Opinion submitted in August 2007 by : 8 males-Leeds (18-20)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
First of all, malia is a great party resort for young adults. Nice food, good bars, good music!! The appts we stayed in were very poor for a number of reasons. Rooms were only cleaned twice, and when they were cleaned money seemed to go missing. Charges for damages were extortionate, in our first week we were made to pay 800e for 'broken things' that were already there when we arrived.
The pool area was very pleasent and quite lively but this is all the hotel had to offer. I would strongly advise staying elsewhere in malia if you want to have an all round good holiday!
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: Olypic - Sept 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : scouse girls (22,22,21,19,17)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
I would like to say I really enjoyed my Holiday in Malia as it is the second time I have been this year and also plan to go back again as it is absolutly amazin.
The rooms at Bella Elena are nice.I really enjoyed my stay here. The cleaners seemed to be cleanin all the time. Everythink was spotless only. Im not sure our sheets got changed in the week an we may have only had one set of clean towels.
They had one night of entertainment which was a bbq, quiz, an a drinking game this was a laugh. Although there was always something to watch on the big screen by the bar. They played music all day. overall a nice holiday atmosphere by the pool.
The only fault I had is we got ripped off an got charged 50 euros for something we never done. Although we heard off a few people being charged for dirty sheets etc. Everything in the room had a price on it which had to be paid. Before you leave the room it gets thoroughly inspected by the manager as she counts the knives, forks, towels, If there not there the way they was when you arrived be prepared to get ya purse out. As she checked our room she moved the table an plaster come off the wall before we knew it we was 50 euros down. Just thought i would let anyone know as i had a brilliant holiday an quite liked our stay until our last day.
This really upset us all as i would understand if we had caused any damage.
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic June 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Sharon - Glasgow (27, 25, 24, 24, 23, 23, 23, 21)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Was not impressed with the hotel at all, the rooms are described as having a balcony and this is not true for all of them as some have a makeshift balcony on ground level. Your passport is taken from you on arrival and the staff refuse to give it back to you until you check out. On one occasion I wanted to cash a travellers cheque and the manager was not around and the bar till did not have enough cash in it. I asked for my passport to cash the travellers cheque locally and was refused it!
The charges in this hotel for damages is ridiculous, accidents happen and your room is checked and damages must be paid for before your passport is returned to you. I don't mean major damages but e5 for a glass is a joke. This hotel also charges per person for any guests brought back, guests leaving in the morning or spotted at any time are approached and asked for payment.
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic - September 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Cat and Matt - Oxford (25,26)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived at the Bella Elena at 7am after an overnight trip, and were checked in quickly and without fuss. The coach seems to take you through wasteland prior to getting there, so we were a bit worried that we would be nowhere near the action, but it was just the route we took.
As several reviews have said, the Olympic brochure really does not do the place justice. The pool area is easily the best we saw on our wanderings and our accommodation (room 201) was fantastic - it's in the old block but far better than the other rooms (WITH a shower curtain!). The main beach in Malia is ridiculously crowded so we spent most of our time by the pool, but further along the coast, particularly towards Malia Palace, the beaches are no less than stunning.
The staff are brilliant there - a special mention to the ever friendly Stefanos - and even the manager's daughter did her best to entertain us in the pool, largely by attempting to drown us. The sheets do only get changed once a week, which is a bit shoddy, and to stay until 7pm on check out day costs 22 euros, but other than that, we had no real complaints.
Food along the beach road (with all the bars and nightclubs) is pretty crap if you're looking for traditional Greek tavernas, but fine for cheese toasties and the like. The old town on the other hand can be really good. Try the Kleftiko (lamb and potatoes) at Elisabeth and Stablost, and the baked feta at Petrinos. There's a Greek night on Thursdays at San Georgios, but it's not great, and you can pay under the odds and watch it for free by sitting at Petrinos.
Check out the Zig Zag club and the Banana Bar, while you're there for good cocktails and great music. If you go at the end of season like we did, the offers are great as they're increasingly desperate to get you inside - 4 for 1 anyone?
As for excursions, if you can drag yourself away from drinking for a day, you MUST go to Samaria Gorge. It's a 20hr trip from Malia, but well worth it - it's pretty spectacular. Take some sturdy shoes though! Otherwise, the boat bar-b-q to Spinalonga is great, and an afternoon lazing in Agios Nikaolos is a must.
In summary, we'd go there again, no doubt.
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic - October 2004
Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : Eleanor - Rotherham (19,44,46)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The staff are very friendly and approachable. You can find a member of staff on site at any time, as there is a 24-hour bar round the pool area. You would expect a little noise from this but it is only a little noise.
As previous reviews have stated the pictures in the Olympic book do not do Bella Elena Justice. Accommodation was by far one of the best I have ever stopped in and they have their own pool which is good sized we stayed in the older block, which were above usual standards in Greece. The new block rooms are more modern. I have already booked to stay here in July 2005.
There are some lovely traditional places to eat in the old town Elizabeth's in the main square in the Old Village is very nice. The Kings Arms at the top of bar street is also very good. You can get traditional Greek and English meals here at a reasonable price.
We went to the beach a few days. Its not that far to walk really some people comment that it is nearly ½ hour walk which is a bit of an exaggeration. We lazed by the pool most day's, the sun beds are free, the bars serves a wide variety of food throughout the day. Alcohol and soft drinks are readily available all day.
Some of my personal favourite bars on the main strip are Flares (you gotta love that cheesy music) and The Mean Fiddler (Irish bar with Guinness on draught!!), which is across the road from flares. If you ask me theme bars are always winners.
Everyone always rushes down to the main strip at night but it is well worth a look around the tavernas in the Old town. There are good bars on top Main Square in The Old Town. Definitely try Yannis Bar's, which is a small bar on a corner, it can quite easily be missed but when you find it is a great place.
Also you must visit the Connections Bar. Anyone stopping at Bella Elena who says that they cannot find it must be joking. As you walk down towards the main strip you will pass Connections. As you walk down you will be greeted Dennis who will try to get you to go into the bar. Give it a chance you might like it. When we went in there we were ended up in there till at least 4am every night. Try doing the Zorbas dance with Miros and Natasha.
When drinking I would recommend that you try the local beers. Mythos and Amstel come in bottles or Draught in most bars/restaurants (about half a euro per bottle in supermarkets). These are a lot cheaper than imported beers like Budweiser Etc. and they are nice as well. Personally I prefer the local wine! J
Have Fun!!
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic Holidays - September 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Alan - Portsmouth, 36 Richard, Crawley 39
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
As described in previous reviews you are dropped off at a 24 hour bar that is five minutes walk from the apartments so is not a great inconvienence.
As we arrived at 6.30am we were met by the night bar staff who were very friendly and organised our room allocation. The staff throughout the stay were very friendly and tried to help with any problems. We stayed in the older block which is what you would expect for this sort of holiday however the new block rooms were far more modern in the furniture provided and we are currently booking to return twice next year with a request to stay in this part of the accomodation.
The swimming pool situated at the location is lovely and the brochure photographs do not do the Bella Elena justice. We did not go to the beach whilst on holiday as plenty of people lazed by the pool during the day, the sunbeds were free and the bar served food, alcohol and soft drinks all day.The people at the apartments were of a varying age group and we met plenty of people to talk to - Hello to Faye, Rachel, Lou and Trappy!!
The nightlife does not start until 11.00pm on the main strip - Beach Road, however some nights we walked down onto the main road and watched some of the latest films that had still to be released in the UK at the Videobar before then making our way onto Beach Road. We mainly went to the Malibu Bar which is situated the furthest down the road after Camelot's which holds regular foam parties and then walked back upto the Cheeky 1/2 and finally Flares. The staff in all three were very friendly. The only down side is the kids trying to sell you things and we did hear of one kid putting their hand in a tourist's pocket - so beware. In addition it is tedious the people trying to drag you into their bar.
Overall we had an excellent time and even though we were older than most people out in Beach Road we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will be returning end of next June and end of next August with more mates. Apparently July and August is when there are more of the 18-25 age group however we knew when we booked it Malia had a reputation for a hectic nightlife and we were not disappointed. If you want something quieter I would suggest Stalis which is 5km away from Malia so you can get a taxi down for one night to sample the madness which is Malia. Not for people with heart conditions!!
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic Holidays - August 2004
Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : 20, 20, 20, 21
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Top place for all young people out there. Went at the end of August so it quietened down a bit but still very lively. Great night life, good music, cheap drinks and fit girls all up for a good time!!! Beach wasnt too impressive but walk further down and its nice n clean.
Accomodation was by far one of the best i've been to. Bar is 24-7!! Cheap drinks during happy hour and clean good sized pool. Loads of space and lots of sun beds, but beware there are two parts to the accomodation. They look identical but one block is of brand new apartments and the other is the older ones. New ones are great, clean, spacious and modern. Older ones aint too bad but not as good as new ones tho. Staff are all friendly and good selection of food and drink. A lot of couples during off-peak.
Overall accomodation was greeeeeat, nightlife was buzzing, and people other than some of the locals are all friendly!! By the way if you're planning on hiring a quad or moped, beware. They all offer the so called 'free-insurance' which has huge excess!!! Make sure you get the full insurance that has no excess. You'll find this one costs more but is the safest. Oh yeah, go to Malibu Bar!!
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic - August 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Louise Gillespie - 26, 28
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We visisted Malia in August for 1 week. We were a bit apprehensive of the accomodation because the brochure didn't really sell it very well, but when we arrived we were very impressed. The accomodation had been newly refurbished as had the pool area. The accomodation was very clean and modern, our towels were changed once and the cleaners cleaned the room once - our sheets didn't get changed for the week we were there.
It's a family run hotel and they were very friendly although on our last day the manager came to our room to check that we had still had 4 towels and I'd left one of my hand towels at the pool and they'd picked it up, but tried to charge us for it - so watch out for any breakages etc as they'll charge you.
The accomodation was situated in the old town of Malia which was beautiful with old windy streets. It was only 5/10 mins walk to the main strip which was busy at night, good pubs and clubs, but the drinks are all watered down. Don't order any fish bowls or cockatils as there won't be any alchol in them! The street doesn't get busy until about midnight so drink plently before you go out!!
The beach was lovely, but really busy. It was about 30 minutes walk from the accomodation, but it was a nice walk through the streets.
There are some lovely traditional places to eat in the old town so have a look round before you go down to the main street. We also ate in the Red Lion which had a great selection of really good pub grub.
Overall we had a great time and would recommend the accomodation for young and lively, although we didn't go out every night the pool bar is open 24 hours and play music until 2-3am so was quite noisy if you were having a night in.
Enjoy!
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic-June 2004
Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : South Hylton Doggers ages 19-49
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived in Malia early hours of the morning,the bus was unable to drop us outside the apartments as the roads are very narrow however the rep did escort us down a sligt bank.
We arrived at Bella Elena apartments and they were fantastic,very modern and clean.
We were greated by Stefanos and his brother George who were very friendly and welcomed us to paradise.The only complaint we had was the showers in the old block of the apartments,they had no shower curtains and sometimes the bathroom was flooded.The water is solar powered so if its cloudy do expect a cold shower,we did.
The next night the 16 of us-all ladies went into Malia it was all you could ask for,loads of pubs and clubs in 1 street called Beach Road, food good for after clubbing,our average night lasted till 6am.Most of the staff here are English.
There are lots of tiny kids wandering the streets playing musical instruments and selling neon bangles for 1 euro,you will feel sorry for them but its obvious this money is not for them,some steal so beware.
The beach is good, takes about 1/2 hour to get there from Bella Elena, we took a taxi down there as it was too hot.
Food really good, especially at the Red Lion near the beach, plates are massive and the food is spot on.
Sandwiches are nice and supermarkets all within 10 mins walk, some nice shops for clothes and shoes.
All in all a fantastic holiday could not say a bad word, definitley stay here again.
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Bella Elena - Malia
Operator and Date: (Olympic Direct) Olympic - May 2004
Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : English Dave and Scottish Christine
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
A great holiday - we met lots of nice people and found the locals very friendly. We found the staff of the apartments very friendly and helpful - hi Nikos and Stephanos!!
The bar and pool area were excellent. The sunbeds were really comfortable. It was a nice relaxed quiet atmosphere in a central location of old Malia - away from the noise of the pubs,clubs in new Malia and about a 10-15 minute walk down a slight gradient to there.
The accommodation was fairly comfortable -there were 2 apartment blocks one older and one newer with better equipment. Towels were provided and changed once during our stay.
The advent of the euros have increased drink and food prices and also created legislation for drink measures so we found our holiday more expensive than we thought. - we didnt buy any alcohol / perfumes to bring home there was little difference between the prices in UK
However it was a long walk to the beach ( 45 mins)- we set out for the beach and turned back - so it is fine if you are mobile and able to walk but not if u have mobility problems,you may feel restricted.
When we arrived, the bus was unable to drop us at the apartments because the road was too narrow - we had to pull our cases along a road, over a dirt track and climb over a 3 foot wall - for this reason we and others insisted on alternative transport on our return journey. Thanks to the staff of the apartments who took us and other people in their own cars to a pick up point for the bus - Olympic holidays you need to get ur act together on this one.
One last point which would have made our journey much more comfortable was if we had been able to arrange extra leg room on both flights.
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Camelot Studios - Malia
Opinion submitted in Jan 2004 by : Jimmy Johnstone 19 - Date Not Specified
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
My experience in malia wasnt a very impressive one to say the least. Most of this opinion came from the hotel we were put in. The camelot wasn't the best in the world. We got there and there was no receptionist OR rep so we were unorganised as soon as we got there.
The rooms looked ok and clean and there were safes to put our money, pity we didnt have a key or know where to get one, joke. By the fourth day or so without seeing one staff member we started gettin annoyed and a combination of the heat and anger caused us to cause it and it produced results. I thought id start sleeping in the corrider with no clothes on to try and attract some staffs attention AND THAT IT DID HAHAHA. That is the only way we could talk to any of them. Unfortunately we got a last stage warning and they threatened to take our passports which was another one of my complaints, the cheek of them. Appart from the terrible hotel malia was hot and recomend it to hard core ppl.
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Cretan Malia Park - Malia
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- July 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : 41,37,8,3Months
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The Positives -
The hotel is set in the most beautiful gardens and the staff are wonderful. They can't do enough to ensure that you enjoy your stay there.We met lots of people who holiday there every year.
We had half board and the quality/choice was always of a high standard. We bought lunch in the pool restaurant which again was very good and reasonably priced.
Evening entertainment was generally very good and the animation team worked hard to keep the kids happy.
The not so Positives -
The beach is not very pretty. We have stayed on other islands / hotels with much better.However, the hotel pools were lovely so not an issue for us.
We didn't go, but according to other people we spoke to Malia Town is a bit of a no go area for families at night. There are no real pavements and young people bombing around on quad bikes everywhere. Locals said that at there are at least half a dozen accidents a week, many of them very serious.
In summary, a quality hotel for familes, but in a poor location. However,if you're prepared to spend most of your time on the inside, you'll really enjoy it, as we di