Ад в Раю Hell in Paradise

CRETE UNMARKED - 2012
Travel notes

Evgeny Pronin, Elena Pronina - 2012
Moscow-Crete (Heraklion).

22.07. 2012 Morning Successful and comfortable flight Moscow - Crete (Heraklion). We hope to spend all three weeks of our “deserved rest” successfully and are ready to replenish our “baggage of the best memories” with impressions from Crete, which we have dreamed of meeting for so long.
22.07. 2012 evening 17 hours. The beginning of our not the best impressions, but rather the misadventures associated with the proposed vacation in the hotel of our choice called "Elounda Blu Beach".

At the time of disembarking from the bus that brought us from Heraklion airport, we learned that this hotel has two different names: previously used - "Elounda Blue Bay", which was "notorious" among tourists (data taken from the Internet) who visited this hotel, and according to the reviews of which this hotel deserves no more than 2 “stars”, and not 4, in fact, and the second, new one, now used in advertising brochures, “Elounda Blu Beach”. We were unpleasantly surprised by this turn of events, because we knew in advance about the low quality of service at the Elounda Blue Bay Hotel, which is why we obviously did not want to spend our holidays there. In fact, the opposite happened: misinformation from the Zeus travel travel agency about the non-ownership of these two different names to the same hotel led to the fact that we ended up in the very hotel where we initially categorically did not want to go. Further events followed, about which we do not want to remain silent.
Initially, it “struck my eye”: the unkempt territory of the hotel (garbage bins filled to the top and a huge pile of garbage bags - right at the entrance to the hotel), unattractiveness in the design of the reception, shabby lining of the wooden wall panels, putty spots on the ceiling, indicating unfinished or on the contrary, the just begun repair, and the unpresentable appearance of the reception manager, who gave us the keys to the room where we were supposed to be accommodated. (Further events are described in chronological order).
Check-in to room 115, located on the first level of the Elounda Blu Beach hotel - 4 stars: “hoz.
block" as an adjacent room, where cans of oil and other paints, solvents, rags, various rags and garbage, used brushes for repair work are stored in large quantities, there is an ashtray with cigarette butts, glasses from drinks, on the walls "blooms" mold, near the floor, at the point of contact with the wall of the proposed room, a through breach.
In the room itself: on the wall - a huge stain of damp mold; wallpaper, lagging behind the walls; a stain of rotten wood blackens on the wooden upholstery near the bed; in the toilet, a waste bin with a hinged lid does not function and the lid must be opened by hand; beds in size - non-standard, apparently intended for children; the bedside lamp does not turn on, the “balcony door”, which is also the entrance door, goes directly to the dirty asphalt of the road (the door does not even have a rug to wipe the dust off the shoes when entering the room); the air conditioning cooling unit is located on the floor (asphalt) near the same "balcony" door and hot air is sent directly to the room when it is opened (i. e. , airing the room is not supposed). With all this, the room has a heavy, suffocating smell of old tobacco smoke and a sharp smell of chemicals.
Everything we have seen does not portend a pleasant rest and peaceful sleep.

The only thing that pleased us at that moment was the sudden appearance of a gray, “ours”, SPARROW. But he, having chirped something, immediately flew away, as if prompting: “it’s time for you to leave here too - as quickly as possible”!
22.07. 2012 evening 18h30
Returning with things and documents to the reception, a request to delve into the current situation of the duty manager, her absolute indifference to our claims and unwillingness to somehow resolve the situation with the replacement of the number that does not suit us with another one; forced imitation of the threat of filing a complaint with the Russian Embassy, ​ ​ as the last, effective means - to attract the attention of the duty manager, who "does not understand" the Russian language, and, as a result, the immediate promise that followed after that from the manager - "to sort out the situation" and, then, the replacement (within ten minutes) of the originally offered us room for living, which is in an unsanitary condition, with a more comfortable one. This “more comfortable” room (503) was located on the fifth level of the hotel, far from the “household.
block”, and in it, unlike the one “rejected” by us, “only” a rusty screw stuck out from the outer and inner sides of the door (this screw “acted” as a guide for the door handle and had sharp jagged edges clinging to the hands); there was no door opening limiter in the bathroom, which was a gross violation of safety rules and a threat to the life and health of residents, because at any moment the glass partition in the shower cabin could be broken by a metal door handle directly hitting the glass partition when opened; the upholstery on the beds hung in patches, because the upholstery fabric had long served its expiration date, apparently, and was decrepit, like decayed paper; in the shower, washbasin and toilet bowl, instead of cold water, which was discovered the next day, ...boiling water was pouring in the daytime.
BUT: birds sing, cicadas sound, flowers bloom, and, most importantly, the SEA is very close, a ten-minute walk along steep stone paths (not entirely safe and convenient when climbing - for vacationers, as it turned out).

BUT: THE SKY is blue, the air is almost mountainous. (Why “almost” - they learned only on the third day of their stay at the hotel. In the meantime, the evening humid air brought some strange smell: either stale water, or rotting plants, or ... ) ...
BUT: I wanted to think only about the GOOD.
23.07. 2012 We have "repaired" the handle on the front door. Obviously, the “plumbing specialists” worked: they ...sawed off a rusty screw, leaving the handle the same - unpresentable, in appearance. With regard to the protruding rusty screw on the inside of the door, no measures were taken: apparently, "there was not enough strength. " (As they say, "thank you for that too").
Leaving for a while not completely “brought to mind” the room, which seemed to us “just a salvation” after shocking with its “surprises” originally proposed and issued, moreover, by the hotel management for a “four-star” (which, when paying for a tourist ticket, doubt - we didn’t have to), we study the surroundings, enjoy the SEA: THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, YOU ARE A MIRACLE! ! !
Late in the evening, a GUEST visited us: SOMEONE, rustling in the branches of a palm tree growing right by our balcony. (It is so big and powerful that it takes your breath away! Its branches make noise from the wind and it seems that the SEA is making noise). Our GUEST turned out to be a fluffy animal, similar to a gray RAT, which looked at us with interest from a palm tree branch and allowed itself to be photographed without fear of a camera flash, and then rushed down and, deftly escaping along the roof of the neighboring room, disappeared into the bushes.
(Subsequently, we found information on the Internet that it was none other than the endemic of the island of Crete - the NEEDLE MOUSE).
24.07. 2012 Night SKY - fantastic! Bright constellations, satellites gliding along their given trajectories, flickering multi-colored lights of aircraft. The sea reflects the MOUNTAINS and the SKY. The earthly "constellations" of flowering cacti amaze the imagination of anyone who sees this MIRACLE! The air is filled with the aroma of flowering shrubs, herbs and flowers.
Enjoy the freshness of the CRETAN NIGHT.

Suddenly, suddenly...one takes one's breath away - a nauseating smell appears in the air, the source of which turned out to be ...streams of feces flowing over flowering lawns: a suffocating "aroma" has devalued everything in the world of WONDERS of Nature.
(Oh, the “brilliant invention of a connoisseur of the plumbing industry” from “Elounda Blu Beach”: in order to save on the disposal of waste from human “civilization”, as well as on the purchase of clean water, they are used to water the plants on the territory of this 4-star hotel - “ unrecycled waste” or, more simply, sewage effluents - not cleaned, not neutralized and foul-smelling).
Having tightly closed the door to the balcony and the window in the shower room, with a poorly working air conditioner, we tried to fall asleep, but the thought that microbes and bacteria dangerous to the human body from the components of decomposing feces, hovering in the surrounding air, filled our lungs, drove away sleep . (“We barely survived” - until the morning).
25.07.
2012 In the morning, our urgent demand to guide Maria Khrustova to deal with the inadequate situation in the hotel gave a positive result: a man appeared in front of us in snow-white clothes and white patent leather shoes, who turned out to be not a magician or a magician, but the acting director of the hotel. Smiling amiably, he shook hands with us, listened attentively to our claims (the same interpreter was the guide Maria).
Next, a “morning walk” was made, accompanied by the above-mentioned acting director of the hotel, who agreed, nevertheless, to go to our room - in the same way that we pass daily - ourselves, as well as the rest of the vacationers living on the upper levels of the hotel. (Initially, he wanted to drive to our place of residence in an electric car, but he could not ignore our "incorrect" request - "to take a walk").
As we expected, our “high-ranking escort” did not like the foul-smelling streams of feces on the lawns at all, so he began to shout loudly at someone on his cell phone, while holding his nose in disgust.

Then he came to our room to make sure that all claims to his condition were not invented by us. (I made sure. Particular disgust caused in him a piece of decayed fabric from the upholstery of the bed, "helpfully" placed by us in his hand).
As a result of a personal examination of our dysfunctional room, he promised to "immediately fix everything" and gave his "word of honor" that he would fix the irrigation system and that "such an outrage will not happen again. "
(We - believed. And who would not believe? The word of HONOR is worth a lot).
By the way, as compensation for the inconvenience caused, personally and. about.
The hotel director offered us: “for the entire stay at the hotel, use the services of a massage therapist and a manicurist in the spa salon of the hotel free of charge. ” (Of course, we refused).
BECAUSE: THE SEA is “super”!
The beach is clean and well maintained. This is the only one on the entire coast of Elounda: the fact has been established - by us personally. The rest of the beaches on the coast are "for an amateur": dirty sand, blooming algae in the water, sea urchins underfoot, ships located directly in the bathing areas, gasoline stains from boats and boats scurrying around, a highway bordering on places of "lying" vacationers who are completely indifferent, oddly enough, to all of the above. Maybe the magical phrase “all inclusive” plays its role in this indifference to one’s health, which works perfectly here, on a beach that is practically unusable.
(“The way to the heart of a vacationer, whatever you say, lies through the stomach”).
...In the evening, as soon as we were about to take a walk to the SEA, the reception rang and we were informed that the door handle would now be repaired. Some time later, accompanied by about. the director of the hotel, a locksmith came to us and replaced the rusty screw on the door with a coveted handle. ("It's a cool sight" when, under the supervision of "such a big man", the usual work of minor repairs in the room is carried out! Apparently, this is the custom - here: at the Elounda Blu Beach hotel).

After a job well done to replace the handle on the door, he, and. about. director of the hotel, it was promised to replace the beds - no later than tomorrow.
26.07. 2012 After breakfast, a "surprise" awaited us: the covers were replaced on the beds and the mattresses were changed. In addition, beds were covered with bedspreads. (Great! Our room is "almost 3-star")!
...We wanted to sleep off during the day, when the sun is mercilessly scorching and it’s simply dangerous to leave the room, but we didn’t succeed, because there are no signs stating that “disturbing is not desirable” or something like that in the hotel, so the technical staff comes to any convenient for him time to clean the room.
...At night they enjoyed the smell of FLOWERS and TREES: watering with feces was stopped.
27.07. 2012 On the lawn in the evening we met a Hedgehog: such a “lapul”! Gave us - "stroke". (It was read on the Internet that Hedgehog in Crete is also endemic).
Slept peacefully at night.
28.07. 2012 We continue to inhale the aromas of FLOWERS and the smell of the SEA. We rejoice, but we are afraid to jinx it.
29.07. 2012 "Jinxed"!
At two o'clock after midnight, the air in the vicinity of the hotel again resembled a specific smell in a public toilet and was so nauseating that it was necessary to close the door to the balcony and the window in the shower room again, which served as an air vent in the toilet, combined in a room with a shower cabin. But, nevertheless, there is a suffocating smell of sewerage in the room, because the air conditioner clearly did not cope with its functions.
We identified the source of the unpleasant odor when we left the room: the building in which our room was located was surrounded on three sides by rubber hoses, from which a solution was sprayed onto plants and in all directions from them, a solution that was not at all like water for irrigation.
The mood was spoiled, sleep, already short, interrupted.

There is no time to take any measures to eliminate this unpleasant episode, because at 5 hours 15 minutes (instead of 7 hours 15 minutes agreed upon when buying a tour ticket and, later, “corrected” by our guide Maria Khrustova, but not agreed in advance with us and 10 of our companions on the excursion to Santorini) had to be at the place of departure of the sightseeing bus.
A sea voyage to the active volcano Fera on the island of Santorini took place and the pleasure received from it was not overshadowed by a sleepless night, or even by the fault of our “not quite diligent” hotel guide Maria, from 5 to 7 in the morning we were forced to stand on road while waiting for the tour bus. (All the ridiculous position of the waiting tourists - losers was smoothed out only by a magnificent spectacle: DAWN was breaking over the SEA)!
After the sea voyage, the mood was upbeat: not everyone manages to visit the places where the ancient peoples, who are considered the progenitors of European civilization, once kept their time count, and where the old madman Vulcan, who buried forever the secret of the History of “Minoan” Crete, does not sleep to this day ...
At midnight, we returned to the hotel, not assuming that another sleepless and painful night awaited us: like the previous one.
30.07. 2012 About 2 hours after midnight another "bacteriological attack" began. But this time, the smell of feces was so suffocating that we were no longer saved by the closed door and window in the shower. Running out of the room, we were horrified: feces flowed in streams directly along the pedestrian road, in the middle of which lay, dead, the cub of our "acquaintance" - THE NEEDLE MOUSE. We did not notice any physical damage on his corpse: he was a clear victim of poisonous streams that flooded everything around.
This was followed by a "night walk" at the reception and our requirement for the manager on duty - to call and. about. director of the hotel to take concrete measures to eliminate the situation that threatens the health of others, and immediately turn off the irrigation system. An attempt to meet with about. The director of the hotel turned out to be ineffective: at night, according to the manager, he rests. The shutdown of watering followed only after we insisted that the manager personally walked through the area flooded with feces to our room.

With Mr. and about. Director of the hotel, we met only after 10 o'clock in the morning. As in the previous meeting, he shook hands with us for a long time, smiled and gave another "word of honor" that "this will not happen again" and that "today there was a breakdown of the irrigation system and nothing more. " In addition, he promised that after her repair, the plants in the hotel would not be watered with sewage, but with CLEAR WATER.
Again - BELIEVE. (Like our compatriot from St. Petersburg, who, taking advantage of the situation when the head of the hotel was “available” to “ordinary” vacationers, decided to personally hear from him the answer to her questions. For example: why is it damp in her room with her daughter, air conditioning - does not work, and in bed with linen that is not white, they find wood lice and cockroaches).
In the evening, they called us to the room from the SPA - salon of the hotel and reminded us not to forget to use their free, for us, services and clarified that by order and. about. The director of the hotel, in addition to the previously promised free services, we were also invited to use the sauna. (A tempting offer, of course. But the Russian proverb about free cheese in a mousetrap came to mind).
...At night they again breathed clean air, although they no longer thought about calmness, because every minute they were waiting for a "relapse".
Black circles under the eyes, shortness of breath, palpitations “signaled” that our health was significantly undermined: there was no strength left even to visit the previously planned excursions. Only in the SEA did we feel a surge of vital energy.
31.07. 2012 Journey on the "caramel" ENGINE. A pleasant impression was left by the Greek village and its inhabitants. Cheerful drivers of the ENGINE, they are also guides, cheered up. We bought fresh honey from a local apiary and medicinal mountain herbs to our taste and time: we needed to improve our lost health by any available means.
The night that followed was restless, because there was an oppressive silence on the territory of the Elounda Blu Beach Hotel: the birds no longer sang, the cicadas no longer “sounded”, the leaves on our beloved palm tree turned yellow and began to dry out, and on the path in the evening we found, half dead, familiar Hedgehog. (More we did not see him - from that moment).
But the air in the hotel remains clean.
This pleases so far.

01.08. 2012 We restore spoiled health: we try to spend all the time in nature. We take walks along the coast and explore local neighborhoods and attractions.
Acquired during the stay in the "strange" hotel called "Elounda Blu Beach" shortness of breath began to pass.
The hope that everything will get better has not left us: the air in the vicinity of the hotel is clean.
In the evening we visited the hotel's favorite place of entertainment: vacationers gather near the bar and become spectators and listeners of various dance and music shows.
Oddly enough, with the illumination in the hotel - a clear problem. All concert programs take place in almost absolute darkness, and this is annoying. (In short, not impressed).

02.08. 2012 (letter to the travel company Beleon)
We ask you to take urgent measures to the management of the Elounda Blu Beach hotel, located on about.
Crete, which, for watering plants growing on the territory, use biological additives with a pungent and persistent smell of sewerage and caustic chemicals, causing vacationers not only unbearable moral anguish when inhaled, but also expose their health to a real danger of contamination by the decomposition products of this mixture, evaporating in the heat and hovering in the surrounding air, as well as pouring streams along the footpaths. Being on vacation on the territory of the above-mentioned hotel from July 22.2012 for ten days, we, the undersigned, twice appealed to the hotel management and personally to the director of the hotel, in the presence of a representative of the company "Beleon" guide Maria, on the issue of the inadmissibility of using on the territory where vacationers arrived to improve their health, this method of watering plants, causing harm to the health of others.

In a personal conversation, we received an assurance from the hotel director that this unacceptable phenomenon would not happen again. But all the promises were reduced only to a temporary, no more than 2 days, cessation of watering with this mixture. Tonight, at 2:00 local time, the strong smell of a foul-smelling mixture pouring from hoses near our house, as well as near neighboring houses and along walking paths, again caused another sleepless night and caused another feeling of nausea and irritability, in addition to harm to the respiratory tract, irritating the mucous membranes. There was a feeling that chemical reagents of unknown origin were added to biological additives with impurities of feces.
We earnestly ask you to help us, because out of a three-week stay, we would like to not only improve our health in the remaining 10 days, but at least restore it to the level with which we arrived here.
We draw your attention to the fact that the representative of your company, the hotel guide Maria, is not competent in solving this problem.
Sincerely, Pronin Evgeny Nikolaevich, Pronina Elena Vasilievna.
03.08. 2012 At night, at 2 o'clock local time, we were again subjected to a gas and bacteriological attack in the form of emissions into the atmosphere of mixtures from irrigation devices turned on at full capacity, but also with the obvious addition of chlorine, which led to a state of suffocation and inflammation of all mucous membranes tissues of the respiratory system. (Details in the attached letter. See below).

03.08. 201.5 hours in the morning (letter to the tour company "Beleon") Once again we ask you to provide us with urgent assistance. Yesterday we sent an email to your email address. We have not received a response.
Today at 02:00 am on August 03.2012, a similar action was recorded: the irrigation installations on the territory of the Elounda Blu Beach Hotel were turned on again.

As a result of the sharp specific smell of feces and chlorine, we developed a state of suffocation, spasmodic cough, profuse lacrimation, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eyes and throat. We, the guests of the hotel, living in room 503, were forced at 03:00 am on August 03.2012 to contact the duty manager at the hotel reception with a request to sort out the situation by calling the hotel director. To which a refusal was received, motivated by the fact that the director is resting at night. After that, at our convincing request, the duty manager called the hotel guide Maria. In a conversation with her, we learned that according to our letter yesterday, August 02 at 8 pm, a meeting took place between the employees of your Firm and the management of the hotel, to which we were not invited and were not notified about it. Calls to our mobile phones indicated by us in the Travel Agreement and Questionnaires were not made.
Instead, today we were again deprived of the opportunity to sleep and our health was subjected to another threat due to another chemical attack described above. From the same telephone conversation with the hotel guide Maria, we learned that at 4 o'clock in the morning she is not at work, and therefore it is not in her competence to solve our problem. In addition, she said that she was not going to help us until she arrived at work at 10 in the morning, and when asked how and where we could survive until that time in conditions dangerous to our health and life, she replied that it was not her interested.
Your Company's Regulations state that "the Company's employees will control comfortable accommodation in the hotel and take care of further quality service for EACH GUEST". In our case, hotel accommodation was associated with many problems, and “quality service” turned out to be an undisguised threat to our health and life for us.
After a fruitless conversation with Maria, we urgently demanded that the hotel manager on duty immediately turn off the irrigation system, which is hazardous to health and life. With difficulty, but we managed to get the manager to call the technicians and give the command to turn off. Before that, he, together with us, went to our place of residence and personally recorded the presence of air unsuitable for inhalation in our room and in the surrounding area.
We ask you to answer our letter and notify us personally by mobile phone about your arrival on this issue, or notify us in advance of your arrival through the hotel reception. We are waiting for a speedy resolution of the problem, because, having paid money for the rest in this hotel, we did not suspect that we would still have to pay with our health, both physical and mental.
If this problem is not resolved, we will be forced to demand compensation for damages for spoiled rest and undermined health.
Sincerely, guests of the Elounda Blu Beach hotel Evgeniy Pronin and Elena Pronina.

Contact number…
03.08. 2012 after 9 o'clock in the morning Arriving for breakfast, the restaurant accidentally ran into the guide Maria Khrustova and demanded that we be immediately contacted by a representative of the tour. by Beleon. She called the tour in our presence. firm and said that within an hour a representative of her should arrive on our issue at the hotel.
Tour representative. firm "Beleon" arrived, indeed, during the named time. Then appeared and. about. the director of the Elounda Blu Beach hotel, who did not deign this time to even greet us.
As a result of negotiations between the parties representing the management of the Elounda Blu Beach hotel and the management of Beleon, we were offered to change our place of residence to another, more comfortable and safe for health, 5-star level. And later, when we gave our consent to the move, there were already two hotels to choose from, but of a 4-star level (however, it was added: “all inclusive”).
We are completely exhausted, completely exhausted by everything that preceded today's meeting with the representative of the tour. Beleon firms were glad to leave this ill-fated corner, not at all similar to paradise, on any terms and, having accepted the last offer, opted for the 4-star Marmin Bay Hotel.
Apologies from and about.
director of the Elounda Blu Beach hotel for all the terrible things that happened to us during our stay in the territory under his jurisdiction, we did not hear, nor did we hear proposals to reimburse the cost of a spoiled vacation and compensate for the damage caused to health - both moral and and mental.
03.08. 2012 Afternoon Moving to a new place of residence.
The apartments are really strikingly different from the previous ones and correspond to their 4 stars. The architecture of the hotel is unusually "pleasant to the eye". The view from the balcony is just fabulous. The promised fresh air and mountain wind seem unreal.

We are trying to forget all the bad things, despite the “lack of sleep” and the feeling of dissatisfaction from the realization of the wasted time that we intended to use on excursions, sea procedures and communication with Nature, and not on troubleshooting, shortcomings and other shortcomings at the Elounda Blu Beach Hotel ”, which, oddly enough, also claims 4 stars.
04.08. 2012 We enjoy the views from the balcony of our new “house”, located at the level of about 15-20 floors, listen to the birds singing and the sound of our favorite cicadas, watch the flight of beautiful butterflies, fluffy bumblebees, contemplate the variety of flowering, fragrant plants, breathe fresh air in full , which brings the wind from the mountains, very close to our new place of residence and ...we are afraid to “wake up”.
05.08. 2012 We enjoy traveling around the area. Along the way - we conclude, unflattering, unfortunately: with excursions - here, on the coast, "strained".
The defect in the excursion "menu" is obvious and the excursion service cannot be compared with the excursion service of other Mediterranean countries and coasts. Here, in Elounda, boat trips exclusively to the island of Spinalonga are imposed everywhere and everywhere. But this is not an ordinary place. As you know, the island, over which the black flags of death flutter, is a former leper colony. It was here that sick people, doomed to death, suffered for many years. And it is here, to the habitat of their unfortunate, restless souls, by an irony of fate or someone’s evil whim, that numerous boats and boats are sailing these days: with bright, festive illumination, loud, bravura music, songs and merry tourists on board. The fact that the angel of death still hovers over this island and the fact that the leprosy virus has been viable for hundreds of years, apparently, does not bother them at all. (As they say, "an amateur").

And although Maria, our respected guide, “reassured” us, “Russians”, at the first meeting: “If you are not satisfied with the tourist routes and the cost of excursions, you can independently rent a yacht or other means of transportation for the duration of your stay, subject to availability you have enough money”, voicing the approximate cost of this “service” and adding with sarcasm that “usually wealthy people rest at an expensive resort”, nevertheless, it’s a shame for the tourism industry of these beautiful places.
06.08. 2012 Cretan cuisine is undoubtedly excellent! Cooking art will not leave indifferent even the most demanding gourmet. And we, moreover, have the opportunity to compare during the same season the cuisine of two hotels at once. (No bad - no good). Of course, each of them has its own "highlights", its pros and cons.
For example, in the diet of the kitchen of the Elounda Blu Beach hotel, expensive varieties of cheeses are in abundance and a variety of ripe and tasty fruits are available, which was not noticed in the menu of the Marmin Bay Hotel, where we were offered only sliced ​ ​ ​ ​ kiwi and oranges from fruit. , and from berries - watermelons. But in all other respects, to the credit of the cuisine of both hotels, there is a complete abundance: delicious dishes from quality products - fish, meat, vegetables; desserts and pastries, as usual in Greece, are invariably delicious. In addition, we were pleased with the delicious Greek beer. The service in the restaurants of both hotels in which we ate during our stay in Crete is at a high level. The service staff is very attentive, friendly and well trained.
An unpleasant aftertaste was left only from communication with the senior waiter from the Elounda Blu Beach hotel, who smiled, especially broadly and cordially, only to those who ordered alcoholic drinks at the meal, and to those who ordered water, albeit at exorbitant prices, was emphatically indifferent. (As they say, to each his own).

07.08. 2012 We sometimes observe from the height of the balcony how lovers of swimming have fun in the pool, and not in the sea. The purest water is poured for them, bars with drinks are open, and the hotel's animator entertains them from morning to evening. Under the scorching rays of the sun and by the light of the moon, cheerful "chants - noisemakers" are heard, the musical program is "on the level". Unfortunately, the entire animation program is conducted only in Polish. There are no "Russian-speaking" animators, although in the hotel there are Russians and Poles - "equally", practically.
08.08.
2012 THE WIND from the MOUNTAINS - rages all these days and helps us recover after the painful days and nights spent in the "disaster zone" - in the Elounda Blu Beach hotel, which brought our bodies to a critical state. (Bruises under the eyes, shortness of breath, palpitations that appeared after gas and bacteriological attacks still take place, sadly).
Once again, we walked to our favorite place: the pier in Elounda.
09.08. 2012 We made our dream come true: we reached the opposite side of the Mirabello bay - along the isthmus and found artifacts that confirmed our assumption that we ...just a little - almost reached the flooded city of Olous.
On the way to it, we found not only volcanic rocks and the remains of petrified corals and hardened lava, but also on a huge stone slab lying not far from the sea shore, we saw the same ANCIENT SIGNS - SYMBOLS of Minoan writing, including the SIGN OF THE DOUBLE AX - LABRYS, like those that we were shown during the tour of the Palace of Knossos - on the ruins of the Palace of Knossos: THE MINOTAUR LABYRINTH.
10.08. 2012 We got on foot to the village of Plaka. The approaching twilight did not allow us to reach its center, but from the sight of everything that we met along the way, as well as the very close leper island, we did not want to continue exploring the surroundings. The villas located in these places had a gloomy and menacing appearance. The color of their facades - in dark colors, brown flags on the gates and unfriendly guards at the gates caused not very bright thoughts.
Especially, in the light of the previous trip to these places, when we observed near the same villas, on the beach, animators and a group of parents with children who behaved very unfriendly towards us. (Children were dressed in bright shorts with specific patterns symbolizing death: skulls and crossbones).

We returned to the hotel in the dark and we were lucky to see how the cactus blooms: a magnificent white glow spilled from its huge delicate inflorescences! The flowers of this cactus live only one night, so Nature gave us the opportunity to see this Miracle! Plus, they noticed a strange luminous object in the sky, of a very significant size, which then disappeared from view behind a ridge of mountains. (The next morning we heard on TV information that there was an unsuccessful launch of a carrier with two satellites on board at Baikonur, which went out of orbit and became “space debris”. Perhaps this is what we saw. ).
The mood was overshadowed by the fact that the air conditioner in the room in the morning began to drive only almost hot air, and the wind subsided, as for evil!
Late in the evening, almost at night, we were brought several bottles of water from the reception and were “delighted” that not just the air conditioner had broken, and not only in our place, but in the entire hotel, the air conditioning system “flew”. (We decided: let's endure - a night, and there - they will fix everything, as promised).
11.08. 2012 Surprisingly, in our absence, terry bathrobes, given to us on the day of check-in at the hotel, disappeared from the closet. In the evening we heard from our compatriots that the same thing happened to them. (Do Russian vacationers really not inspire confidence in the local “custodians” of bedding and related room service items? It’s a shame, of course, but also funny, because we didn’t use bathrobes anyway: both copies were the smallest - of the sizes, “not a size”, and, accordingly, did not suit anyone - from us, initially. ).
Second day without air conditioning. Stuffiness. The wind seems to have "taken a day off": no hint of coolness. You can go crazy. Everyone in the rooms has doors wide open, as well as on balconies. The lack of wind and stuffiness were immediately taken advantage of by some bloodsuckers invisible to the eye: the bites itch and do not let you fall asleep.
We begin to slowly get angry and complain about bad luck, but we remember that in many places on the Planet and on Crete, in particular, fires are raging (the fire has already reached the suburbs of Athens, namely from Athens we were promised to deliver new equipment for air conditioning the hotel, according to reception manager) and ...it becomes ashamed - for oneself: after all, others are worse, and - much, at the moment.


12.08. 2012 Third day without air conditioning. In addition, at night for three hours on the entire coast turned off the light. DARKNESS! (FLUSH and gloom in a prestigious hotel - this is already a "masterpiece".
But in comparison with the gas and bacteriological attacks in the previous hotel, no less “prestigious”, judging by its cost and “stardom”, this is “not fatal”, although it is annoying, because the undermined health has just begun to improve.

On this sad note, we would not like to end our journey to the LAND OF OUR DREAMS, but the travel time is over: three weeks are over.

Farewell, a series of our misadventures and force majeure!

DO NOT farewell - CRETE, DO NOT farewell - Greece,
DO NOT FAREWELL - MEDITERRANEAN SEA: see you soon! ! !

As a note, some excerpts from the letters of people who do not know us personally, but who found themselves in approximately the same situation as we were, during a holiday in the same Elounda Blu Beach hotel, taken by us from the Internet, are given.

Sergey
Visited the hotel in August 2012
The overall impression of the hotel is bad. This is not my first time in Greece and I can say for sure that the Greek 4 * does not pull at all, rather for a weak three-ruble note.
The hotel rooms are terrible.
1) There is nowhere to put things in the room, because the cabinet is very small and without shelves, and there is not even a shelf in the bathroom.
2) The air conditioners are old and barely work. We almost did not cool the room. And the neighbors generally broke down, waking us up at two in the morning with a terrible roar of the compressor.
3) The bathroom often stinks of sewerage.
4) The telephone in the room was broken and never fixed.
5) Safe in the room is paid.
6) Many other problems and inconveniences...
The food in the hotel is average. Breakfasts are more or less decent, and dinners for 4 * do not pull at all. Little variety, and some even simple dishes are tasteless. Drinks are expensive. Side