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I never write reviews, but the blatant discrepancy between what was stated in the advertisement and what is actually there made me do it. We chose a hotel from a photo on the internet, sorted it out for a long time, but... we chose what we chose.
Traveled in September 2013. The tour was bought through the Kiev travel agency "Kraina-tour", and the trip itself was organized by the tour operator "Albiz-tour". I have never met a more illiterate travel organization. It was the worst vacation in the last 10 years. If we were told that in Crete it is not worth taking a hotel within the city (and we were in Crete for the first time), maybe we would have chosen something else, for example, the same Hersonissos Maris. But first things first.
We were met at the airport not by a representative of ALBIS-tour, but by a certain Phoenix-tour company. The guy handed us a brochure with excursions and sent us by taxi to the city of Hersonissos. Check-in in Crete, it turns out, takes place from 14-00, and since we arrived at 10-00, we had to sit in the lobby. The room was given about 2 hours later. What we saw is not even 2 stars - a tiny room that does not even fit a suitcase! The shower stall is so tiny that my husband, who wears a size 48, barely squeezed sideways into it. And to sit on the toilet, you had to shrug your shoulders. Plus, all this pleasure goes out into the street and to the neighboring building of the same hotel, where the liquor is located. I had to fall asleep that day to the noise of groaning vacationers. When we expressed our emotions to the representative of Phoenix, a certain Taisiya, she calmly remarked that these were our problems, because. they sold us a bad hotel in Albis Tour. The only benefit from this Taisiya was that the next day we changed the room. The room was better and bigger. But in order to see the street, one had to go out onto the balcony, move to its left edge, bend over and try to see a piece of the sky. Next to the railing there was a balcony of some of our neighbors, well, the second for the company. On the last day, on our common balcony, we met the Germans and started talking. They did not like the hotel either, and the price of the rest turned out to be the same as ours.
The hotel staff does not speak Russian, so if you go, learn English or Greek. Who likes what.
The hotel does not have a territory. The only thing is the presence of a swimming pool in each annex (building) of the hotel and sun loungers around. Near our annex, the city dump lived its own life, dousing us with amber when going to the beach. The beach is a small strip of land, naturally municipal, but the best places on it are occupied by sunbeds (3 euros per day) and umbrellas (2 euros per day). Some with bedding were lying on some kind of humps in the center of this blessed place. We were not lucky with the weather - out of 8 days of rest - 6 days the sea was stormy. As follows from the reviews I read, this is a common thing in Crete. Well, God bless him. The real test for me was the "cry" of the cicadas. I got used to this day 4. From morning to night, these creatures yell in unison.
The food was quite tolerable, but not at all the declared 5 * (and we were sold the hotel as a five-star one). Pretty terrible European breakfast (sausages, beans, etc. ), but I know from experience that it is everywhere, even in Egypt, even in Prague, even in Budapest. For dinner they gave some dish from the chef plus everything else. But there was no diversity. There was no talk of any national dishes at all. In general, you won’t stay hungry, but our meal was called to fill your stomach with at least something, if only you didn’t want to eat. When leaving for the airport, we were even "fed" - there was a plate on the table, covered with cling film. It contained a dried bun, butter without butter, for some reason Egyptian production, one nectarine, a little jam and some vegetables from yesterday. We were not supposed to have tea or coffee, so we drank UPI from the cooler. Yes, we took the breakfast-dinner system and were very sorry. Firstly, when dining in the city, they spent 3 times more on food than if they bought an all-inclusive. Our travel agency, on the contrary, advised us this particular food system. Secondly, drinks at dinner at a restaurant cost as much as 3 cans of beer at a local private shop. We didn’t come across good wine in Crete - some kind of terrible sourness. Our banal Rkatsiteli from the supermarket produced by the Ovidiopol winery is a hundred times better. This is not only my opinion, we talked there with our tourists. In general, I think that all this is a flaw of our travel agency, which hid these details from us (about the food system) and a flaw of the host, whose representative TAISIA was at the hotel once a day and then at 6 pm. Another disadvantage of the BB food system is that in the hotel liquor we had to buy drinks at their prices - about 3 euros for a can of beer, in a store across the street it costs 1 euro. You are not allowed to bring your own drinks. If some kind of entertainment program is running, the condition is the same: you can’t bring your own, but the places are occupied by those who have an inclusive. You can't go to the beach, it's a storm. Our Germans also went restless, but they diluted their "rest" with discos. They called us, but we already had to leave.
We went on an excursion to Heraklion to look at their recently unearthed Minoan civilization. Look at the pictures of those who have already been there, a fairy tale. In nature, this ruin with a bull and three columns is the only bright spot among these wrecks. Do not think, I really love history and art - I cried in front of the painting of the Madonna in the Dresden gallery - but this? In Egypt, it is even more interesting to look at their ruins. Then we were taken to the cave of Zeus, a rather interesting place. But 4 euros is also clearly not worth it. Personally, I was interested in the fact that the human eye picks out stalactites and stalagmites in gray from the darkness, and the camera - in red, yellow, well, apparently, depending on the color of the backlight. Near the cave of Zeus we were safely "forgotten" by the bus. We were lucky that a restless guide, originally from Kamenetz-Podolsk (Ukraine), took the people to join the pottery. This saved our money and nerves - my husband and I have never run 1.5 kilometers so quickly. In response to our reproach, the strict guide said: "But I agreed, well, there, with a Pole, so that he would pick you up... " I still have a question - with which Pole? The only valuable thing in this excursion was a visit to two Orthodox monasteries - Mother of God Kardiotissa and Mother of God Vidyani (Life-Giving Spring). And in one and in the second one feels that which distinguishes a holy place from other things. Both in one and in the second there are ancient miraculous icons. Copies are sold at the local church shop. The price starts from 10 euros for a picture slightly larger than a matchbox. By the way, at the Kiev airport we were met by a strict aunt in the form of a customs officer and politely began to interrogate if we were carrying icons and fur coats. So be careful, you will have to pay customs duty for these purchases.
Yes, I will tell you more about the excursion. Somewhere at home there is still a price list with prices. Our enterprising Phoenix bent prices very well. For example, our Heraklion cost them 54 euros per nose, the island of Santorini - 175 euros per person. We took a tour at a street travel agency. Heraklion cost us 27 euros per person, Santorini 92 euros per person. Conditions, believe me, the same. With us, the Tez Tour Bus arrived - the same two-story one as ours. And there were also 78 of them. I will tell you that it is very convenient when 78 people are stretching their ears and necks to the only guide, trying to hear at least something for their honestly paid 27 euros. Well, as the experience of my friends who traveled around Croatia shows, forgetting tourists on excursions is a pan-European disease. They call it taking care of other tourists who are forced to wait for latecomers. There, absolutely no one is interested in the aspect that by jumping in the mountains you could twist your leg or something happened to your child. Late-your problems, get to the hotel on your own. And if this is an island, well, I don’t know, you can try swimming.
I want to finish you in my review next. Being at the reception, we met tourists from the TEZ tour. They were in the process of resolving the issue of settlement, because. their tour operator called back and said that they would be provided with another hotel, because. In Hersonissos Palace NO!!!?!! ! STANDARD rooms. I wonder what category of room we lived in then and in which one... We were sent by the travel agent "Kraina-tour" with her impolite director Lena and the tour operator "Albiz-tour"?
In conclusion, I want to say that you really need to rent a car to explore the island. It turned out to be very inexpensive compared to our expectations and, taking into account the cost of gasoline, they have 1.4 euros. The cars are good and in good condition. You can even take a convertible if you want. Rental points are everywhere, there are no problems with this. Do not get hung up on the offers of your tour operator, who wants to earn you extra money.
And on the second excursion - the island of Gramvousa, we never went. The husband said: "They will also forget on the island... ". In general, this is a very beautiful place to relax, the beach, roughly speaking, but for your extra money. In general, Crete disappointed me. I expected that the nature there is more picturesque. Our Crimea is much more beautiful.
That's all. Have a good trip, impressions!!!
And conscientious tour operators who want not only to earn money, but also to make sure that you feel good for your money.
P. S. And we will not go to Crete again. Maybe someday we'll get to mainland Greece.
Traveled in September 2013. The tour was bought through the Kiev travel agency "Kraina-tour", and the trip itself was organized by the tour operator "Albiz-tour". I have never met a more illiterate travel organization. It was the worst vacation in the last 10 years. If we were told that in Crete it is not worth taking a hotel within the city (and we were in Crete for the first time), maybe we would have chosen something else, for example, the same Hersonissos Maris. But first things first.
We were met at the airport not by a representative of ALBIS-tour, but by a certain Phoenix-tour company. The guy handed us a brochure with excursions and sent us by taxi to the city of Hersonissos. Check-in in Crete, it turns out, takes place from 14-00, and since we arrived at 10-00, we had to sit in the lobby. The room was given about 2 hours later. What we saw is not even 2 stars - a tiny room that does not even fit a suitcase! The shower stall is so tiny that my husband, who wears a size 48, barely squeezed sideways into it. And to sit on the toilet, you had to shrug your shoulders. Plus, all this pleasure goes out into the street and to the neighboring building of the same hotel, where the liquor is located. I had to fall asleep that day to the noise of groaning vacationers. When we expressed our emotions to the representative of Phoenix, a certain Taisiya, she calmly remarked that these were our problems, because. they sold us a bad hotel in Albis Tour. The only benefit from this Taisiya was that the next day we changed the room. The room was better and bigger. But in order to see the street, one had to go out onto the balcony, move to its left edge, bend over and try to see a piece of the sky. Next to the railing there was a balcony of some of our neighbors, well, the second for the company. On the last day, on our common balcony, we met the Germans and started talking. They did not like the hotel either, and the price of the rest turned out to be the same as ours.
The hotel staff does not speak Russian, so if you go, learn English or Greek. Who likes what.
The hotel does not have a territory. The only thing is the presence of a swimming pool in each annex (building) of the hotel and sun loungers around. Near our annex, the city dump lived its own life, dousing us with amber when going to the beach. The beach is a small strip of land, naturally municipal, but the best places on it are occupied by sunbeds (3 euros per day) and umbrellas (2 euros per day). Some with bedding were lying on some kind of humps in the center of this blessed place. We were not lucky with the weather - out of 8 days of rest - 6 days the sea was stormy. As follows from the reviews I read, this is a common thing in Crete. Well, God bless him. The real test for me was the "cry" of the cicadas. I got used to this day 4. From morning to night, these creatures yell in unison.
The food was quite tolerable, but not at all the declared 5 * (and we were sold the hotel as a five-star one). Pretty terrible European breakfast (sausages, beans, etc. ), but I know from experience that it is everywhere, even in Egypt, even in Prague, even in Budapest. For dinner they gave some dish from the chef plus everything else. But there was no diversity. There was no talk of any national dishes at all. In general, you won’t stay hungry, but our meal was called to fill your stomach with at least something, if only you didn’t want to eat. When leaving for the airport, we were even "fed" - there was a plate on the table, covered with cling film. It contained a dried bun, butter without butter, for some reason Egyptian production, one nectarine, a little jam and some vegetables from yesterday. We were not supposed to have tea or coffee, so we drank UPI from the cooler. Yes, we took the breakfast-dinner system and were very sorry. Firstly, when dining in the city, they spent 3 times more on food than if they bought an all-inclusive. Our travel agency, on the contrary, advised us this particular food system. Secondly, drinks at dinner at a restaurant cost as much as 3 cans of beer at a local private shop. We didn’t come across good wine in Crete - some kind of terrible sourness. Our banal Rkatsiteli from the supermarket produced by the Ovidiopol winery is a hundred times better. This is not only my opinion, we talked there with our tourists. In general, I think that all this is a flaw of our travel agency, which hid these details from us (about the food system) and a flaw of the host, whose representative TAISIA was at the hotel once a day and then at 6 pm. Another disadvantage of the BB food system is that in the hotel liquor we had to buy drinks at their prices - about 3 euros for a can of beer, in a store across the street it costs 1 euro. You are not allowed to bring your own drinks. If some kind of entertainment program is running, the condition is the same: you can’t bring your own, but the places are occupied by those who have an inclusive. You can't go to the beach, it's a storm. Our Germans also went restless, but they diluted their "rest" with discos. They called us, but we already had to leave.
We went on an excursion to Heraklion to look at their recently unearthed Minoan civilization. Look at the pictures of those who have already been there, a fairy tale. In nature, this ruin with a bull and three columns is the only bright spot among these wrecks. Do not think, I really love history and art - I cried in front of the painting of the Madonna in the Dresden gallery - but this? In Egypt, it is even more interesting to look at their ruins. Then we were taken to the cave of Zeus, a rather interesting place. But 4 euros is also clearly not worth it. Personally, I was interested in the fact that the human eye picks out stalactites and stalagmites in gray from the darkness, and the camera - in red, yellow, well, apparently, depending on the color of the backlight. Near the cave of Zeus we were safely "forgotten" by the bus. We were lucky that a restless guide, originally from Kamenetz-Podolsk (Ukraine), took the people to join the pottery. This saved our money and nerves - my husband and I have never run 1.5 kilometers so quickly. In response to our reproach, the strict guide said: "But I agreed, well, there, with a Pole, so that he would pick you up... " I still have a question - with which Pole? The only valuable thing in this excursion was a visit to two Orthodox monasteries - Mother of God Kardiotissa and Mother of God Vidyani (Life-Giving Spring). And in one and in the second one feels that which distinguishes a holy place from other things. Both in one and in the second there are ancient miraculous icons. Copies are sold at the local church shop. The price starts from 10 euros for a picture slightly larger than a matchbox. By the way, at the Kiev airport we were met by a strict aunt in the form of a customs officer and politely began to interrogate if we were carrying icons and fur coats. So be careful, you will have to pay customs duty for these purchases.
Yes, I will tell you more about the excursion. Somewhere at home there is still a price list with prices. Our enterprising Phoenix bent prices very well. For example, our Heraklion cost them 54 euros per nose, the island of Santorini - 175 euros per person. We took a tour at a street travel agency. Heraklion cost us 27 euros per person, Santorini 92 euros per person. Conditions, believe me, the same. With us, the Tez Tour Bus arrived - the same two-story one as ours. And there were also 78 of them. I will tell you that it is very convenient when 78 people are stretching their ears and necks to the only guide, trying to hear at least something for their honestly paid 27 euros. Well, as the experience of my friends who traveled around Croatia shows, forgetting tourists on excursions is a pan-European disease. They call it taking care of other tourists who are forced to wait for latecomers. There, absolutely no one is interested in the aspect that by jumping in the mountains you could twist your leg or something happened to your child. Late-your problems, get to the hotel on your own. And if this is an island, well, I don’t know, you can try swimming.
I want to finish you in my review next. Being at the reception, we met tourists from the TEZ tour. They were in the process of resolving the issue of settlement, because. their tour operator called back and said that they would be provided with another hotel, because. In Hersonissos Palace NO!!!?!! ! STANDARD rooms. I wonder what category of room we lived in then and in which one... We were sent by the travel agent "Kraina-tour" with her impolite director Lena and the tour operator "Albiz-tour"?
In conclusion, I want to say that you really need to rent a car to explore the island. It turned out to be very inexpensive compared to our expectations and, taking into account the cost of gasoline, they have 1.4 euros. The cars are good and in good condition. You can even take a convertible if you want. Rental points are everywhere, there are no problems with this. Do not get hung up on the offers of your tour operator, who wants to earn you extra money.
And on the second excursion - the island of Gramvousa, we never went. The husband said: "They will also forget on the island... ". In general, this is a very beautiful place to relax, the beach, roughly speaking, but for your extra money. In general, Crete disappointed me. I expected that the nature there is more picturesque. Our Crimea is much more beautiful.
That's all. Have a good trip, impressions!!!
And conscientious tour operators who want not only to earn money, but also to make sure that you feel good for your money.
P. S. And we will not go to Crete again. Maybe someday we'll get to mainland Greece.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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