Особенности отдыха на Крите и в Лимас-отеле Features of rest in Crete and in the Limas hotel

We rested in Crete in July 2011. The hotel was chosen based on affordability. Accordingly, all our expectations from the hotel were based on this principle. I would like to write a truthful and unbiased review so that our compatriots receive high-quality information. LOCATION: The hotel is located in the village of Piganos Kampos (Pigi), which is 8 km. from Rethymno. You can't get there on foot - it will be far away. In the village itself there are 4-5 hotels (one five-star on the beach), 2 supercarts, 1 mini market, 1 fur salon, 1 disco on the seashore, a couple of taverns (including a good fish restaurant right in front of the hotel), 2 car rental offices and one tour desk. There are agricultural fields around : ) In the evening (except for sitting in taverns, in the hotel bar and watching TV in the room) there is nothing to do at all. The disco opens at 23-30. Sunset starts at 20-30. At 22 it is already very dark. We went to the neighboring city of Rethymnon in the evenings. BEACH: Exit the hotel, turn left, cross the road and walk along the five star hotel. The beach itself is sandy. Sometimes there are small pebbles. The entrance to the sea is also sandy, but in some places there are stones. The fate of the sea is separated by breakwaters. Some jump into the sea right from them. You can also go down the stairs. There is a no man's stretch of the beach, and there is a part of the beach that belongs to a 5-star hotel. There are sun loungers and umbrellas. You can't use them, but no one monitors this. We had our own bedding and umbrellas and there was plenty of room to spread them out. There are no changing rooms. There is a shower. There is a lifeguard tower. SEA: The sea is moderately warm. In mid-July it was +24 somewhere. At first it seemed to us that the sea was invigorating, but then we got used to it. When the weather is clear and there are no waves, the water is clear. There are some small fish swimming around. There are no sea urchins. Algae appeared only when it started to storm. About the storm - it's loudly said! It may seem dangerous to small children or those who cannot swim, but there is nothing to worry about. Although the lifeguard will run around the pier and whistle everyone. Few people listen to him and everyone is splashing on waves 10-20 cm high. : ) HOTEL: The hotel itself is small. For 20 rooms. Operated by the same family. Studio rooms (2 people) are located on the 2nd floor, and apartments (4 people) on the 1st. The pool is available. Children's playground next to the pool under an awning. The computer corner is a single PC in the corner, which is turned on on demand: 30 minutes - 1 euro. We used skype. But we did NOT find fields for tennis and football. They are, but at a nearby 5-star hotel. And next to ours there is only some kind of agricultural field and an abandoned site. All guests are Russian. There are no foreigners here. The receptionist speaks English quite decently and I can understand you. There is also a waitress Christina - she is from the Baltic States and can help, if anything. The host guides (several girls and drivers) also live in this hotel. So no one will be left without help). The staff itself is very friendly. Every 2 weeks there is a Cretan evening. It costs 10 euros per person. More like student amateur performances, but you can go there out of boredom. ROOM: We had a studio room. Big one at 20m. with a balcony. On the balcony there is a table with 2 chairs and a clothes dryer. In the room: 2 beds, wardrobe, table, chairs, bedside tables, kitchenette (stove, sink, dishes), small refrigerator, TV (one Russian channel - ORT) and air conditioning (remote control is given at the reception for 5 euros per day) . There is no safe in the room; it is at the reception - 1 euro per day. The safe itself is small: only for money and documents, that is, you can’t put a large camera and a laptop in it. The room was cleaned every day, but somehow selectively. They washed the floors, but not everywhere. Bed linen was not made. Towels and linen changed every 4 days. Mysor was thrown out regularly. There is only a small bar of soap and toilet paper in the shower. The furniture itself is old but sturdy. On the walls are cheerful whitewashing - red, green or beige. There are no wallpapers : ) FOOD: The whole point is that the hotel does NOT have its own kitchen. Breakfast is continental and very poor: scrambled eggs/scrambled eggs/eggs, bread, jam, honey, 1 type of sausage and cheese, tea, coffee, milk. Muesli, vegetables and yogurt NO. Dinner is more nutritious and varied: 2-3 types of meat or fish, 2-3 types of salads, 1-3 types of fruit, potatoes, pasta, soup of the day. A couple of times there was dessert and pies. You can order a jug of homemade wine (0.5) for 3 euros - very tasty. Although the choice is small, but every day there is something new, so it does not start to become boring. For lunch, you can buy food at the nearest supermarket, order potatoes and hamburgers at the bar, or eat at the tavern. We walked to the right of the hotel. It's delicious and relatively inexpensive. RETHYMNO: Since there is nothing to do in the village in the evening, we went to the city of Rethymno. Tickets are sold either on the bus or in the supermarket opposite the bus stop (50m from the hotel). It costs 1.2 euros one way. It takes about 25 minutes to get to the city center. Buses run until 23-30 every 20-30 minutes from 6-30 in the morning. The old part of the city is very nice. Narrow streets, wooden shutters, everything is green. You can see: the Venetian harbor, the fortress of Forteza, some old fountain there, the cathedral in the central square. There is also an open-air cinema and a theater (in the evenings in the fortress). During the day, except for cafes, all shops are closed, so it is better to arrange shopping in the evening. There are many tour agencies whose prices are 2 times cheaper than your guide. CHANIA: The largest western city of the island. Population - about 60-80 thousand. You can get to it yourself from the Rethymno bus station. That is, from the hotel you must first get to the final stop in Rethymnon (bus station), and then transfer to another bus to Chania. Buses run every 1 hour and travel time is also 1 hour. A ticket costs 6.2 euros one way. In Chania itself, there is also an old part of the city, a Venetian harbor, a lighthouse, the ruins of a citadel, an old mosque on the port embankment, a couple of cathedrals, churches and a tiny synagogue of the 15th century. There is nothing to see in the modern part of Chania. HERAKLION: It is the capital of the island. About 200 thous. population. Most flights land directly there. We didn't go for walks in the city. According to reviews, there is nothing special to see there: the same old fortress, the Venetian fountain, a small part of the old city. Everything else is new construction. You can get to Heraklion in 2 ways: from the Rethymno bus stop (a ticket costs 7.6 euros one way) or take the road. The road that runs along the hotel is old. Buses to Heraklion run on it 2 times a day, except for weekends.Itisbettertolookatthefullscheduleonthewebsite( http://bus-service-crete-ktel.com/timetable. php). To take a passing bus, you need to go either to the right from the hotel to the town of Stavromenos and sit down on a new road (walk 25 minutes) or to the left of the hotel to get to the village of Platanias and sit down there on a new road (it will be far on foot). EXCURSIONS: It is better to take excursions not from a guide, but from a tour desk. There are plenty of them in Rethymnon. There is also one office in the village itself near one supermarket. The price is 2 times lower than the guide offers. SANTORINI: This is the most popular and most expensive tour in Crete. The guide will offer it for 150 euros. It can be bought at tour desks for 100-115 euros. You can go on your own, which we did. The main thing is to decide how long you want to go there. Large steamships (about 4 hours) and fast meteors (about 1-45) go to the island. You can go from Rethymno (go on Tuesdays and Sundays) or from Heraklion (go every day). If you go for 1 day, then the most convenient option is from Rethymnon, of course. There are no problems with transport in this case. You will be picked up, brought, put on buses and driven around the island. One BUT: you will have to ride in the very heat, and on the island it is oooooooooooooo hot during the day. Plus, of course, you will not see any sunrise / sunset. If you want to go for the sunset (however, it didn’t impress us at all - the dawn is much more beautiful, IMHO), then you need to go for 2 days with an overnight stay at least. In this case, the only convenient option is on a meteor from Heraklion. It is better to book tickets in advance ( http://www. ferries. gr/hfd/). In order not to ride once again to pick them up in Heraklion, we picked them up right on the day of departure in the port - their cabin is there. Departure at 9-45. To be in time so early, you will have to take the first bus from Rethymnon to Heraklion, which leaves at 6-30. Drive 1.5 hours. Not the easiest and most convenient way, but obviously cheaper than a taxi, which will be about 100 euros.