huibee: Accommodation During Greece Trip

All About Greece 4: Where to stay?

I think I had never really stayed in an apartment while travelling with friends and this was probably my first experience. And guess what, I'd strongly recommend it if you have got enough number of people to share it (an apartment) with. As its facilities and services were far better than 2-3 stars hotels in general.

The apartment that we stayed in Rethymno, Crete was Aloe Apartments. The location is good, very close to the beach and mini markets. The facilities were superb. The only thing which isn't that good was probably their reception isn't 24 hours, so the help is not there all day long. And also the hot water seems to be limited and I showered in cold water on the first night. However, these did not really affect. On the last day when we checked out, the receptionist even offered to give us a lift to the bus station, how nice was that! And during the journey, he wished that we would write a review of the apartment in Mandarin. Hahaha. (Prices were 96 euro for 2 nights, 4 persons/apartment, breakfast not included)

Two single bed in the living room. - Aloe Apartments.

Room. - Aloe Apartments.

The kitchen and the dining area. - Aloe Apartments.

We stayed in Irini Hotel in Heraklion. To be honest, I can't really think of anything good about this hotel. It isn't that bad, just that, it wouldn't be what I will recommend (Prices were 132 euro for 2 nights, 4 persons/room, breakfast not included).

We spent three nights at Lion Apartments, Athens. We got into quite some troubles finding this apartment, asking pedestrian, police, ambulance until we finally found it. Its service and facilities were really good though. We get there before 9am, and the room service lady get the room ready and let us check in at early morning without putting any extra charges. She was really friendly and helpful, explaining every single things in the apartment, helped us with our luggages, and worked really efficiently, without hoping for tips (we planned to give her but didn't see her again after that first day). (Prices were 270 euro for 3 nights, 4 persons/apartment, breakfast not included, free wireless). I'd recommend it if you don't mind that the location was a bit far from metro stations.

View from our room.

Also, if you're travelling between islands and mainlands, I'd say taking a night ferry would save you some money and time, the only disadvantage is that you would hardly sleep comfortably on the ferry unless you get a room (but then it'd be costly). We bought "deck" tickets which cost us less than 30 euros per person (Anek Lines). Although we did not get the chance to try, I think they served good food as well.