Without doubt a beautiful place , amazing views and peaceful in the main.
You can read my review and think " petty " but beware of being mislead.This is not a private villa. All we needed was a true representation.
We booked in Jan 2014 for 14 nights for August 2014, after various e mails ( can be posted ) and phone calls we were assured that the villa was private we had sole use of the whole facility we would be ALONE. Confirmed again in writing in July 2014.
We arrive only to find, albeit a lovely family, in residence underneath with an 8 month baby.They booked in mid 2013 for a long term rent and were told they could share facilities ( guest house Petra). So obviously the fact that I asked if it were sole use of a private villa and pool and we were completely private was at best misleading, given the fact that the couple had been there since spring 2014. and there was in fact a guest house underneath the villa I had never been told there was a guest house within the villa or indeed other guests present.
This put us on a back foot as we spent our holiday thinking about a baby and noise levels, spending a lot of time whispering due to echo.
We had booked for 8 people , 4 couples and were told There would be no one else there.
On arrival immediately and extensively I was told how expensive everything was and not to be wasteful,something I am certainly NOT.
The accommodation is very well equipped , short of nothing at all and the appliances are new and high end.
I fully understand the need to ensure care and respect and also not waste , but usage has surely been calculated in the rental and there are ways of getting this across better and this needs to be addressed.
There were times when access to the pool was impossible as the residents underneath had family to visit and that would have made 15 in the pool there being 6 sun loungers and quite honestly the pool is not up for that capacity.
Car hire ................ a whole different episode . In a nut shell we hired via the owners , they are not licensed rental cars , something else we did not know and were mislead ,they are their own personal use vehicles which puts liability and insurance under question. one had 4 split ripped tyres,but were told to continue to use them as the sun causes this ????? new guests will be offered this car without tyre changes apparently? later we were asked to tell the police if stopped we had borrowed them from friends......having paid £1.4k for them I was not prepared to enter into this.
The whole time you are there you have the feeling you are in someones home, the owners are constantly checking , particularly the pool which in the beginning is endearing but becomes intrusive,I am guessing they have had guest problems in the past.
The owners stay on site in a small house in the garden. Private this is not.
We decided to vacate and book elsewhere, we haven't asked to be refunded for the cutting short of our stay as basically it was us who decided enough was enough. it really isn't about money its about transparency and honesty and far more importantly safety ,wasting precious time with my family or putting them at risk is not an option , there is no price for this.
on booking they were well aware that this was a time for us as a family to be together as I recovered from major surgery ( I hate to use that ), having not been together for a year, we chose this place to be private away from view of others somewhere I did not feel I was on show..
I am deeply sad to find myself writing this review , I am not vindictive but I wish I knew before booking we would be sharing as I would not have done so, simple really.
I note with great interest that the site has now been updated to say facilities will be shared
with others so in theory this should no longer happen but there was plenty of opportunity to tell me ,so I question why.
Kea is the most beautiful of places with a host of accommodation available for every budget ,we will be returning to the island without doubt.
Polina is normaly quite easy to contact via e mail or text speaks excellent English and will reply.
All in all you vote with your feet, we did we left.
The views are spectacular ,it is a very quiet area , stunning location
.Taverna food is typical and good value , there are plenty of good beaches and places to suit all budgets.
There is an excellent typical tavern on the road to otzia where a lady sells all her own veg , the food is the same as she serves her family and you will be made most welcome,its basic with odd chairs and tables and an old lady asleep under the tree, Greece of old.
local people are very welcoming I heard only 6 british accents the whole time we were there which was amazing.
Try Annas taverna , the nine sisters , actually to be fair try them all because you can not go wrong .....you will be hooked.
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