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Plakias => Plakias => Topic started by: Plakias Lover on October 14, 2013, 01:09:09 PM

Title: Just Returned
Post by: Plakias Lover on October 14, 2013, 01:09:09 PM
Hi All

Just returned from a fabulous week at Plakias.
Temperature on our first day (Sunday) was about 24 and with a chilly breeze, but from Monday onwards the wind dropped & temperature kept climbing until Friday & Saturday when it was 33.5. You did need a light jacket/cardie on a couple of evenings walking back to Hotel but it wasn't bad at all.
Was amazed at how busy the resort still was, with plenty of tourists still about (mainly German I think).
Had fabulous meals at Gorgonna, Sirrocco & Gio Ma again where food was excellent and service second to none. Once again Babis, Gorgeio & Irene in Gorgonna were in fine form.
This was the first time we have visited so late in the year, but will def go again next year at same time.
We were hugely entertained every day on the Rocky beach (near Creta Ma hotel) by a pair of Kingfishers which dived in & out of the rock pools catching small fish. Also saw owls, eagles & buzzards plus a cormrant drying its wings outside rocks near Gio Ma.
As usual stayed at Horizon Beach Hotel and loved the fact that we didn't need the aircon so could sleep with the patio doors open all night with the sound of the waves lulling us to sleep.
Now having withdrawal symptons looking at the rain outside, will hit the village wine we brough back tonight to help remember the good times until next July when we return again.

Yamass
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Barny on October 14, 2013, 02:09:38 PM
Brilliant! you can't beat it can you?

                Barny.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: JackieatUrbanAgenda on October 14, 2013, 03:59:16 PM
Hi....I'm with you guys on that one. Returned just over a week ago and still trying to adjust ! We also spent our early evenings watching the bats and a barn owl hunting across the meadow outside the Aretusa, we spent the mornings watching the eagles, saw a superb vulture close up in the gorge and did anyone else spot the turtles in the river quite literally right underneath the bridge ?...they were really cute !
Already planning to be back there next Sept (for my birthday this time) and working out the budget !
Les, our rep, was as brilliant as ever (thanks Les) as were all the guys at the Gorgona, the Pool bar at Kostas, at Apanemo and the Livikon. Cant wait for the warmth (not just the climatic warmth) and the relaxation !.
Only downside......I love being in the sea but was bitten by what looked like a sardine.....still have the scar ! Cheeky little wotsit was probably trying to get his own back for the first night's meal !!!!!
 
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Dave&Les on October 20, 2013, 10:37:36 AM
For all of you peeps that will be going to Plakias during the next couple weeks....
We had mail from a friend who works there today & she says the weather has been just like summer & the resort is very busy.
How lovely for the local businesses & we can't wait to return next spring.
Happy winter to everyone.

Roll on Plakias 2014.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Hugo V on October 20, 2013, 01:38:02 PM
Thank you for the update.  I am happy for all of you being there this month that the weather has been good and for the people in Plakias and Crete that tourists continue to come.  We are looking forward to our next vacation on the island.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Arnaki on October 20, 2013, 01:39:00 PM
We are off on Tuesday. We'll have a drink or two to you, Les and Dave (any excuse).  We'll report back on weather, busy-ness and what's open in the last week of Olympic's season.  The weather forecasts all seem to be different both from each other and from day to day.  I'm hoping for the best one, but packing for the worst.

Arnaki
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Dave&Les on October 23, 2013, 11:26:25 AM
Hope all you lucky peeps that are enjoying the last week had a good journey & the sun shines on you all.
Have a drink for us, especially David & Pauline( we know u don't need an excuse) ha ha!!!

Yamass & regards to you all

Say hi to all the staff at KC
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: happyashellas on October 23, 2013, 04:19:42 PM
Just back after two glorious weeks in Plakias. The weather was fantastic and the food was great as well - especially the prices. We averaged about 25 euros per night which included starters, mains and drinks for both of us - after Symi in the summer this was a welcome surprise. The car hire places were all a bit expensive, ranging from 156 to 224 for a compact car for a week. We went online and found Imperial car hire who quoted us 98 for the week which was from one of the locals in Plakias who had quoted over 150 earlier. Plenty of exploring was done although I cannot recommend the road to Finix as it took half an hour to get back out to the top of the hill.
There is a Kafenion in one of the side streets called Ξεζονων, and the welcome there was incredible. The food was lovely, all cooked on the spot, the prices dirt cheap and the amount of Raki thrown in at the end was fantastic. Do not ever attempt to drive home from here!
Worst meal of the stay was probably the Lysseus. The matriarch was not talkative at all, there was no atmosphere or background music, just everybody talking in hushed tones in case they got a row from grumpy knickers. The food was fine, but there are plenty of friendlier places to choose from. Many lovely walks and climbs in the surrounding area as well, coupled with the warm greetings from the locals which makes it a fantastic place. Just a bummer being home again.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Noopsy on October 24, 2013, 07:01:38 PM

Worst meal of the stay was probably the Lysseus. The matriarch was not talkative at all, there was no atmosphere or background music, just everybody talking in hushed tones in case they got a row from grumpy knickers. The food was fine, but there are plenty of friendlier places to choose from.
One of the locals (who shall remain nameless) informed me when I was there in August that the Lysseos has lost a lot of business due to madam's demeanour.  I also noticed that she was less friendly than usual which made me feel uncomfortable.

Noopsy
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: ian s on October 24, 2013, 11:06:14 PM
I don't like the way this thread is going.  Can you please keep your derogatory comments/opinions to yourselves.  Doubt you'd be brave enough to say anything to the lady herself and doubt she would care anyway.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Barny on October 25, 2013, 10:53:52 AM


          "this is a forum where people express their views"

Feel free to express your views on the actual place and its products but it's not right and also offensive, to aim this at the actual person. 

                            Barny.       

         
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: happyashellas on October 25, 2013, 08:12:26 PM
Doubting I would be brave enough to say something to her is rather derogatory towards me don't you think? The inference being I am perhaps too cowardly to speak my mind. I did not say anything after the meal as the food itself was fine, as I mentioned. I merely stated why I would never go back there. Had the food or service been below par I would certainly have made myself clear. As I said, you are spoilt for choice in Plakias where food is concerned so it isn't a big deal.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Stuart & Hilary on October 25, 2013, 09:04:17 PM
Just to put this into context, & bearing in mind, that the taverna is probably not aware of these criticisms &  has no way of responding.
The last Trip Advisor report from this October reads
 “Just sitting and watching the world go by whilst eating the best taverna food in Plakias. Even the locals eat there so it must be good”.
The other 6 reports for this year also rate it as very good or excellent.  And as Barny states personal remarks are not necessary. I think One of the offending emails has in fact  been removed.

Stuart
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: happyashellas on October 25, 2013, 10:00:50 PM
If it's one of your favourites then that's great - for you. There are many differing opinions on what makes a good night out etc. and I wouldn't read too much into any reviews. We stayed at the Dora apartments with perhaps some apprehension after  reading some of the reviews. It turns out they are in a great location, very clean and we had the room with the so called lousy view. None of the reviews stated that if you sit on the balcony and look to the left you have a great view over to Timios Stavros which I thought was just fine.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Noopsy on October 29, 2013, 02:07:50 PM
I don't see how reporting "insider" information or personal experiences can be termed "derogatory".  So long as no malice is intended, negative as well as positive remarks should be encouraged so as to paint a true and complete picture.

Noopsy
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: thetravelor on October 29, 2013, 04:33:02 PM
I'm jealous, I have to wait till January!
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: We live in Plakias on November 02, 2013, 09:50:03 AM
As regards the slightly unfavourable comments posted I would point out the following. I have worked in the holiday business. In April one is raring to go and every tourist is smiled at and made to feel welcome. But in October, after having worked non-stop for six months, one is tired and grumpy and can't wait for the end of the season to come and the tourists to leave. That is the downside of coming late in the season. The service may be poor and the waiters bad tempered.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: triton on November 02, 2013, 01:31:26 PM
As regards the slightly unfavourable comments posted I would point out the following. I have worked in the holiday business. In April one is raring to go and every tourist is smiled at and made to feel welcome. But in October, after having worked non-stop for six months, one is tired and grumpy and can't wait for the end of the season to come and the tourists to leave. That is the downside of coming late in the season. The service may be poor and the waiters bad tempered.

So the tired and grumpy time towards tourists is October which must come on all of a sudden then ?
Glad my wife and i went in September and only experienced one miserable waitress in one taverna ( not Greek ) which we then avoided.
Oh, we enjoyed Plakias that much we are booking again next year, in September !! 
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: happyashellas on November 02, 2013, 09:43:11 PM
We travel to Greece every October and really have never witnessed this in any great way. The only one occasion that sticks out was on the very last day of the season when the reps just looked done in and sick of the sight of us. None of the locals ever seem to be bothered by this though - at least not that I have witnessed.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Barny on November 03, 2013, 03:33:32 PM
   'We live in Plakias' ?


                              Massage?

             Barny.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: triton on November 03, 2013, 04:34:46 PM
   'We live in Plakias' ?


                              Massage?

             Barny.
Lovely place to live, we might one day !
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Arnaki on November 03, 2013, 05:21:58 PM
For those of you wanting to know what the very end of the season is like, here is my report.

We came back on Tuesday from a lovely, peaceful holiday in Plakias.  The weather was beautiful, unseasonably so, temperatures in the low 20’s with mostly clear skies and light winds, apart from a couple of windy days, one of which we had booked ourselves on a trip.  From the previous comments about September and October being the new high season, I was expecting a few more people around!  There were probably around 50 holidaymakers in Plakias.  We arrived at about 10.45pm and immediately went out to try to get something to eat.  Fortunately the Souvlaki House was still open, as were the supermarkets.   Most of the tavernas were in darkness, making us wonder if they had all closed down for season.  The next day we discovered that most of them were open, just that they closed once everyone had left for the evening.  The latest you could go out to eat was 8pm, but by then the weather was quite chilly anyway, and you wanted to be sitting in a taverna.  We were told it has been a very good year for the businesses in Plakias, which is really good news.

Antoni's, Christos, Harakas and Paligremnos (taverna and beach bar, but not apartments) closed up before or whilst we were there.  Argo opened up later than in the summer and closed in the evenings.  To Kyma and Livikon were both almost empty most of the time. The Youth Hostel closes at the end of October. The sunbeds and umbrellas drastically reduced at the Far End, Paligremnos and On the Rocks beach – there were only a handful of people using the sunbeds on the whole length of the beach.   Our habit from the hot August weather is to go down to the beach early in the morning, but we got a bit caught out, as most of the Far End was in the shadow of the cliff when we got there!  We set off a bit later after that, to give it a chance to warm up.

Everyone was really friendly, with greetings and discussions about the exceptional weather, even from people in the tavernas we had never used.  There was only one taverna where the service was  not quite as friendly as previously, but it was okay.  I think it might have closed for the season the next day, but it was not one that we walked past regularly, so I did not see.

The last weekend was a holiday weekend, with Oxi Day falling on the Monday. The village was lively during the day on the Sunday and Monday.

We saw Les the Olympic rep off onto his bus for the airport in the morning, and once the Newcastle bus had left at 1.30, we felt like the last survivors!  As we were the only ones for our flight we had a taxi transfer at 6.00pm.  The airport was chaos.  We were on Thomas Cook, but the reps were “off duty” and returning on the flight.  A Monarch plane to Gatwick had to return its passengers to the terminal because its air conditioning had broken down.  There was nowhere to sit.  I used the ambulift because I was travelling with a wheelchair and got delivered to the wrong Thomas Cook plane.  Fortunately I asked, as no-one else seemed to have checked.

The trip we went on was with Elena Travel, on Kosta Chrysoulla street – she deserves a mention.  She has a 9 seat minibus and runs various trips.  At 40 Euros per person it is not cheap, but something we thought was worth spending our money on.  We went to the Kourtaliotis Gorge to look at the waterfall coming out of the rocks,  Lake Kournas, which at that time of year was very quiet and peaceful, a carob factory (we thought we would see the manufacturing process, but it was a sales pitch in the shop), Argiroupolis, where the springs come down the hillside and have been turned into fountains and other water features (I can imagine it would be relatively cool in the summer but very busy), Lappa, the ancient capital of Crete, and back through the Kotsifou Gorge. There were only 5 of us on the trip apart from “Elena” our driver/guide.

Daza, sorry we did not see off - we were still at the beach when you left I think.
Title: Re: Just Returned
Post by: Dave&Les on November 03, 2013, 08:28:38 PM
Thank you for such an interesting & useful report.
We are glad you had good weather & still able to enjoy your early morning swim.
Hope you managed to have one or two beers for us aswell!!!!
Roll on Plakias 2014.......hope to see you again then.
Happy winter.