stella studios

[John R]

Kosmar don't use XL, XL own them and have done for a little while.


Mike

Well whatever -those booked from Newcastle may be very disappointed unless some suitable alternative has been arranged. Unless of course we were the only people flying from Newcastle and they cancelled for that reason  

Noted your revised dates, which means we'll be at Stellas just three days before you. Look forward to meeting up again then. Might try a Panda from Alianthos this time if the price is right.

Lucky enough to be off to NZ before then though.

That is excellent  - looking forward to meeting up with you both again. We'll have to have a formula 1 Panda race around the island. Pit stops at every other taverna.

NZ in winter and then Crete in Summer - a man of contrasts (I envy you).

John

[Regulars since 1992]

Hi John,

Look forward to spending some time relaxing with you and your good lady in the autumn.

Have managed to fit my '07 motorsport reporting commitments around our NZ and Plakias hols. Bit of travel writing tied in with the former too.

All the best

G

[Mike G]

Seriously though it is a bit worrying about XL. Kosmar use them for their holidays from Newcastle. I suspect they may be just chucking off the flight only people - could be wrong

John

Hello John,

I know you are only speculating, but if you are right it is rather sharp practice, on a par with First Choice pulling out of Plakias in 2004 and not bothering to tell those who had booked, in the hope that it would be too late for them to make alternative arrangements for Plakias.

Mike

[John R]

Seriously though it is a bit worrying about XL. Kosmar use them for their holidays from Newcastle. I suspect they may be just chucking off the flight only people - could be wrong

John

Hello John,

I know you are only speculating, but if you are right it is rather sharp practice, on a par with First Choice pulling out of Plakias in 2004 and not bothering to tell those who had booked, in the hope that it would be too late for them to make alternative arrangements for Plakias.

Mike

I agree. I've hunted around to see if I can find any "news" about the situation. If indeed they really are not flying from Newcastle then there will be a lot of holidays spoilt. I've tried to make dummy bookings on the Kosmar site relying on  Newcastle to Chania flights and get a firm no availibility message. Either they really have pulled off the Newcastle to Chania flights (They still do Heraklion) or they are so overbooked that they are throwing out flight only bookings. Unlike 1st Choice they have told me and I assume others and made an immediate refund etc. etc.

Today Markos of Stella emailed me welcoming me for the 4 additional days that this situation now enables me to enjoy.

John

[Mike G]

I've hunted around to see if I can find any "news" about the situation. If indeed they really are not flying from Newcastle then there will be a lot of holidays spoilt. I've tried to make dummy bookings on the Kosmar site relying on Newcastle to Chania flights and get a firm no availibility message.

John

I wonder if the transfer is the issue for them for resorts such as Paleohora and Plakias which are a long way from the airports.

For example, in the past I have tried in vain to persuade Manos to include Plakias in their resorts and was told that because of the length of the transfer they would have difficulty in obtaining a coachful for each flight. I think they are wrong, certainly for Gatwick, Manchester and possibly Glasgow as well, but it's their loss as well as a loss to the property and service suppliers in the resort.

Transfer is an issue for everyone who doesn't hire a car at the airport and is the one of the reasons why I prefer the "package tour" to the "independent" route.

Mike

[Mike from Sussex]

For example, in the past I have tried in vain to persuade Manos to include Plakias in their resorts and was told that because of the length of the transfer they would have difficulty in obtaining a coachful for each flight. I think they are wrong, certainly for Gatwick, Manchester and possibly Glasgow as well, but it's their loss as well as a loss to the property and service suppliers in the resort.


Mike

I went with Kosmar last September the 5th, Gatwick/Chania. At the airport, the coach was probably a bit over half full, but after all the North Coast drops, there were only 10 or 12 of us left on our way South.

I can see that transfers are a problem to operators. It would be nice if separate transfers, perhaps by minibus, were made for the Plak and Paleo customers, giving transfers of an hour and a half or less, but that would put up the cost, which goes against the grain for non "bespoke" operators.

I think I prefer the current system over the possibility of an operator "accumulating" the Plakias clients from three or four flights before putting them on a dedicated coach. People on the first plane could have several hours wait before even boarding the coach.

[Graham_and_Karen]

I went with Kosmar last September the 5th, Gatwick/Chania. At the airport, the coach was probably a bit over half full, but after all the North Coast drops, there were only 10 or 12 of us left on our way South.

I can see that transfers are a problem to operators. It would be nice if separate transfers, perhaps by minibus, were made for the Plak and Paleo customers, giving transfers of an hour and a half or less, but that would put up the cost, which goes against the grain for non "bespoke" operators.

I think I prefer the current system over the possibility of an operator "accumulating" the Plakias clients from three or four flights before putting them on a dedicated coach. People on the first plane could have several hours wait before even boarding the coach.

I'm sure the extra cost of running a minbus to Plakias instead of extending the journey for a large coach can't amount to more than, say 10 Euro/person each way. I would gladly pay that to avoid the long transit times we've experienced in the past. The actual journey has often not been too bad - it's the delays at the airport waiting for one or two people with lost luggage or waiting for another flight to arrive that's been most frustrating.

[cottampat]

Couple of questions for John R (or anyone else) from a newcomer.

I have just checked the BA prices, Manchester / Heraklion in September.  Over £200 each.  Is this not expensive?

The fligts arrive after 10pm in the evening.  Is this not too late to travel in a hire car to Plakias?  Any tips for staying one night somewhere near the airport before travelling on to Plakias?

We have never been to Plakias before but would like to give it a try after reading everyone's comments on this excellent forum.

[John R]

Couple of questions for John R (or anyone else) from a newcomer.

I have just checked the BA prices, Manchester / Heraklion in September.  Over £200 each.  Is this not expensive?

The fligts arrive after 10pm in the evening.  Is this not too late to travel in a hire car to Plakias?  Any tips for staying one night somewhere near the airport before travelling on to Plakias?

We have never been to Plakias before but would like to give it a try after reading everyone's comments on this excellent forum.

Hi

The price has gone up a bit - we paid £131 each but that has gone up to £176 each on our same dates (21 Sept to 09 Oct). The plane is filling up.

NO problems re your arrival time and certainly no need to stay overnight in Heraklion. In my opinion that would be as problematic as going straight to Plakias. Between the airport and Plakias there is NO urban motoring - very straight forward.

First the Hire care people will meet you off the plane - whatever time it arrives - they are 100% reliable. We now use Alianthos (Plakias based) but have had 100% service from the others we have used (Caravel and Ansos)

Obviously we now know the road very well to Plakias and have no qualms in driving to Plakias at night. At that time of night it is virtually traffic free and very easy indeed. The Stella Owners will most likely still be up to meet you but if not they will leave a key in the room door. You are likely to arrive at about 1am in the morning. That is not too bad for you as your body clock will still be UK time (11pm)

If you email me nearer the time (or any time !!) at john at fluteweb.net (put like that to help avoid spammers) then I can give you very detailed night time navigation hints for the journey to Plakias, for finding Stella Pension and for finding your room. Ask Markos for an upstairs front room if possible.

Hope that helps

John R

[cottampat]

Thanks for the tips, John.

I was a little worried about the night time journey on unfamiliar country roads.  Bad enough to get lost in daylight!  As I mentioned previously, whether we go to Plakias is going to depend on getting a flight from Manchester at a reasonable price.  Thanks again.  If we do decide to go, I will definately email you for directions from the airport, and any other advice for first time visitors.

Regards to all for the good info provided on this friendly forum.

[Graham_and_Karen]

Thanks for the tips, John.

I was a little worried about the night time journey on unfamiliar country roads.  Bad enough to get lost in daylight!  As I mentioned previously, whether we go to Plakias is going to depend on getting a flight from Manchester at a reasonable price.  Thanks again.  If we do decide to go, I will definately email you for directions from the airport, and any other advice for first time visitors.

Regards to all for the good info provided on this friendly forum.

Remember that if you collect Tesco Clubcard points, you can get 4 x their value off flights at www.xl.com

[Mike G]

Remember that if you collect Tesco Clubcard points, you can get 4 x their value off flights at www.xl.com

...but also remember that if you want to redeem them at 4 x value for airport parking you must have the tokens and made the booking by the end of April. Shame!

Mike