Hotel Club Kalypso (or Kalypso Cretan Village)

[gemaux]

Hello Plakias people,

I should stay (next week) for a week in the Plakias region if my booking is confirmed.

The hotel where I am supposed to go is the Hotel Club Kalypso (aslo named Kalypso Cretan Village).

I wondered if anyone has ever stayed in this hotel? And what I must know about this hotel and its services (e.g tips about the hotel and best rooms to be choosen ect....) as well as the things that must be avoided.

Also, any information about places/monuments/beaches around Plakias which are worth visiting?.

And finally, is there a working cash dispenser available around there?

Thanks for your time and your help (and sorry if my english is not perfect)

Yves ( from France) :sorcerer:

[Karen T]

I've never stayed at Kalypso but always thought it looks lovely and is in a great spot, situated at the very end of the road which goes round the back of Kakomouri headland.  As we've always stayed at Ifigenia (at the main road end of the Kalypso road), we've often seen the courtesy bus going past.  As the hotel is so remote, the bus is essential unless you've hired a car.  

I'd be very interested to hear what you thought about Kalypso, gemaux, as I've been tempted to stay there in the past when it was a nudist hotel - the remote position made it ideal for that - although I think it is now no longer nudist unfortunately.

Incidentally, if you are interested in birdwatching, the area around Kalypso and Kakomouri is wonderful and the walk either by road or tracks is great too.  We tried (and succeeded) once to follow a path over the top of Kakomouri passing the radio masts - an eventful scramble, especially as we had our daughter, then aged 2 and in a pushchair, with us!!!

[Karen T]

I forgot to say, at Kalypso you are well placed for the beaches both at Plakias and at Damnoni.  The courtesy bus will take you down to Plakias, I think, and Damnoni is probably walkable - take the track off to the right as you're coming from Kalypso, which is below the Damnoni Bay Hotel.  The track then goes around the perimeter of Hapimag and down onto the beach.  Damnoni beach is lovely although one end has been comandeered by Hapimag.  From Damnoni beach, a road along the back of the beach heading eastwards and narrowing to a track, will lead you to the beaches of Ammoudaki, Ammoudi and finally Skinaria (although Skinaria is a very long and difficult walk across the rocks from Ammoudi!)

Cash dispensers - there may be one in the hotel itself but if not, they are available in Plakias (one is by the Alianthos, not sure where the other one is).  There are now also travel agencies at Damnoni where I would think money can be changed but again, in Plakias, there are many agencies for this.

[Greecemad]

Karen,

How on earth did you manage to scramble over the top of Kakomouri with a pushchair? I once went round there somewhere in sandals and wished I hadn't as I ended up walking over the rough scrubland without a path at all. There used to be a decent track that set off to go round the headland from the Damoni end and then just came to an abrupt end in the middle of nowhere. Is it still there? I presume that someone was planning to build something there once and never did, rather like the Minoan Palace Hotel (if that's the correct name).

Greecemad.

[gemaux]

Thank you for the information.

As soon as I will be back, I will report to you how is the Kalypso.

Kind Regards,

 

[Karen T]

Hi Greecemad

Well - as I said, it was an EVEVTFUL scramble going over the top of Kakomouri.  You're right - there is what starts out as a decent looking track, which is what we followed for a while but as you say, it just ends.  As we'd gone so far we were determined to find a way over and ended up scrambling through the (prickly!) scrub, down a very steep section, as I recall, passing the pushchair between us.  Don't ask me how we made it and I doubt if we could do it again especially as someone with an endless supply of wire fencing seems to have gone all around the Plakias area recently fencing off a lot of the old tracks and paths, but I think it was more luck than judgement that we managed to succeed.

Incidentally, that pushchair also went up the valley at the back of Plakias along the tracks and paths to the old watermill and eventually up to Mirthios - we'd take turns carrying the pushchair or our daughter.  I think it eventually fell apart shortly after that holiday!!!

[Karen T]

Talking of the Minoan Prince Hotel - it's still there and no one has ever attempted to finish it so it is decaying now as all the half-finished buildings seem to do.  The one good thing though is that the openings in the bottom half of it do make very good "garages" for your hire car - keeps them out of the sun so it's not baking in there when you return from the beach - but you have to get there early as the idea soon catches on!!  Pity someone has dumped an old oil cannister in ne of them though!!!