On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:31:04 GMT, Mike Lane <invalid.DeleteThis@mac.com> wrote:
>
>Except in large towns I try to find 'rooms' rather than hotels. I mean the
>kind of place advertised as 'domatia' without an entrance or reception desk,
>usually maintained by the owners who live on or near the premises. These days
>they almost always have a private bathroom. In May this year I often found
>this kind of place for around 40 euros (possibly not in the more established
>resorts though).
>
Yes, 40 euros (or even less, depending on the season) sounds about
right for this type of accommodation. On the islands, the owners (or
their touts) often meet the ferries to offer such rooms. The quality,
however, in unpredictable. I remember an unfortunate experience we had
on Thassos, where the room had recently had a mattress fire (from a
guest smoking) and the air was nearly unbreathable. We moved to a
regular hotel the next morning.
I think staying in domatia is more feasible if one were to remain in
one location for, say, a week or so. That would allow you to move to
another place if you didn't like the first one.
Also, if you return to the same place year after year for a vacation
(as opposed to tourism), it makes sense to develop a relationship with
a domatia owner. Not only will you get the best price, but you'll get
the best treatment with regard to the facilities and services.
>I still find that 'breakfast' is not a concept that is well understood in
>Greece
. All too often it is taken to mean a cup of instant coffee, a few
>slices of yesterday's bread with some horrid little plastic packets of butter
>and jam. I'd rather do without. For me the best of all is to have a room with
>simple cooking facilities. Then I can brew my own coffee and supplement it
>with something delicious from the local bakery.
The variability of hotel breakfasts is one reason why I prefer to stay
in the slightly nicer category of hotels. Places like the Astor or
Cypria hotels in Athens, the ABC or Metropolitan in Thessaloniki, the
Theoxenia in Ouranoupolis, the Hermes in Aghios Nikolaos, etc., have
sumptuous breakfast buffets in spite of being rated as medium-class
hotels. But even in the inexpensive place I stayed in last year in
Aghia Galini, Crete, the breakfast was more than adequate.
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