Hi all Arillas fans,
Have been reading a few bad reviews re the Arillas Bay apartment complex,ie dirty, smelly, no clean towels and linen. Also lack of pool being cleaned or umbrellas etc, and attempted break-ins. As I'm about to head there in the next few weeks, can anyone give me some good reviews, as I'm getting very concerned. lil.chipmunk
Chipmunk
Suggest you find the last posts of MERYL.
( Click on members , select M , find and click on Meryl and then veiw the last posts of this member. )
For my part I can tell you that, at 6:30 tonight the pool was being well used by some very happy kids with a few adults taking it easy on the sunbeds.
( At around 28 deg I can't think of a better idea )
The Sea Breeze has had it's fair share of customers recently and their sea front balcony area seems to attract many late breakfasts and evening meals.
When I drive past I always glance a eye around. Curiosity and all that.
Cheers
Negg
HI
Have just read all 10 pages about the AB, hadn't seen it on all my searches of reviews, so glad that the last few show that things seen to be turning around. Hope the pool will be fine when we go as 1 son wants the pool the other the sea, heance picking the AB for the location.
I will report back once we've all returned.
Hi All
I'm in Arillas at the moment enjoying the sunshine. As I stopped at Arillas Bay last year I went up to have a nose around. The restaurant is much cleaner and there's new umbrellas. I wouldn't worry if you are due to arrive soon it appears much better. Also there is no stories coming from there about any drunken albanians trying to break in.
I am so glad to hear that it has all moved on. When we were there in early July the Sea Breeze had almost no customers and Grazella next door needed four staff and two young boys to keep up with demand. We were shocked to see it.
I hope that posts on this forum helped to communicate the concerns and help bring about the changes. All credit to the owners - they seem to have responded. My cynicism about the tour operators hasn't changed much though.
Nothing can replace the lost holidays of those who had such a bad time. I felt that with them. But even paradise isn't perfect. Nothing is.
Anorak
I must admit that alhough the sea breeze appears cleaner the restaurant is usually empty, bit of a shame really when Graziella is so full. I haven't venture there yet and I'm not sure that I will be.
It was the same last year although the year before that Sea Breeze was very busy.
Hi all,
Just back from the Arillas Bay apartments and as stated I'm giving my update. Nothing was wrong with the AB that a little care and attention wouldn't fix. The apartment was cleaned almost every day. We arrived on the Monday had a change of bedding & towels on the Thursday and the following Tuesday then just towels the following Thursday/Friday. The toilet bin was emptied most days except Sunday when cleaner wasn't in. However, I didn't see the pool get 'hoovered' out on all but a couple of days in the first week, but this didn't stop everyone using it on a daily basis.
We stayed in apartment A5. In the main bedroom we only had one working lighbulb in the bedside light, one light unit being broken and the main room light didn't work either. When raised with Yiannis on our first Wednesday(after being raised at the welcome meeting with Rep, who obviously did not follow up as to whether the problem had been fixed) he siad he would get an electrician in the next day - needless to say he never appeared. It would be interesting to know how many people had raised the problem before us or just struggled along with one light, this wasn't a problem until you closed the shutters.
On the plus side- this is the first Greek apartment where there has been a shower curtain AND a holder for the shower, fantastic and we had plenty of hot water the whole time, no matter what time you went in the shower, even 6:30 in the morning as it was on our departure day.
Around the pool there was plenty of sunbeds and didn't have a problem getting an umberella. The cleaner swept around the pool area every moring when she was in.
As far as the Sea Breeze restaurant goes. The food was on a par with most of the other places, not exceptional by any means. The first Saturday we had Lamb on the Spit, and the restaurant was full- all waiting patiently for the lamb which had obvioulsy not been put on early enough. When it eventually arrived at the table there wasn't alot of it and it was not very hot, however, it was nice. Some nights the place was practically empty and this could be the drawback from being the last restaurant on the bay. We ate at the Stakis grill room and the Mirage mainly. Unfortunately only going to the latter in the second week otherwise I think we'd have been there most nights as the food is excellent and if you go for the specials is very reasonable. Also the service there was superb and there was not much waiting around to get the food.
All in all, having done a bus tour round San Stefanos, Sidaria & Roda whilst on the way to Paleokastritsa, I can certainly say that Arillas is by far the best resort and I would have no problem recommending Arillas and the AB apartments to anyone else. It is unfortunate the the previous holidaymakers had a bad time and it is definately better to be forewarned of any problems and I thank the for that, but all seems to be okay now and I hope other people going wait and see what it's like when they get there before judging it too soon. My family and I have had a fantastic 2 weeks and I wouldn't hesitate in going back. Hi to Jenny, Jane, Sally, Ray, Sara & Sammy it was lovely to meet you all, hope you all got home safe and sound.
Best wishes
Janine, Mike, Joshua & Izaak
Jannine , Mike & Co,
That's a very positive , well worded report and your honest opinions should clear any doubts future guests will have.
Love your tale about the elcetric light. It goes to show the "laid back" way we can all look at things. - Our last appt stay had a defective kitchen light but it took us 4 days to report it. "Problem - What problem?"
Very pleased you all had a " good un"
Cheers
Negg
Just out of interest what did you think of Roda? Our friends have just come back from there and enjoyed it , but is it bigger and busier than Arillas, a bit like Sidari?
Like Janine (reply 7) I have just got back from 2 weeks in 'paradise' - my seventh stay in Arillas, and my seventh stay at AB apartments. Also like Janine, I had been concerned by reports on this forum about AB and now I just feel guilty that I gave them any credence.
My only complaint is that because I had booked alone (nonetheless paying a hefty single person supplement) I got dumped in the hell-hole that is apartment B1. Dark, airless, no balcony and only one tiny window. I spent one insufferable night there and was moved the next morning to A3 because someone had not shown up (the poor reports having worked in my favour, perhaps?) However, if I had not moved, my experience would have been very different. Manos/Thomas Cook should not be allowed to use this room - it is uninhabitable. A3 was cool, very comfortable, clean, and with everything working.
Yianni and his sister Loula went out of their way to help get me moved and Yianni himself agreed that B1 was a non-starter and that he intends to do building work before next year to incorporate it into B5, making a two-bedroomed apartment.
Perhaps the pool wasn't cleaned as frequently as when Thomas used to do it, and the whole place was looking a bit shabby, but I still feel very loyal to Yianni and Loula, poor Thomas and Nicoletta. I will be back there next year for three weeks if I can afford it, and for many more years to come. I just don't want to go anywhere else. For those of us who prefer the quieter things in life, AB and the Seabreeze at the quiet end of the village are still the places to be.
Hi to everyone round the AB pool who showed me real friendship and support, and to Yianni and Loula - thinking of you and your parents at this difficult time.
Lots of love, JC
Hi Jenny I'm pleased that you had a great time. We're booked to come next year again and I'll look out for you again.
Mick
Glad you had a good time JC and managed to get your room changed too. Hopefully now AB will get a few more good reports if they will do some work on the place. We also like that end of the village as it is quieter, we stayed at the BS Studios last year and are staying at the Hotel in 2 weeks and cant wait!
Thanks for those reports. All interesting.
Heard some pretty awful horror stories from a couple who stayed there recently... did anyone notice how quiet the Sea Breeze was. They dropped their prices drastically on their menus to entice people in but most days/nights it was empty.
Every time we walked past there which was frequently we had to hold our noses, the smell coming from there was awful... twice we saw rats... one ran down the roof and into the back part of their kitchen. It was filthy... the color of the mop for the floor was black.. the family working there apparently are Albanians and spent most of the time playing pool.
The pool was never cleaned when this couple stayed there. A broken window was never repaired in their bathroom and the whole studio was filthy. Waste bins not emptied etc. etc. when they had to use their towels to mop up water and put on the line which fell in the mud, they were just left at the back door and never taken away.
Apparently, the upstairs apartments are very nice and modern and clean, but the others leave a lot to be desired.
During the storms one family had a table blown through their patio doors which smashed, glass everywhere. It was repaired quickly but they were trying to charge this family for it... as if the thunderstorms were their problem!
It seems as if they have given up on the place. It looked very sad and empty where it is in a "prime position" and could be a real boon to the resort. We heard that the tour ops are pulling the plug on them next year. It is a real shame but it is very run down now and this couple we met were very disappointed with it. It doesnt seem to have improved much this season. We never saw anyone in the pool.
Has anyone been there and got updated news over the last couple of weeks?
Arillas Bay have had a lot of family problems this year. Hope they manage to turn things around for next year as it's in a fantastic location and the family are lovely people.
I hope so too, perhaps they can get to grips with it once the season has ended, but they cant be making any money.