Arillas Forum
Welcome to Arillas => Arillas general information => Topic started by: Pete E on August 26, 2009, 01:49:17 PM
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I have just tried to book into the Nikos Apartments for next July and Thomas Cook have told me that the contract with Nikos has been cancelled! Does anyone know what is happening? Has another operator got them? Are they now only open to private booking?
I'll try emailing Vasilis but I know he has his hands full with a new baby at the mo, so expect he may not be too quick at answering. I thought some of the forum members on the spot may have an idea.
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Pete E
( Long time no speakie - Recognise the doggie pic)
I haven't heard anything here about Nickos. It's been quiet so far this year, on the guest front, but I never hear anything bad about them. It's not a bad location, away from the 'ole hustle and bustle.
I'm quite willing to pop in and see if Vassilis is around and try to find out what's going on but I don't want to "open a can of worms"
( Maybe Thomas Cook havent told him of their plans , for example )
Others may know more
Cheers
Negg
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I have just read this topic and although I can’t comment in relation to the availability of the Nickos for next year Eggy's reply has just brought to mind a meeting with a family from Leicester in 2007. We were staying at the Leonidas during the second week in July; we met them on a few occasions at the Tria. The reason they were down at the Tria was because they were the only guests staying at the Nickos that week.
Hope all goes well and that they are available next year.
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We are staying there in 12 days time I will try and find out on the quiet. I have noticed Thomas Cook have just started using the Thetis hotel which looks very nice.
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We love Nikos - stayed there 3 times previously and always had a great time. We love being away from the hustle and bustle, as you put it Eggy. However, now that our kids are a bit bigger it has made us think whether we might be better of nearer the main resort.
Can anyone recommend some apartments that are a bit nearer but would not be noisy - that have air con and a pool?
Thanks for the offer Eggy, but I agree it might be a bit of a sensitive issue. We are in email contact with Vasilis so hopefully we will hear if Thomas Cook are giving out duff info.
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I'm out there in four weeks Pete although not at Nikos this time, I'll definitely pop in and ask Vasilis. I'll email Mike when I know!
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I have just tried to book into the Nikos Apartments for next July and Thomas Cook have told me that the contract with Nikos has been cancelled! Does anyone know what is happening? Has another operator got them? Are they now only open to private booking?
I'll try emailing Vasilis but I know he has his hands full with a new baby at the mo, so expect he may not be too quick at answering. I thought some of the forum members on the spot may have an idea.
Thanks Pete.
If TC have cancelled Nikos for 2010 then it would be nice of them to let us have our £400 deposit back as we have already booked!
There was some debate when we were there as to whether Nikos would go with TC next year but Vasillis confirmed before we left that it was definitely to be them in 2010, confirmed - or so I thought - by the ease with which we booked up!!
I will investigate further...
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Hmm... no longer available on the TC website it seems. Will call TC tomorrow and find out what is going on.
Does anyone have Vasillis' email address btw?
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Their email is
nikos.appartments@yahoo.com
I talked to Vasilis two days ago,
He says that they are still negotiating with the tour Operator.
He will be able to have a clear answer during the next few days.
Apparently, TC is trying to push down the prices as low as possible.
this is happening with most of all the other properties too.
The tour operators are aware that the owners are not capable enough to do their own way with bookings , promoting and marketing, they also need the customers in order to sell their goods by the pool-bars so the T.O. are hoping for a "generous" compromising deal.
On the other hand I would expect the end-prices ( that the holidaymaker pays) to be cheaper, but I don't see the actual prices in the UK going down as well , in fact, they are rising rapidly ,......
Dimitris
P.S:Not much time for grammatical correction ....
Sorryyy
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Grammatical correction , I can only just pronouce it let alone spell it. lol.
Not only a lovely man but a very clever man Dimitris.
See you in 40 days time. Loads of Love Viv
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Makes my blood boil. Some of the owners don't even get paid what they are owed without putting up a fight.
The worst bit is how the brochure prices go way up, reducing the numbers who do (or can afford to) arrive. It is so unfair.
Phil
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Like we said on our "cant come to arillas" the prices to stay at mathraki have gone up for sep 2010 from sep 2009 way over inflation, arillas is going to become a playresort for the rich and famous, a mini monaco, well were not going to let that happen, those rich ******** can keep there hands off our paradise, were sure eggy will have is darts at the ready who else is with us? Chaaarge!!!
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My son and his family have booked for next year at the same time that we are staying at the Tria so I hope everything comes out fine for Nikos.
Does anyone know the sex of their baby?
Phil, my sentiments exactly.
Dimitris, you can do no wrong.
ttfn, Mick
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An update from my end.
I spoke to Thomas Cook yesterday who confirmed that, for now at least, my family's 2010 booking is still going ahead. The guy on the phone said there was nothing specific flagged on their system to say that Nikos had been removed from their system, although he did also say that the possibility of them continuing to negotiate with Nikos may have been a reason why they were not currently showing as a bookable option on the website.
Reading between the lines then, it looks as though TC may have gone back to Nikos (and others possibly) to attempt to prise a little more profit out of the arrangement for themselves. Backing up what Dimitris has said, we paid about £200 more for a family of 4 this year than last year at Nikos, an increase of around 10% from 2009 and you can bet that with a renegotiation of TC's costs that price won't be coming down.
It's a tough balancing act for these places. If only Nikos could get sufficient numbers to arrange bookings direct - they have a lot of repeat business from people like ourselves who have booked several times now - and give 2 fingers to Thomas Cook!
Cheers for the other updates guys, and thank you especially Dimitris. Looks like this one might run and run.
:)
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My son and his family have booked for next year at the same time that we are staying at the Tria so I hope everything comes out fine for Nikos.
Does anyone know the sex of their baby?
Phil, my sentiments exactly.
Dimitris, you can do no wrong.
ttfn, Mick
Hi Mick
As far as I can remember, Vassillis and Margarita were having a baby girl and had decided to call her Amelia/Amelie or something similar.
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Thanks for all the replies. I guess we will just have to wait and see. I just hope they get a reasonable deal with Thomas Cook.
By the way, Vasilis' daughter is called Amelia.
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My son and his family have booked for next year at the same time that we are staying at the Tria so I hope everything comes out fine for Nikos.
Does anyone know the sex of their baby? They have a little Girl whos name is Amelia
Phil, my sentiments exactly.
Dimitris, you can do no wrong.
ttfn, Mick
Hi Mick
As far as I can remember, Vassillis and Margarita were having a baby girl and had decided to call her Amelia/Amelie or something similar.
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Sad news for people booked into Nicko's next year.
Last week my son was informed by Manos that they were not using Nicko's next year and that they could either have their money returned or he could book another apartment, he has been able to get into Tria Adelphia with us, so at least things are not too bad. TTFN Mick.
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I was finally notified TODAY that things with Nikos are not going ahead this year.
Thomas Cook have offered us Kokinos, which is fair enough but our hearts were set on staying in Nikos.
Are there any emails/telephone to contact Vasilis direct? Dimitris, as the man on the ground, do they have any plans to fill the accommodation direct or have they gone with a different tour operator for 2010??
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
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It's so disappointing when the Tour Operators let clients down like this.
Contact details for Nikos apartments are...
email - info@arillas-nikos.com
email - nikos.appartments@yahoo.com
Tel - 0030 26630 51807
Good luck.
Eileen.
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I'm getting increasingly angry with these travel agents! It's so unfair! We've always visited Arillas via Thomson and stayed at Kaloudis but would dearly love to go independant. If we can manage it, we will because we don't want to line the pockets of the big boys, rather help out our friends in Arillas.
Even though we stay at Kaloudis, though, we visit lots of other bars and restaurants in Arillas to help out as much as possible
Janis x
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Thanks Eileen and Janis for your help and sympathy! We have two very disappointed kids here at the moment so we'll be pulling out all the stops we can to sort something out direct and that'll be that with Thomas Cook, who we knew as early as last summer were trying to screw Nikos over for yet more favourable terms.
I will report back once I hear more from Nikos and anyone that wants to join us in this change of strategy will be more than welcome!
Many thanks.
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OK, the latest from Nikos.
We heard back from Vasilis and bookings are now direct to Nikos. Based on the price he has quoted and a quick look at flights, it looks like we can now have the same holiday around £300 cheaper than the TC package price and that's going on the same TC flight we would originally have flown on. We need to get to and from the airport but that's sorted now the savings will pay for 2 weeks car hire rather than one.
That's travelling peak season - late July early August by the way.
They're lovely people so I hope plenty of people make the transition from package to independently booking up.
Contact details for Nikos:
info@arillas-nikos.gr
http://www.arillas-nikos.gr/
And I rebooked the TC flight via:
http://www.dealchecker.co.uk/
All the best
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How good to hear that. So much better that they get some money rather than TC. All he needs now is to get everyone booking....
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I clicked on the web link and got an error message that internet explorer could not open the web page - anyone know why?
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Please ignore last posting - the same's just happened when I went back to the Facebook tab so it looks like there's a fault at my end!
I'll have a look at Nikos website asap
Janis x
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fishki well done. Like our Sandy says
How good to hear that. So much better that they get some money rather than TC.
Anna won't mind me saying this - she was forced to go independent, and worried about marketing her studios, and what the year would bring. But in the event she had a great occupancy with returners, Arilliacs and a few newbies. And she didn't get 6 euros a night for B&B, she got a realistic reurn on her work.
Thomas Crooks is not the way to go. Libra have proved that for once and all. Thanks to TerryW for keeping us up to date with this. Jen and me always do independent. And all the evidence endorses our decisions.
Phil
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I was talking to Nikos the night before last and he is more or less sure it will be ready for when we get to Arillas on 14th May. Viv
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Hi
I met you two one afternoon in Gratsella ( the day the electricity was off). I remember you said were unsure how to post things on the forum. If you just hit reply and then type your message, then click on post rather than click on qoute , as all that will show is the last post you are replying to.
Cheers
Mary
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I of late now always book a package deal I know what you are saying Phil about the owners only getting a small amount from the companies like Thomas Cook and Thompson, but I have found going independant cost me a lot more in flights and transfers - so I have to go with what suits my budget and when I get there I am putting money into Arillas economy because I do all my eating and drinking there :)
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Hi Mary. Hope all is well. I posted that in Jan 2010, and a lot has changed since then! We have taken a package to Kaloudis before now, when it was costing less than independent. And you can sometimes get cracking last minute bargains. I so agree that the best price, whether independent or package, is the only real factor. None of us have money to waste, and certainly not Jen and me!
We still do our main midsummer stay independently by booking flights on release and accommodation the year before. Our 3 weeks for two came in at £800 inc transfers in 2012 and exactly the same 2013. But in the North, Wales or Belfast it is a different story.
So nice to hear from you. Have followed whatever you have posted on here, and maybe we can share a chinwag and mythos in the Nut again one day.
Phil
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Holy Thread Resurrection ! lol
Yep , got to agree , first and foremost it depends on prices whether we go independant or package. Its been cheaper independant the last 2 years to Arillas and we will be going again independant next year as the Easyjet flights from Manchester are such good value. I am SURE they will be again in 2014
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Hello Mary I agree that on a limited budget you have to do what you think is right for your family and as you said we do spread our money round all our favourite places in arillas and hopefully help all of our friends there
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Just picking up on the cost of independent versus package, the last few times we have stayed at Nikos, we have used Tesco vouchers to book the cheapest possible package with Cosmos and treated it as a flight only - ie told the reps at the airport that we won't be staying at their 1 star apartments in Kavos, thank you! That is a really good deal - we always have loads of Tesco vouchers which we would otherwise struggle to use. We then hire a car for the fortnight from Theo at Arillas Cars (who always does a good deal) and he meets us at the airport. We drop off the car at the airport on the way home.
We're back in mid August - at Nikos yet again! Fifth time.
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Nikos looks lovely, walked up there for a beer 2 weeks ago but came away when I could see they looked busy fitting what looked like a new sliding glass patio door around the bar area! You can imagine it can't you ....... lol
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We stayed there a couple of years ago before he went independent, great place, lovely pool and they do a mean barbeque, would certainly stay there again.
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It's been interesting reading the argument for package v independent...In Greece it is apparently illegal to charge room supplement and per person, (so the owners of Bardis sun said).
So I book direct and get the Easy Jet flights the day they are released, so for my self, wife and child (oh and dad this time!) we have paid just short of £800 for a fortnight, I think I would struggle to get a package deal for that, but the main thing All the cash goes to the owners.
Either way, you know with Arillas it is worth every penny!
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Would love to go the indie route, but we are so so limited for flights from Newcastle, we don't even have easyjet going to Corfu. That makes it so expensive for us it just does not compare with the package. We were just just over £380 each to the Akti on the TC package. Other airports are 3 hours away and I don't want to start added more cost and time doing that. So being in Arillas and spending our money is our main contribution.
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The nikos appts are a fabulous place to stay. We have stayed there 3 times now, great setting, lovely family and scrummy food. Well worth a stroll up the hill to say hello.
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We are tempted to do what PeterE does this year and book a package to Kavos and just use it for the flight. We fly out of Exeter so we always end up paying the earth.
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Gaz caz If you have got two weeks at the Akti for two weeks for two people for £760 then that's brilliant, I thought I had done well getting two weeks this Aug for the two of us for £860 think i'll let you do my booking for next year ha ha
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We do the same as you Nick. Book Easyjet the day they come out .....
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Jackson, we hit lucky, was supposed to be about £860 and when I went to book, TC had some not advertised extra £50 per person deal on that day. Total luck. Means more money to the Akti in drinks and food, as well as the rest of the village.
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A couple of years ago we'd had Kaloudis booked with Thomson for a year going with my son, daughter in law and grand daughter when just over 6 weeks my daughter in law said she was leaving my son and not coming to Arillas or letting the baby come. I was devastated and couldn't face coming to Arillas without them. Thomson were brilliant and changed the holiday to a Gold hotel so I didn't have to see children playing around when oyrs wasn't. I'm glad to say that we still see loads of our granddaughter and that we have returned to Arillas but had I gone indepently it couldn't have been changed and we would have lost our money.
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I think that is the point June. Both are available, and give us all a choice. Jen and me choose the cheapest and hope it is the most cheerful.
Many times later we have done both, but now have a perfect recipe and stay where we do every time. It is independent, and works for us. Our holiday insurance covers most of the reasons that could stop us going, but as is well known on here, that the only thing which would actually stop us going home, is if we drop dead. And we wouldn't worry about it then.
Phil