We put our specialist to task with this trip ...

Greece | Sep 18 - Oct 3, 2024

Great location- we were there 3 nights and that was enough because it’s in the middle of all the action, fun!!

Loved everything about this place!! Chill, relaxing, cool vibe! Fabulous pool area, and maybe the best food I had in Greece at a hotel - especially that goat cheese pizza - you must get it!!

This would be an easy 5star but just too many steps. It is so beautiful and the view from our room maybe the best I have ever seen. From the main street where the restaurants are down to the entrance - is 80 steps. Once you enter the hotel, it’s all on a slope (stunning architecture) so it was another 80 steps to our actual room. It was close to pool which was lovely!! I am in good shape but with my asthma, I didn’t look forward to going back out at night for dinner. The hotel does not serve food after 4pm. But the food, service, personnel here are top notch!!

This hotel has an amazing view from the upper breakfast area of the river, the city, cruise ships,. Front desk personnel were very friendly and helpful! Offering to make reservations etc. The breakfast buffet was huge and beautifully displayed, very very nice and in that comfortable dining area to enjoy the view. The building itself is very old, restored beautifully, loved it! The room was very comfortable and looked out over the spice market. It was a new experience, to hear the calling to prayer, it’s loud, but a lovely sound too.

Beautifully remodeled old building, small boutique style. As an interior designer I was not impressed with the layout of the room, felt like they were going for a cool vibe but not a practical one for travelers. The room was big enough for a much better design - disappointing. There was only one place with shelves to put clothes, so my husband used that, and my suitcase was on the floor. For 3 days not a big deal, but more than that I would not have liked it. When we arrived, it was another guest that opened the door to let us in and they had been waiting a half hour to get some help. (They were a party of 6) Seemed alittle disjointed and the reception girl a bit frazzled, not friendly. The party of 6 were not impressed either. Overall, it was fine, loved the location, but I would not stay here if I came back.

Local guide was very knowledgeable. We had already walked the areas she planned to take us so I think she was alittle baffled what to do with us. I knew it was walking but did not know we were going to hike to the top of the Fortress, so I went back inside to change from sandals to sneakers. It would have been nice to know more details of the tour. Iloved hearing all the history of the area, fascinating and she was quite good!

We rented a car and drove around the island but it was a rainy day unfortunately. Most places were packed with tourists and it was alittle intimidating on the small roads.

Really enjoyed our guide and the tour and the driver was fantastic too! Loved hearing the history of Naxos and being up the mountains was a nice change from where we had come from Corfu. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and answered all our questions.

This was my favorite tour - the young man who was our guide was friendly, sweet informative and we did this tour on wooden e bikes, that were made from wood leftover from a big fire in 2020 apparently. They worked great! Didn’t need helmets but he took us all over starting at the Black beach and through some small towns, stopped at the Castle in Emporio and walked all through that (medieval ) with remarkable history! then more biking, some steep hills and others dodging the traffic but so much fun! We had a nice lunch when we were close to being back. We biked through a wine area, but we never did a wine tasting or anything and I thought we were supposed to. It was a beautiful day, and if you have the legs for it, please do this one!! For me, I loved the town Megalochori and would have been fun to shop for 45 min. There, but shopping wasn’t really on the agenda (and where would I put my goods?)

This guide was fantastic!! Nelly was extremely versed in all things Turkish! She kept the pace at a good clip and we did so much! OMGosh if you get a chance to use her please do. We went through the Sultans Palace, what an eye opener, fascinating, the HagiaSophia church and the Cistern - all not to be missed!! I would love to spend another day in that area as there are so many more things to see. It’s phenomenal. She took us to a little outdoor local place for traditional lunch which was reasonable and delicious and was very accommodating as we were also meeting my son who had just arrived in Istanbul. It was along day and she didn’t waste any of it. So appreciative to her for her thoughtfulness and help as we asked alot of questions!! I didn’t know much about Turkey or the history etc and learned so much.

We actually did not do the tour - my husband and I had to cancel as we were both not feeling well in the morning. (We think food poisoning night before but?) HOwever, we rallied and later in the afternoon, decided we couldn’t leave Athens without going to the top of the Acropolis! We bought mobile tickets, skip the line, and inched our way to the top and it was so worth it! Another beautiful day and breathtaking scenery. Not to mention the history of all this.

I reviewed this on the Welcome to Istanbul!