Asimina Apartments

2 readers found this review helpful

Arrived late afternoon on Wed 11/05/11. Met by Asimina the owner,good size apartment,very clean,i think we were the first to stay in these this year. The next day Asimina came and gave us eggs freshly laid by her hens some 25m away, also lemons from her trees in the garden. Her apartment was just next door but one ( All the family who came to visit were very nice ) Asimina can not speak any English but her daugher in law who is American will translate for you. Only a short walk down the path to the oasis where you can use the sunbeds for FREE also get drinks and a snack.From the apartments to the Harbour only five mins walk. Turn the corner and see the view, Fab, also only a short walk up to the town centre. Bus runs every 30min to the beach cost 2 EURO each way. Overall a perfect holiday, nice location, nice area, and very very nice people. Berst holiday in years. Have already booked for next year

Asiminas is located between the tennis club and the Oasis, situated in pleasant gardens where Asimina a very nice lady, grows her own vegatables, lemons and other fruits. Some of which she gave with some eggs fresh from the hen.
The studio is about the norm for studio holidays with a big exception. They were spotlessly clean Asimina even had shiny bathroom & kitchenette taps and for me that is a good benchmark.
After a day of doing your thing we found Asiminas a very peaceful place to chill for an hour or two before going out to eat. I understand that in July & August it can be noisy due to the nearby club strip. In June however we found it nice and quiet.
The facilities of the Oasis are avaiable totally free, there is a pool two PCs with internet connection and a library -- all free to use. The staff and Mike the owner are very friendly, attentive and obliging. There are snacks and drinks available from the pool bar. Perhaps a little pricey but I believe Skiathos has always been more expensive than other Greek islands. All in all a very nice holiday which we enjoyed immensely.
There is a down side unfortunately and this was down to the tour operator Manos which is a part of the Thomas Cook empire (why I am not surprised). Upon arrival we were quickly hassled off the bus and pointed in a direction and told to follow some other people. The rep then hopped back on the bus and left. As Asiminas is set back from the road and has no signage it could be confusing for some people. We found a nice girl in the Oasis who took us in hand and got us to Asiminas also gave us a card for a couple of free drinks.
Upon arrival at the airport on departure day there were 3 flights worth of people trying to get processed at the same time. Fairly normal for Greek airports but someone deserves a muppet badge for the way the Thomas Cook reps tried to organise things. With our flight due to leave in 10 minutes we were still in the queue for security whilst the reps were pushing the flight for Gatwick people which was due to leave an hour later. After some words with the reps from a few people on our flight someone found a sensible head and the Newcastle flight was "fasttracked" into security checking.
End result our flight which had been on time was half an hour late.
All in all an enjoble holiday the highlight being 8 dolphins riding the bow wave of our boat during a trip to Skopolos. I would return to Asiminas on Skiathos but not with TC or Manos

3 readers found this review helpful

POSITIVES
Lovely studios which were very clean on arrival. Set in a pretty little garden. Seemed quiet.
Comfortable bed. Good towels and the best bathroom I've had in Greece.
3 pools nearby to choose from; Oasis, Tennis Club & Stellina Hotel (huge pool).
Very short walk to Skiathos Town, a supermarket and bus terminus.
Nice owners who gave us tomatoes, eggs and watermelon during our stay.
NEGATIVES
DO NOT come here if you want a good night's sleep in July and August. You can here the music from the clubs until 6am. Thomas Cook omitted to tell you this when advertising the property.
Did'nt have our bedding changed once during the whole week. With temperatures in the late 30's, this was'nt ideal. Towels changed once though.
No bathroom bin collection for 3 days. Again in the heat it was'nt pleasant. I remedied this myself.
The island is VERY expensive. E2.50 for a coke in most bars/restaurants. Take plenty of cash, you will need it.
In the Oasis they charged E5.00 for a portion of chips!!!!
Buses very busy.
Full of quite loud and swaggering Greeks who think they should receive attention before any other tourists. I walked out of one restaurant after being overlooked in favour of the aforementioned.
Luggage collection is a joke. Our cases were requested (plus other Asimina guests) to be be placed in the lane for 09.00. They were not collected until 11.30. Hello? Security!!
Unfortunately, I found the island changed from 2004 and will not return. The people are getting greedy and cashing in on their Mama Mia fame. It will put people off.

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5 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from a week at asimina studios,they were perfect for our needs as we spend most of our time on the beach or sightseeing.The apartment was clean and tidy,large towel provided but we also took our own.1 toilet roll provided,not of the best quality,but again we took our own.If you are going to cook, the cooker has only two rings, one small one large, the cupboard was well equiped with a variety of utensils,crockery and pans.A kettle was not provided,but a small pan did the job,it just took a little longer,but who wants to rush in greece. Adequate bathroom facilities with had held shower, always plenty of hot water. No air con but fans could be hired,no safety deposit box,but our valuables were fine locked in the room,asimina or her husband were always close to the complex (Asimina lives in one of the apartments).
The room was cleaned twice during our weekly stay, bins emptied more regularly. The studios are set in beautiful gardens, where the family also grow there own fruit and vegtables. We were offered fresh eggs and lemons, feta cheese produced by their own goats is also available to buy. Overall a very enjoyable stay.
Don't advise you to pay airport transfers as only 6 euros by taxi from airport.
Appartments 10 minutes stroll from main bus terminus giving you access to majority of beaches on the island. Would definately return and recommend Asimina to friends and family.

asimina apartments are really comfortable .asimina is very freindly i only wished i could speak greek so we could have understood each other better.the tennis club just around the corner is lovelly we spent a few days there just chilling .and the rest of our two week stay we explored some of the breathtaking beaches.we are defienetly going back next year. susan and neil ellison from wigan lancs x

1 reader found this review helpful

ive just returned from the asimina studios and as there is only 2 reveiws thought i would add one to date, these apartments are in a great location, 5min walk to the harbour, 5 mins to the bus station, and 10 mins to the old town,they are quite roomy for studios, they get very hot and they are not air conditioned, we hired to fans but the rooms did not drop below 83degrees. some people asked for eggs and picked the tomatoes without being invited to, i think this offended the family, asminas husband will gladly bring you tomatoes when he is picking them , so dont be cheeky and just take without asking, the bed linen is not changed if your only there for 1 week and the toilet bins are only emptied every 2 day,you are provided with a small hand towel only and will get fresh every 3rd day , so rinse them out and hang them on the washing line. the owners dont speak much english but asiminas daughter in law does and she will tranlate for you, the tennis club next door is great you can use the pool for free but do buy at least a water from them, some people were taking there own in and considering they dont charge its a bit cheeky. all the beaches charge 8 euro for 2 beds and a parasol, the buses run every 10 mins and go to every resort it only takes 15 mins to get from town to the last beach number26 all the resorts are numbers so just ask the bus driver to drop you at any.the bus cost 1.40 euro very cheep to get to all the beaches. if you go into town stop at the old port house in the old town, if you call denise and brian will welcome you and the prices they charge are good compared to some other bars,say hello from fay and alan. they have lovingly restored the old fishing cottage into a lovley comfortable bar with air con to keep you cool. the green park taverna , in ag paraskevi ( bus top 16) is a must ,one of the best. skiathos is a lovley island no matter where you stay as you can get around so easily is great but if your going in july to sept pick somewhere that has air con, finally if i went in may or sept i would stay at the asimina again as its a good location, have a good holiday yammas!

1 reader found this review helpful

My partner and i stayed in one of the newer studios. It was spacious, clean and with all the facilities that we needed. I think there are 4 of the older studios and 4 newer ones. They look much nicer than any of the photos that you find on the web.
The owner, Asimina, is a lovely lady and has beautiful gardens out the front of the studios where she grows many gorgeous flowers, fruit and vegetables. You can help yourselves to the lemons, which we did, to cook with or put in your water. Asimina also gave the guests
whatever she had growing at the time, this time was beautiful tomatoes!
The terrace is right in front of the gardens so although there is no view from the accommodation you can admire the garden. The location of the apartments is ideal for the town; come out of the apartments, turn right onto the dirt track then at the road take a left for the club strip (about 5 min walk) or a right for a quicker route into town (carry on along this road for a couple of mins and there is a road of to the left (if you arrive on the main road you have most definitely gone too far but take a left and your in town). Take this then you are on the waterfront where there are some restaurants and take a right into town (about 10 mins from Asiminas to town). There is a tennis club right next to the studios where they have a nice pool, pool bar and a restaurant. Everybody is more than welcome there and they serve meals and snacks all day. It is also quite un-discovered so there is no problem getting a sunbed.
Skiathos town is great with the new port (the first bit that you get to on the waterfront) and the old port (after dolphin key and around the corner) where there are restaurants, cafes and bars. The main town is a mass of winding cobbled streets and is worth a wander around. The main street is Papadiamantis Street (the street next to the corner cafe) where there are loads of shops, restaurants and fast food outlets (no McDonalds in sight, thankfully!) There are designer clothes and accessories shops as well as the usual fakes, lovely boutiques, jewellery shops, bars and cash machines. There is a great traditional Greek taverna near the end (can't quite remember what its called 'Elados' something maybe, white chairs) where they serve traditional Greek dishes from all over Greece, try the Dolmades starter! Meat balls in onion skin in a gorgeous sauce!
The beach of Megali Ammos is quite narrow and is probably about a 15 min walk from the town (walk to the end of papadiamantis street and take a left, follow the street up and around and take another left). The sea was very warm and the fish swim around your feet. For 2 sunbeds and a parasol it is about 8 euros depending on how far you walk down the beach. There is another beach called Xanemos beach which is a bit quieter so i have been told (we didn't manage to find it). Apparently you walk through the club strip and away from town (this is towards the runway) and at the other end of the runway the beach is around there?!
That is another point actually, The transfer from the airport is great as it is only about 3 minutes but of course does mean that you can hear and see the planes taking off. But to be honest with you this did not bother me, my partner or anybody else we spoke to in the slightest.
There is no air-conditioning in the studios but they appear to be fairly cool and you can hire a fan from Asimina for 2 Euros a day. I have to say that my boyfriend didn't think that it was cool but didn't moan too much so couldn't have been that bad!
The rooms are cleaned every 3 or 4 days and the sheets are changed once a week. We did feel that this probably wasn't often enough but it had absolutely no adverse affect on our holiday. I would give this 10/10 but i always do, so feel that i need to give more accurate ratings.
The lack of air-con, tiny towels (and i mean tiny - my boyfriend is a 16 stone, 6' 4" gorgeous man and it was like a hanky - very amusing!), irregular cleaning, not enough plug sockets and slight trek to the beach are why I have had to mark it down a little. But I had a lovely time and will definitely go back to Skiathos and would even go back to Asimina's!
Manos rep Maggie was fantastic!
(Also have to say that we never cook as we eat out and I'm not sure what the cooking facilities are like but our neighbours cooked everyday without a problem.)
Hope you find this helpful.