Aretousa Studios & Apartments

We have just returned from our holiday to Skopelos. The brochure description of the Aretousa Studios is pretty accurate. However, the property location was not what we expected. It is a 25 minute walk from town and is situated on a main road going out of the town - we are used to walking into town from our accomodation whilst on holiday, but normally there are tavernas on route - not in this case. A petrol station/supermarket 5 minutes away and that is it.
We have had many holidays in Greece and the property owners have always introduced themselves/made themselves known - not in this case. We did not even get provided with a drink at the welcome meeting. The only contact with the owner was after 1 week of being there when we were rudely told not to alter the air conditioning below 26 c!
The accomodation was cleaned twice a week and the bin in the bathroom was therefore only emptied twice a week. There was no bin in the kitchen - we had to make do with carrier bags which we disposed of ourselves.
The pool is quite small - the children's section being approximately the size of a small bath! There were only 6 sun loungers - nowhere near enough for the number of guests staying there.
The room was relatively noisy - you could hear the road traffic and there was an awful lot of noise from the chimney.
On the plus side, our Kosmar rep, Emir, was very friendly and helpful. The Owl Taverna in Skopelos town is highly recommended.
Overall, an enjoyable holiday, but we would be in no rush to return.
Heather, Haydon & Jake Gibbins

The Aretousa is one of the best accommodations in Greece that I've ever stayed in. It's so good that I am returning for my fourth visit in four years at the end of the week.
I think there are three or four apartments in the main building, which is the yellow building shown in the Kosmar Brochure. Then infront of that, downhill towards the road, pool and parking area are three 'bungalows' with split levels. Being self catering most people do just eat out every night but when we go, we do cook and the kitchen is brilliant. There's a small oven/grill with about three or four rings. There's a toaster, kettle, and a coffee percolator. The bedroom is upstairs and downstairs there's a sofa bed with a TV, wardrobe, coffee table, fireplace and great FREE air conditioning. We've never suffered with mosquito bites whilst staying here!
The location might cause problems for some people with walking difficulties only if you don't hire a car. It's 20 minutes walk one way to Skopelos town and 20 minutes walk the opposite way to the nearest beach, Staphilos. In the day it's pretty hard work but during the evening, walking into the town and back is no problem.
One thing Kosmar do not tell you is all the waiting you have to do to get to Skopelos. I always fly out from Manchester which means I have an early flight, usually about 7:50am. It takes three and a half hours to get to Skiathos airport as Skopelos doesn't have an airport! That's 2pm! From there the reps are meant to take you across to Skopelos BUT they don't. They leave you in a bar at Skiathos port, where you can leave your luggage, and make you wait until every other flight has come in. I remember last year was about 8 or 9 pm! They then get everyone together on a ferry which is completely hectic! We just about made it to the supermarket for water!
I always recommend Skopelos and the Aretousa to anyone, but you seriously need some patience for the journey!

This was our first stay on the island of Skopelos. At first we weren't sure whether to go to Skopelos as we thought that it might have been a bit too quiet, but we went ahead with holiday.
In the town there is a small amount of hustle and bustle, and if you want it it's there. If not you can go around the back streets and find small tavernas and admire the views of the harbour. The town is a 25 minute walk from the Aretousa and a taxi back costs only 5 euros. The super market is a 4 minute walk and is only open in high season. Also, Stafilous beach is only a 25 minute walk and along the way there are 2 tavernas and nearer the beach there is a fantastic fish taverna with a stunning view of the bay.
The Aretousa itself was fantastic. It had so many facilities like a kettle, mini oven and a coffee machine. We normally have to bring our own washing up liquid but we needn't do – there is soap, tea towels, that as there was already washing up liquid, soap, tea towels, lots of toilet rolls and even a mat for when your get out of the shower. Talking of the shower, the water was always lovely and hot which is very important.
Also in the accommodation there was air conditioning, a television (free of charge) and mosquito nets on the windows. The air conditioning and mosquito nets seemed to keep away the mosquitos as only 2 people of our party only got bitten once each.
Always at least one of the owners of the Aretousa was always on site to answer your questions and if there were any problems they would sort it out as soon as possible. Also the cleaner Eleni cleaned our rooms every day and changed the towels and bed covers every other day.
The design of the studios and apartments was also fantastic. I really liked the split level, which was nice and private. Also the balconies were very spacious. The whole place seemed like a villa. The pool was also very nice to. It was very safe and there was also a children’s pool and 12 sun loungers (free of charge).
Our Kosmar Rep-Marrianna was also very helpful as she booked cars if you needed one (recommended), days out and trips e.t.c. , and she was always there to answer your questions.
We highly recommend Aretousa studios and apartments if you decide to take a visit to Skopelos.