Ourania Studios

2 readers found this review helpful

our first time to lesbos, and it was wonderful. i went with my husband and four friends,and we have been going to greece for 20 years. the ourania apts were great,cleaned regular and bins emptied every day. christos and family were lov
ely, a little bit reserved to start with but as soon as we had a conversation we were fine. they work so hard also running his farm, we couldnt figure how they had time to sleep, its a much more relaxed island and not for the 20s who want music bars etc. we wanted a total chill out holiday and we had that and more. we even had the pool to ourselves most days. the food at the apts again cooked by the family was outstanding
we have all said we want to go back. we all recommend the ourania

1 reader found this review helpful

Previous comments have indicated the owners to be rude, this is not the case. We found them friendly and helpful, their grasp of English is not as good as some owners which can lead to them appearing a bit brusque. If you engage with them they will respond likewise.
With respect to the pool bar we were told it served the best food in Petra, it certainle was up there with the others, fresh fish a speciality, give it a try. It is very popular with locals so that should be a good sign.
Petra is a lovely village, the old streets near the church are narrow, cobbled and a maze of shops. The church is up a lot of steps, but well worth the climb. We were told to cover knees and shoulders, but plenty didn't.
Would certainly go back again.

1 reader found this review helpful

I agree with comments that Petra is a lovely place and one that i would like to visit again, but this is not the best place to stay. For what is supposed to be self catering accommodating, it lacked simple kitchen implements e.g. toaster, microwave, bottle opener, cooking utensils etc. As for comments about the owner, the welcome was none existent and we were not provided with any information about the accommodation i.e vacating times of rooms on departure days, and use of air conditioning etc...which i shall come back to!
In the week that we (me and my partner) stayed there the sheets were not changed and the bin in the toilet was only changed once, which is not pleasant due to the fact that you cannot flush toilet paper in Greece.
No fault of the owner we were sold these holiday apartments with air conditioning, so on arrival my father naturally turned it on. Later that evening my party (including my younger siblings) were confronted by the owner shouting (at this point we did not know who he was) about why my dad had touched the air conditioning as "it was his, and cost 1000euros to use", quite scary. This situation was carried on by the owner after we had gone back to our rooms when he decided it necessary to disconnect the power to my parents room and confront my father threatening to call the police over the situation and telling him that he should "leave tonight". Not a great start to what was supposed e to be a nice family holiday.
During our week here we spoke to other people staying in the apartments around us who all had the same things to say about the owner (one family even packed to leave). Also on the last day we were told very abruptly to get out of our rooms even tho we still had over 2hrs till our coach pickup.
By all means Petra (and lesvos) is a beautiful place to holiday in, however there are much better places to stay and if i ever return i will not be staying here again, as the accommodation is not great and the owner is rude!
I hope that this coupled with comments from other people are useful to you.

1 reader found this review helpful

Just been reading some of the reviews for Ourania studios, I would like to enforce what the last 2 reviews said. Petra is great, you get to see how the Greeks life unlike the more popular resorts. The studios are based a short walk from the beachfront. The rooms are basic, clean, but all you need for your time there, its Greece, you should not be spending all your time indoors, esp when there is a fantastic pool and Taverna meters away, net alone a great Island to visit and experience. If you are wanting 5 Star accomadation, don't pay for 2 Star, and moan when you don't get 5* service. Is it that hard that if your rubbish fills up to drop it off a few meters from your door???
We were there 2 weeks, occasionally ate out, but always came back to the Ourania Studios Taverna, as the food was exceptional, and decently priced, my favourites were the Swordfish and the Mousaka. Christo and his family were always friendly and helpfull, could have easily stayed there another 2 weeks.

3 readers found this review helpful

This was our first trip to Petra which had been highly recommended to us and rightly so. Such a relaxing place and in no time at all we had forgotten about the hussle and bussle of London. I'm already missing getting lost in the lanes, walking along the sea front and the friendliness of the people.
We were, however, concerned by some of the negative reviews we had read about the Ourania Studios before we arrived. I can honestly say we must have been staying in a different place. They are in a great location, not only to walk into Petra (10/15 mins) but also for the great views from the apartments and the pool. The apartment was basic and small but it was cleaned every two days along with fresh towels. The pool was great and a very peaceful place to relax anytime of day.
Someone was available at the bar/restaurant from 8am everyday. I found the family to be helpful, friendly and excellent hosts. The food was very good, reasonably priced and with a wide choice, probably one of the best places to eat in Petra.
I'm not sure why some people have had such a bad experience here and quite frankly I don't care. It probably says more about them than it does about these studios. We found it relaxing, charming and peaceful and can't wait to return.

1 reader found this review helpful

We, Erik and Estelle Van Meer from Holland, visit Petra on Lesvos about 10 years, staying in apartments from a Dutch tour operator, but we know the family from Christos and Ourania Tata also 10 years. In the beginning they ran their restaurant, called "ZYGOS" at the sea side and after some years they build it up on their own property where it is now. In the beginning we tried several restaurant with traditional Greek food. W're cooking a lot of Greek dishes at home for years. But every time we went back after a few days to ZYGOS becouse they serve the best Greek traditional food of Petra for a very small price. Even some Greek restaurant owners told us that Ourania was the most wanted cook in Petra becouse of het cooking talents!
That's why we never try another restaurant now, we always go directly from the first day to Christos and Ourania. Ourania and Jorgos, the son, they speek poor english, Christos speeks it better and the daughter, Meraupi, who is studying in Tessaloniki now, speeks it almost fluently.
Ask Christos to make some RIZOGALO for you. He makes a rice pudding from his own fresh fat sheepmilk, suger, rice and vanilla, fantastic. He serves it for free after dinner. If you ask for it, tell him Erik & Estelle from Holland recommanded it.
We recommand this Restaurant ZYGOS to everyone and we are sure you will enjoy the most fresh and best traditional Greek diner for a small price. You will love it and come back every day!
erik.van.meer@planet.nl

Having recently stayed at these appartments I would like to reiterate the comments made by Mr Davies and add some further points.
We were staying in the annexe/bungalow, and after being dropped at the main road it was a long and strenuous walk to the appartment and then we had to negotiate a steep flight of stairs - being asthmatic I found this difficult.
During the stay we had hot water on 5 of the 14 days. In our opinion the solar panel is in the wrong position.
On raising the matter with the owner in the bar area the owner obviously did not believe me as he snatched the key from my hand and strode off to the appartment to check. On finding out I was right he shrugged, threw his hands in the air and said it was an electrical fault and he would "get man tomorrow"
The next day the water was warm, this lasted two days, the remaider of the holiday passed with cold water.
The appartment was very basic, with no toaster, microwave, corkscrew or carving knife.
The bed linen was changed once a week and in the second week there were cigarette burns in the bed sheets. Towels were changed twice a week. Bins containing toilet waste were emptied with the rubbish - every three/four days.
Apart from the above the the owners were not friendly and the area was very noisy.
I would definitelt not recommend these appartments

The proprietors were very rude to myself and my guests, particuarly when I complained about the continual lack of hot water during the evenings after our return from a days walking/birdwatching. They tried to blame us for the problem by suggesting that we had interfered with the timer switch and even tried to blame the problem on a power cut. The rooms are no longer cleaned on a daily basis, the linen is changed once a week along with the towels and the rubbish bin in the bathroom emptied approximately evey three to four days. Not acceptable in the hot weather. I will most definately not be bringing guets back to this location again.

We have just returned from a week at Ourania Studio's and would definitely NOT go back. The pool and views from the balcony were very nice, however, this was spoilt by the attitude of the owners who were just plain rude. We ate at the taverna once that was more than enough. Whenever you went to the bar for a drink in the evening it was like you were interrupting a private party and were greeted with intimidating and rude stares from the owners and their friends.
The "maid service" was non existent, one change of towels all week and the so called "clean" ones were covered in stains. We did not have the bed sheets changed all week, and the bin for the toilet paper was only emptied once.
Petra itself is very picturesque; we hired a moped to get out and about up to the hot springs and into Molyvos. The hot springs are definitely worth a visit, very relaxing and tranquil.
Be warned, on your departure, Christos will come and bang on your door at 10am shouting "OUT!" in your face. He did this to every room, and was also very aggressive to my partner, shouting right in his face because we squashed a fly on the wall. If they had bothered to clean the apartment all week I might have made an effort to get rid of the dead fly, but decided not to bother after the aggressive and rude attitudes we received all week.

The following are our personal opinions!
We wouldn’t recommend anyone go to Ourania Apartments in Petra, Lesvos! Apartments in the main block are very small and poorly maintained. Rooms in the newer annex are basic but larger. They are not sufficiently equipped to allow more than the most basic catering.
The noisy air conditioning has the benefit of drowning out the noise from constantly barking dogs and the regular violent rowing – morning, noon and night!
The Restaurant offers good food but with sullen service. Unless you choose to eat there regularly, you should not expect to receive a warm welcome.
The swimming pool has generous dimensions and the baby pool is a bonus. The pool is adequately sized for the residents, except at weekends when numerous noisy and raucous locals descend. At weekends anything goes, urinating in the poolside shower and dogs taking a dip (having showered first of course!) included.
During the week, nothing appears to be acceptable to the owner, due to safety regulations. There can be no diving, no jumping, and definitely no fun. So somersaulting into the pool and throwing in of one another, so enjoyed by locals at the weekend, is completely unacceptable for the paying guests during weekdays!
Residents must seek their pleasures from trying to avoid falling over the 20 metre lengths of 5 cm hose randomly trailed around the poolside, each and every day. Avoiding entanglement with the pool cleaning equipment which is left permanently in the water is another good game. Spotting the life belt is another activity, which will keep the kids occupied for hours – because there isn’t one!
We believe it is a crime that paying guests are subjected to the hotel, who are far and away the rudest and worst hoteliers we've experienced in 15 years of Mediterranean travel.
Ask for your complaint form at the welcome meeting because the Thomas Cook rep may have exhausted her supply by the end of your first week!
We didn’t feel Lesvos offered much for the family holiday. With a few exceptions, (all of which required a hire car), beaches are not suitable for young families. They are either rocky below the water surface or slope away dramatically from the shoreline.
We only saw one beach during our fortnight, where any effort had been made at clearing away the everyday detritus. Compared to other destinations we’ve been to over the last 15 years, sightseeing is virtually non-existent. Restaurants are of a good standard but none that we visited offered smaller portions or special menus for children, so ours often ended up sharing an adult portion.
A return to Kefalonia beckons us for 2008!