Molyvos Queen Apartments

Accommodation Good Points:
Spacious apartment with large living/dining room as well as a decent sized bedroom.
Nice modern furniture.
Partial views of the sea
Plenty of wardrobe and drawer space and good full length mirror.
Hair drier and TV (Greek only) in the bedroom.
Shower curtain in the bathroom - and no flooding! Plenty of hot water all the time.
Kitchen equipped with kettle and toaster. There's also a microwave oven, electric juicer and a coffee machine, though these are probably unnecessary for most people and our coffee machine was removed after a week and given to someone else!
Clean towels almost daily, bed linen every other day or so
Toilet rolls replaced and bins emptied daily.
Plenty of washing line and pegs already strung up around the balcony
Accommodation Bad Points:
Very small kitchen - sink and hob but no draining board, one tiny work surface taken up by microwave oven.
Washing up bowl was too big for the sink (and broken) but there was no sink plug so it was bowl or nothing.
No storage space for food other than the fridge. We ended up using a cupboard above a wardrobe.
Only one electrical socket in the kitchen, which given the amount of electrical appliances seemed a bit odd - so no making tea and toast at the same time!
Cooking rings on hob very slow to heat up and reach cooking temperature.
Fridge door broken and leaked water onto floor - only shut properly with a well aimed kick to the bottom!
No ice cube tray in ice box - a request for one resulted in being told to buy one in the supermarket.
Only just enough crockery and cutlery for two people and the mugs and glasses were chipped, cracked or badly stained
Requested a 2nd saucepan - never materialised.
No wooden spoons or serving spoons, no colander.
Its not made clear in the brochure that the shared terrace for 1st floor rooms is actually the walkway for guests in other rooms, so there's no privacy at all. We spent the entire 2wks with the curtains closed. If you do choose to stay here ask for a top floor apartment.
Poor cleaning - rooms weren't swept properly the whole 2wks and there's inadequate cleaning during change-overs. We found broken glass under one of the beds which had obviously been there a long time. The bathroom was particularly grubby.
No chance of a lie in beyond 7:30 - 8am, as the English manager of the accommodation, Steve, liked to arrive early for his daily gossip whilst leaning on his broom pretending to clean - and he didn't do it quietly!
Resort Good Points:
Pretty resort which feels very authentic. Twisty, windy streets to explore (all cobbled so no high heels here girls!) Some nice shops, not too commercialised. There are a few decent supermarkets, the best one is the one opposite the Tropicana in the square, and if you head left towards the town you come to the bakery - fabulous bread freshly baked every day. Good bus service to neighbouring resorts of Petra andAnaxos. Taxi service is also good, we had no problems phoning and geting picked up from Vafios and the surrounding areas after walks.
Lots of good walks starting from Molyvos and Petra, using Mike Maunder's On Foot in North Lesvos.
There are a few boat trips on offer in the harbour (best value for booking is the travel agents attached to the Sea Horse hotel)
All in all plenty to do in a 2wk holiday.
Excellent food, some of the best we've had in Greece, we understand that a lot of the restaurants have 'the mothers' doing the cooking or the cooking is done in 'the mothers' style, this seems to be to good effect. We can especially recommend Le GrandBleu in the harbour - the best fava beans we've ever tasted and if they have them (not on the menu, you have to ask) delicious Horta. The Captain's Table does a really good briam . There's an Italian restaurant run by an Englishman, the food is good but under seasoned - they haven't yet realised why the salt cellars empty so quickly! Richard, the English owner runs around the restaurant like a mad man and we found this a bit off-putting when trying to have a relaxing meal. TheWomens Co-operative in Petra is excellent, the stuffed zucchini flowers were the best we tasted and the hot beetroot with garlic sauce was a revelation. We had lunch at the TavernaVafios, in Vafios and wished we'd had time to return for dinner. The food was delicious, its a lovely spot and we'll definitely get a taxi here for the evening when we're inMolyvos in May.
There are several bars for a pre or post dinner drink or two. Our favourite was Molly's Bar, Paul and Martin make everyone welcome and there's a lovely atmosphere. The Sea Horse hotel became our favourite watering hole for late afternoon beers. Its in the prime location ofMolyvos, right on the harbour, the draught Mythos is icy cold, Demetrius and his staff are friendly and welcoming - we've booked a week there in May '09 we loved it so much!
Resort Bad Points:
Mopeds are the usual nuisance they are in most resorts in Greece, cars and vans were also a pain, especially as most of the streets can barely accommodate them so a quick jump into a shop doorway became the only way to avoid getting your toes crushed.
The town and the harbour are at opposite ends of Molyvos, so there's a bit of a walk from one to the other along a sloping road, not best suited to anyone with walking difficulties.
We don't use the beaches as we prefer to walk and explore but the beach at Molyvos was pebbly although the sunbeds and parasols seemed to be cheaper than we've seen them in other resorts. Most people interested in the beach seemed to hop on the bus to Petra.
The tourists in Molyvos seem to be mostly Dutch, sadly some them could be quite rude which was a shame.
There is a two and a half hour transfer time from the airport to the resort, we were prepared for it, but not the family sitting behind us on the coach, who fed their kids crisps and milk till most of it ended up back in their laps - yuk!