Astra Village Apartments

Had great 2 weeks at astra village. Had great apartment overlooking the sea, basic but clean. Lovely village with great restaurants and bars. Try the view, vinnies and galliana. Star beach is about 20 min walk away. Nightmare walking back up in the heat. Hotel bar is nice and staff very friendly.

I booked and paid for a last minute deal with Thomsons for the Astra Village in Koutouloufari THEN read the reviews! I was deeply concerned about going on this holiday after reading them, but I am writing this to let any future travellers know that all is not bad. We had no problems with cleanliness, toilet rolls, sheets, fridges, towels, and anything else criticised in previous reviews and once you get used to the miniscule shower room it is not too bad.The reception lady (Helena) was reasonably friendly but because we had locked ourselves out of the apartment on our last evening, and she did not open the reception on time (45 minutes late) we could not get a key and missed out on the Greek evening that we had booked with Thomson and a fair amount of money as a result.

The bar staff are exceedingly friendly, and contributed greatly to the enjoyment of our holiday. We had an apartment overlooking the road, which I was a bit dubious about at first, but there was no adverse noise at night, and in fact it was very pleasant to sit on the balcony and people watch.There are an abundance of tavernas in the village, some better than others (beware of the Sea View taverna - they don't bring your change back, and service was not good - they brought the main course while we were still eating our starter, and the food was not as good as other tavernas. I would recommend Emmanuel taverna, although it is a little bit more pricy. On our last night in the Windmill Tavern (a very friendly place), we were given a bottle of ouzo to take home, with instructions on how to drink it!

There are some down sides to this location- one being the abundance of quad bikes and scooters travelling along the small roads and lanes, and the absence of a decent beach nearby, I do agree with a previous review that said Hersonissos is horrendous - indeed it is if you are over 25, as is Star beach from the afternoon onwards. The walk there, even downhill, is difficult in hot weather, and we only did it to go to the bank.We hired a car for the last two days, and found a lovely beach the other side of Aghios Nicholaos, albeit 50km away!

All in all, this was a very pleasant holiday that was much better than I was expecting.

This was our first holiday in Crete where we stayed at the Astra village apartments. We booked through Thompsons and were not given any options in respect of our rooms and the position of the room. Our room was above the bar overlooking the road to the front of the apartments, if you can help it don’t get one of these rooms (there are four) as it is extremely noisy from the road at the front, the fashion is to hire a 125 motor scooter and use this road like brands hatch and the road stays busy until at least three in the morning and if you suffer from asthma like I do the fumes don’t help. the bar was noisy until at least two in the morning and then you will be woken up by the cleaners at about six cleaning the bar dragging tables and chairs about. The Thompson’s rep was useless and the owners were not helpful either. on a brighter note although the room was very basic we did have maid service four times but the towels were only changed once during our 7 days stay. Wont be going back.

Janette West Yorkshire.

We have been returning to these apartments for a number of years now. The family run apartments are always very well looked after, the rooms are cleaned to very high standard daily.

There are two pools which are well maintained with a good pool bar. The bar is always welcoming and is well run by Soula and her friendly staff; they serve good mixture of food and now and again show movies.

The apartments are situated on a lovely street that has a wide choice of tavernas and a well stocked supermarket run by a very friendly family. We have travelled to a lot of the Greek islands but find Crete to be one of the most friendly and welcoming......Roll on June!

This was our second visit to this part of Crete. The Staff at Astra are excellent. Alex and the bar crew are fun, funny and go out of their way to make you welcome.

Extra cost for air-con, safe and late check out are irritating but this it would seem is they way they do it in Greece. The air con is a must if you want to sleep and survive the 45 degree heat we had.

A car is a good idea if you want to get the best out of your stay (lots to see in the region) but you can do taxis & excursions as an alternative. Big variations in price for cars so check out the internet before you go. Auto Union were good for us.

Only down side was reception woman who has an unfortunate tone, accused us of doing stuff we hadn't and made mistakes over charges. "Sorry" is not an English word she has mastered yet!!!

We'd go back tomorrow. Great place, great people. Thanks!

We stayed for one night only so we were given one of the apartments at the basement of one of the three hotel buildings. It lacked any views, bar the floor outside, could not be properly aired and, quite naturally, had to have all windows and doors closed at night for reasons of safety. Which meant that air conditioning was absolutely necessary. However, we were not given any remote control and had to repeatedly ask for it, as the owner was away until late at night. Be careful if you book through Thomson's, there was no mention of the fact that air condition would be charged for on top of the room price. Moreover, we were not even given the option upon checking in; and trust me, closed windows and no air-condition in the end of July is unthinkable. The charge was 9 euros eventually (for one night). The room was not particularly stylish or anything, rather on the mass-touristy side and certainly did not have any Cretan furniture (of any era). One of the sheets had a huge whole, the pillows were Spartan-ly thin and the little airer outside the room was long due replacement. Better look elsewhere in Koutouloufari if you want to be sure of what you book for. Oh, and be sure not to miss "The Veggera" kafeneio in nearby Piskopiano for real home made Greek meze dishes. And a more general tip: get away from the overcrowded, overpriced, windy north; the real jewels lie in the south of the island.

The apartment was clean tidy and reasonably decorated. Cool (hot) water was sometimes very cool. Maids came in every day, linen changed once in mid week, maids turned the place over even if you were there which could be a bit disturbing and I’m talking 9.45am.

The village was small and compact with prices on average 30% dearer than any other Greek island we have been on, and that included food costs. All restaurants were much of a much ness.

Dutch cafe was very good with great coffee and service.

Huge huge drawback was heart attack hill! Unless you are mountain fit and under 45 then I just don’t reckon this area at all. Everything else was down the hill - then the slog or a taxi back up the hill - more expense.

This was our first visit to Crete and most enjoyable it was too.

Koutouloufari is a lovely village and the people there are extremely friendly. We had a beautiful sea view which was absolutely gorgeous.

There are plenty of tavernas and restaurants to choose from but be warned - you get plenty.

Our apartments were spotlessly clean - the maids came every single day (which could be a bit of a nuisance the morning after the night before) - however they had a job to do and you have to appreciate this.

The staff at the apartments were also lovely - a special mention to Alex for he is surely an asset to these apartments - he is very likeable and well the ladies love him - so guys remember to hang on to yer gals (joking!!) - Actually the guys like Alex too - he’s such a nice chap - oops forgot to say Alex is the barman.

The other people there - Soula and John were also lovely people and whilst there Soula got a marriage proposal - she has such a beautiful smile and always remains so calm.

Really all the staff was ever so nice and the receptionist Lena was very helpful at all times.

We met some lovely people and I have to say all in all we are thinking about returning next year as we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves so much - and the hospitality of the Cretans is superb.

I simply do not agree with the people who have called the hotel. Me and my girlfriend have been twice within in three months and we dont normally re visit hotels. The hotel was very clean, the rooms where of high quality and deserving of there 3* rating. The staff, including Alex, Nikki and Soula were all fab and made us feel more like family rather than guests. The whole staff work very hard and a little more respect from reviewers would in my opinion be deserving.

Our second visit within 3 months. Please do not believe reports that the hotel isn’t great, it is.

I and my girlfriend are very picky and we both love it. Alex, Soula and Niki are all great and we are planning another visit soon.

The resort is also good with a good selection of taverna's and bars which will suit most tastes.

The only bad point is the airport but it is worth putting up with it for an enjoyable holiday.