Castro Hotel Crete, Amoudara, Crete
Hotel Information
Recent Price: £55
Hotel Class:
Hotel Description:
Just 5km away from the centre of Heraklion, the Castro hotel lies in the middle of Amoudara only 300m away from the famous sandy Amoudara Beach. loading...
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Castro Hotel Crete Reviews
" excellent value for money stayed for... "
Submitted By: Ms B Mcclelland
excellent value for money stayed for 2 wks on bed and breakfast.Ok breakfast a bit plain but plenty to fill up on!!...hotel amnd staff excellent rooms clean 5 mins to ocean like the caribbean breathe taking..eat at the main bar food excellent on water front called heaven,bus to heraklion every 20 mins good mkts,last min shop.one of the best holidays ever.pool facilities big enough to swim and v clean.
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2007
- Board Basis:Select
- Tour Operator:First Choice
" This was two of the most fantastic... "
Submitted By: Miss C Ireland
This was two of the most fantastic weeks of my year. Absolutely fantastic. The food in the hotel was gorgeous. Much better than most of the restaurants. The staff were really friendly; especially the waiters, made good friends with them and they treated us very well. The rooms were very basic but, you don’t go on holiday to sit around in the rooms all day do you!
The general area is good as well, as everything is only a short walk away. Only a few mins to the beach, bars, restaurants and shops. I highly recommend the Arabian Shisha bar, its a bit more of a walk. Basically you just carry on through the town until you get there, it lovely. The manager there was a star. Treated us brilliantly and we even went out to the local clubs on his evening off!!!!
I found my stay really enjoyable and made some really nice friends in the hotel.
The only things I will say is, the breakfast was nothing special. So normally slept on....
And the cleaners, if you do choose to sleep in you will get the cleaners banging on the door..... Bit of a pain but..... Oh well.
But I really recommend this place. You will have a great holiday.
The general area is good as well, as everything is only a short walk away. Only a few mins to the beach, bars, restaurants and shops. I highly recommend the Arabian Shisha bar, its a bit more of a walk. Basically you just carry on through the town until you get there, it lovely. The manager there was a star. Treated us brilliantly and we even went out to the local clubs on his evening off!!!!
I found my stay really enjoyable and made some really nice friends in the hotel.
The only things I will say is, the breakfast was nothing special. So normally slept on....
And the cleaners, if you do choose to sleep in you will get the cleaners banging on the door..... Bit of a pain but..... Oh well.
But I really recommend this place. You will have a great holiday.
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2007
- Board Basis:Bed & Breakfast
- Tour Operator:Med Hotels
" First the good points: the staff is... "
Submitted By: Ms A Reiff
First the good points: the staff is indeed quite friendly and the hotel is very cheap. The rooms in the new building are nice enough. Breakfast is functional, but ok.
However, I have never stayed in such a noisy place (combination of different factors, such as location on a main street junction, a la carte restaurant with associated kitchen in the main building, sound carrying construction of the building)! Avoid being placed in the 'old' main building at all costs, as it is the worst there (having spent a sleepless first night behind the kitchen)!
The rooms are not cleaned on Sundays, and fresh towels are only provided every 4 to 5 days.
Also, be prepared for the additional costs of air con, necessary for a nights sleep more for noise and mosquito than temperature reasons.
Amoudara is not the most scenic place, and most of the hotels are located on the main road away from the beach. However, the people are very very friendly, and there are many local amenities, shops, bars and restaurants being plentiful and very reasonably priced. The beach isn't bad.
However, I have never stayed in such a noisy place (combination of different factors, such as location on a main street junction, a la carte restaurant with associated kitchen in the main building, sound carrying construction of the building)! Avoid being placed in the 'old' main building at all costs, as it is the worst there (having spent a sleepless first night behind the kitchen)!
The rooms are not cleaned on Sundays, and fresh towels are only provided every 4 to 5 days.
Also, be prepared for the additional costs of air con, necessary for a nights sleep more for noise and mosquito than temperature reasons.
Amoudara is not the most scenic place, and most of the hotels are located on the main road away from the beach. However, the people are very very friendly, and there are many local amenities, shops, bars and restaurants being plentiful and very reasonably priced. The beach isn't bad.
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2006
- Board Basis:Bed & Breakfast
- Tour Operator:Med Hotels
" Just got back and we're already... "
Submitted By: Mr M I Delderfield
Just got back and we're already looking forward to going back again next year.
Ok so the rooms are basic but they have all the essentials and are kept spotlessly clean. The pool was clean and uncrowded. The staff were welcoming and very helpful.
The taverna's in Amoudara in general were very good but Maxim's - the hotel restaurant - was outstanding cuisine, very reasonably priced.
We went to Crete for a week in the sun and for the food and were not disappointed in either. And the Castro Hotel played a big part in our having such a great time.
Ok so the rooms are basic but they have all the essentials and are kept spotlessly clean. The pool was clean and uncrowded. The staff were welcoming and very helpful.
The taverna's in Amoudara in general were very good but Maxim's - the hotel restaurant - was outstanding cuisine, very reasonably priced.
We went to Crete for a week in the sun and for the food and were not disappointed in either. And the Castro Hotel played a big part in our having such a great time.
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2006
- Board Basis:Bed & Breakfast
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" I've just got back from Crete with my... "
Submitted By: Mr C M
I've just got back from Crete with my wife and two children (boy, 14 & girl, 11).
We were hesitant to book this accommodation having read the other reviews first but for £135 half-board for one week we decided it was too cheap not to take a chance.
In the end, both my wife and I were glad we did.
When we arrived, one of the managers, Manos, helped us with our luggage to the rooms. All the staff spoke varying levels of English, as did most of the people that we came across at the resort, and we found everyone to be very friendly and welcoming.
The rooms were a little basic but clean and functional. We had a large fridge to keep a few groceries in. The maids came everyday and did a good job. There was one tv in the bedroom and it only showed Greek programmes, except in the evening, when some of them showed films in English with Greek subtitles. This kept our son amused when we returned to the apartment in the evening.
Because we went half-board we had a (limited) choice of the full menu for our evening meal; the main course was always included and you got the choice of a starter or dessert at no extra cost. The adult menu was typical Greek fayre whereas the kids' menu was pizza, burgers etc. The hotel manager and waiters all made a big fuss of the children at meal-times and were very flexible with the menu as long as the price of the meal was about the same. The nice thing was, we would go down for our evening meal and it would only cost us the price of the drinks (about 6 Euros for four soft drinks) plus a tip.
Because we went a week before half-term, the resort of Amadoura was very quiet. It was obvious that the bars, restaurants etc were getting ready for the start of the season. This meant that the hotel was virtually empty.
There was a mixture of nationalities staying at Castro with English, Scottish, German and Scandinavians all gathered around the pool at any one time. The atmosphere was very pleasant and respectful. The pool wasn't particularly clean - i had my mask on underneath the water and it was cloudy - but we're still here to tell the tale!
The 'sea-view' from the room was stretching it a little - although the sea was visible it was still some distance away. It was probably best-viewed from the balcony as on closer inspection it was a bit dirty and the sea full of weed; the power plant, or whatever it was, further down the beach, was a little disconcerting and blighted the beautiful landscape somewhat. Incidentally, the beaches seemed to get better the closer you got to the Heraklion airport.
It's true what the other person said - there were lots of young people whizzing round on mopeds and in 'hot-hatches' with the music blasting but that was all part of the experience and anyway, it was only really noticeable on the restaurant patio which is next to a busy road; the room and pool area were both very quiet.
We managed to flood the room a couple of times due to a dodgy shower curtain and poor drainage in the bathroom. We notified the front desk and they sent a plumber up the move the shower-head, only the hose was too short and were supposed to be getting a longer one. This never materialized and I was, well, to lazy to complain so we had sit down showers for the rest of the week! Ah well, when in Greece...
There wasn't much for kids to do at the hotel except swim - even a pool table in the hotel would have eased some of their boredom in the evenings. The internet cafe down the road saved us for a few nights and a day-trip to the water park in the hills was a highlight. Perhaps if we'd gone a bit later in the season there'd have been more kids for them to socialise with but my wife and I were quite happy with the peace and quiet plus it meant we did things as a family instead of having 1000 kids running around after some obnoxious kids club rep!
In summary, we paid less than £20 a day to stay at the Castro for the four of us including a proper evening meal which the kids ate - that takes some beating. If I had paid more perhaps things would have niggled me more but once I saw that it had a roof and running water, everything else was a bonus.
PS The weather was gorgeous everyday while it poured in England ha ha :O)
We were hesitant to book this accommodation having read the other reviews first but for £135 half-board for one week we decided it was too cheap not to take a chance.
In the end, both my wife and I were glad we did.
When we arrived, one of the managers, Manos, helped us with our luggage to the rooms. All the staff spoke varying levels of English, as did most of the people that we came across at the resort, and we found everyone to be very friendly and welcoming.
The rooms were a little basic but clean and functional. We had a large fridge to keep a few groceries in. The maids came everyday and did a good job. There was one tv in the bedroom and it only showed Greek programmes, except in the evening, when some of them showed films in English with Greek subtitles. This kept our son amused when we returned to the apartment in the evening.
Because we went half-board we had a (limited) choice of the full menu for our evening meal; the main course was always included and you got the choice of a starter or dessert at no extra cost. The adult menu was typical Greek fayre whereas the kids' menu was pizza, burgers etc. The hotel manager and waiters all made a big fuss of the children at meal-times and were very flexible with the menu as long as the price of the meal was about the same. The nice thing was, we would go down for our evening meal and it would only cost us the price of the drinks (about 6 Euros for four soft drinks) plus a tip.
Because we went a week before half-term, the resort of Amadoura was very quiet. It was obvious that the bars, restaurants etc were getting ready for the start of the season. This meant that the hotel was virtually empty.
There was a mixture of nationalities staying at Castro with English, Scottish, German and Scandinavians all gathered around the pool at any one time. The atmosphere was very pleasant and respectful. The pool wasn't particularly clean - i had my mask on underneath the water and it was cloudy - but we're still here to tell the tale!
The 'sea-view' from the room was stretching it a little - although the sea was visible it was still some distance away. It was probably best-viewed from the balcony as on closer inspection it was a bit dirty and the sea full of weed; the power plant, or whatever it was, further down the beach, was a little disconcerting and blighted the beautiful landscape somewhat. Incidentally, the beaches seemed to get better the closer you got to the Heraklion airport.
It's true what the other person said - there were lots of young people whizzing round on mopeds and in 'hot-hatches' with the music blasting but that was all part of the experience and anyway, it was only really noticeable on the restaurant patio which is next to a busy road; the room and pool area were both very quiet.
We managed to flood the room a couple of times due to a dodgy shower curtain and poor drainage in the bathroom. We notified the front desk and they sent a plumber up the move the shower-head, only the hose was too short and were supposed to be getting a longer one. This never materialized and I was, well, to lazy to complain so we had sit down showers for the rest of the week! Ah well, when in Greece...
There wasn't much for kids to do at the hotel except swim - even a pool table in the hotel would have eased some of their boredom in the evenings. The internet cafe down the road saved us for a few nights and a day-trip to the water park in the hills was a highlight. Perhaps if we'd gone a bit later in the season there'd have been more kids for them to socialise with but my wife and I were quite happy with the peace and quiet plus it meant we did things as a family instead of having 1000 kids running around after some obnoxious kids club rep!
In summary, we paid less than £20 a day to stay at the Castro for the four of us including a proper evening meal which the kids ate - that takes some beating. If I had paid more perhaps things would have niggled me more but once I saw that it had a roof and running water, everything else was a bonus.
PS The weather was gorgeous everyday while it poured in England ha ha :O)
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- Date of Holiday:May 2006
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Travel Republic
" This hotel is ok, basic but... "
Submitted By: Miss J Maslen
This hotel is ok, basic but definitely not the worst i have stayed in. We found staff very friendly and helpful and soon sorted out the fact that we had a twin room when really we wanted a double.
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The pool we found to be excellent and the rooms were not as bad as we expected for the price. The breakfast was basic but did the job with a shop next door it was easy to pick up anything we would want to put in the fridge in the room (which was all working).
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The resort is fairly quite with not much to do however there are lots of cocktail bars and restaurants. The local beach is 2 mins from the hotel but was quite dirty with dog poo and fag butts everywhere. We found the best thing to do during the day was either stay by the pool or hire a motorbike out and go exploring. Nice and close to Heraklion for the shopping and sightseeing.
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Overall this hotel was nice we stayed for two weeks and were glad to get back in our nice clean and comfy bed but the food, drink and the people were very nice. This is an excellent hotel if all you want is a base to explore the rest of the island because it is so cheap. I would definitely recommend it. <br>
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The pool we found to be excellent and the rooms were not as bad as we expected for the price. The breakfast was basic but did the job with a shop next door it was easy to pick up anything we would want to put in the fridge in the room (which was all working).
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The resort is fairly quite with not much to do however there are lots of cocktail bars and restaurants. The local beach is 2 mins from the hotel but was quite dirty with dog poo and fag butts everywhere. We found the best thing to do during the day was either stay by the pool or hire a motorbike out and go exploring. Nice and close to Heraklion for the shopping and sightseeing.
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Overall this hotel was nice we stayed for two weeks and were glad to get back in our nice clean and comfy bed but the food, drink and the people were very nice. This is an excellent hotel if all you want is a base to explore the rest of the island because it is so cheap. I would definitely recommend it. <br>
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- Date of Holiday:Sep 2005
- Board Basis:Bed & Breakfast
- Tour Operator:Direct Holidays
" Posting this review just to let... "
Submitted By: Mr J Black
Posting this review just to let people know that the picture of the rooms shown for this hotel may not be what you actually get, the brochure / website claims 52 "recently renovated" luxurious rooms, there may well be!
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In the new part of the hotel but they also have some pretty basic sparsely furnished rooms in an older part of the hotel that you we were not made aware of and found ourselves in. Despite a request to move to another room we were just told they would see what they could do and did nothing. The room had a concrete base with a mattress on it for a bed, old furniture, a fridge with broken freezer compartment, door hanging off, very small room, and toilet, and the air conditioning ( payable locally) 30 Euros for the week, is rigged to the balcony door so that when you open it the air con goes off and wont come on again unless you shut the door!
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Food - very limited choice, breakfast is continental, bread , jam, bit of cheese, some days bit of ham, evening meal very limited choice, actually no choice at all, salad, soup and a sweet, take what given or nothing at all, two choices for main course, that’s all. Don’t forget to take your own dirty crocks back up to the counter after breakfast and dinner, !!! No one clears the tables, all in all a disappointing hotel, and not very helpful staff, Amoudara itself, the beach, the people, the bars, were good, we met some really nice friendly local people and we had a really good holiday, just got caught out with this hotel, so please be wary if you book and check what part of the hotel your actually going to be accommodated in. <br>
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In the new part of the hotel but they also have some pretty basic sparsely furnished rooms in an older part of the hotel that you we were not made aware of and found ourselves in. Despite a request to move to another room we were just told they would see what they could do and did nothing. The room had a concrete base with a mattress on it for a bed, old furniture, a fridge with broken freezer compartment, door hanging off, very small room, and toilet, and the air conditioning ( payable locally) 30 Euros for the week, is rigged to the balcony door so that when you open it the air con goes off and wont come on again unless you shut the door!
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Food - very limited choice, breakfast is continental, bread , jam, bit of cheese, some days bit of ham, evening meal very limited choice, actually no choice at all, salad, soup and a sweet, take what given or nothing at all, two choices for main course, that’s all. Don’t forget to take your own dirty crocks back up to the counter after breakfast and dinner, !!! No one clears the tables, all in all a disappointing hotel, and not very helpful staff, Amoudara itself, the beach, the people, the bars, were good, we met some really nice friendly local people and we had a really good holiday, just got caught out with this hotel, so please be wary if you book and check what part of the hotel your actually going to be accommodated in. <br>
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2005
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:First Choice
" A mixed review for this hotel.
... "
A mixed review for this hotel.
Resort - fairly quiet resort, especially outside the July/August peak season. BUT Cretan "chavs" driving (handbrake turns and all) up and down the main resort strip and to one side of the hotel on a minor road at all times of day and night didn’t help the enjoyment. There’s a power station at one end of the resort which spoils the view but isn’t much of a pain apart from that.
Hotel - rooms fine, but very stuffy unless you pay for AC (cost us EUR50 for 2 weeks). Nice pool with loungers etc. Most of the other guests were Polish (around 15% British).
Food - eating in the main restaurant which is also open to non-residents, but from a rather limited HB specific menu. Became rather repetitive after 2 weeks when there are only 4/5 starters on the menu, but the food was tasty.
Staff - friendly and polite, but the cleaners didn’t do much dusting which might have helped.
All in all, we had an enjoyable holiday at a VERY low price but some people would be put off by some aspects of our experience.
Resort - fairly quiet resort, especially outside the July/August peak season. BUT Cretan "chavs" driving (handbrake turns and all) up and down the main resort strip and to one side of the hotel on a minor road at all times of day and night didn’t help the enjoyment. There’s a power station at one end of the resort which spoils the view but isn’t much of a pain apart from that.
Hotel - rooms fine, but very stuffy unless you pay for AC (cost us EUR50 for 2 weeks). Nice pool with loungers etc. Most of the other guests were Polish (around 15% British).
Food - eating in the main restaurant which is also open to non-residents, but from a rather limited HB specific menu. Became rather repetitive after 2 weeks when there are only 4/5 starters on the menu, but the food was tasty.
Staff - friendly and polite, but the cleaners didn’t do much dusting which might have helped.
All in all, we had an enjoyable holiday at a VERY low price but some people would be put off by some aspects of our experience.
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- Date of Holiday:Jun 2005
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Med Hotels
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We went half board and for breakfast there was bread, ham, cheese, jam, cornflakes, melon, tea coffee and juice. The best thing however was the evening meals. Although we went half board and had many of the included meals which were buffet style (different selection everyday - always salads - pasta night, curry and rice night, fish, roast turkey dinner etc) if you didn't fancy what was on offer on a particular evening, if you went into the hotel's restaurant Maxim, they would give you a hefty dicount off your bill there. The food there was out of this world. We had fillet steak, sweet and sour, pasta, pizza, fish and much much more and because of the large discount for paying to go half board sometimes we paid as litle as 3 euros total for our meals!
What really made the holiday though was the friendliness of the staff. In particular, Matteo and Nikolas spoke excellent English and went out of their way to ensure you had everything you wanted and even stopped their work to chat with you. They really were lovely and I can't praise them enough. Alex who worked at the Pool Bar and were oversaw the running of the half board evening meals was also very friendly and helpful.
The hotel is only a 20 minute bus ride to and from the airport at a cost of 1.50 euro and the same distance from the Crete capital of Heraklion where you could then go on a bus to a number of different destinations. The bus stop is right ouside the hotel. It is therefore ideally located. Ammoudara itself has plenty of shops, bars and restaurants which go on for about a mile and literally a 10 second walk from the hotel and the beach is a 5 minute walk away from which there is a fantastic constant, cooling breeze which was perfect. There is also a cinema there which show all the English films with Greek subtitles!
There are only 2 minor downsides which are that it costs 5 euros a night for air conditioning which works out as quite expensive on a two week break. We therefore only had this for the last 2 nights and therefore had to have the balcony doors open for the other nights which brings me on to the only other downside which was the noise of the motorbikes and cars going up and down the road. Because we had the door open and because of how centrally the hotel is located it could be very loud at night going into the early hours. However if you close the door the noise was blocked out and I would therefore recommend the air conditioning.
All in all this was a fantastic place for a holiday. We will definitely be going again and I would recommend it to everyone.