Galazio Kyma Apartments

14 days last September; warm seas and benign weather greeted us at the end of season in GK APARTMENTS. We were shown a foretaste of this year's rooms with the ongoing upgrades and found the accomodation,location, and hospitality,to be excellent..both in their own right,and in value for price.With local carhire readily available, GK proved to be a delightful hub for the western Crete experience.English breakfast sets you up for the day followed by a good day/evening menu if you wish, but it takes nothing to adventure out to the local village tavernas either on foot(12 minutes)or by good local taxi service organised at a moments notice. Anyway, really can recommend the GK experience both for new parents and grandparents alike, with family friendly pool and own sandy beach.Oh,and if you go...be sure to pick up some local honey/oil for the UK winter months!

The GK Beach Hotel (formerly known as the Galizio Kima apartments) was an enormous disappoint. Not just to us, but to almost every single person staying there this summer during our fortnight. It is intimate, hence the reason why all the guests were able to talk to one another about their disappointment. These rooms adjacent to a beach bar, are simple very plain very dull and ordinary rooms. Yes the location is lovely, yes the service is super, but the rooms made me feel as though I had travelled back 20 years to my student back packing days. They were small with concrete balconies upon which only two could sit. The décor was utterly bland (one picture in the room) and the wardrobe hung about 6 hangers yet had to house four of our clothes for a fortnight. The bathroom was tiny and housed a small wobbly cupboard which our toothbrushes perpertually fell behind. The shower was very poor with wobbly frosted doors. This is simply not yet a hotel! The ‘spa’ offering intimate and lovely holistic treatments was closed and in the basement.
The pluses were the location on the beach and proximity to Kalives although the walk at night along the busy main road was somewhat interesting! However Kalives was pleasant enough.
The accommodation was simple very very poor. Simpson had informed me that a junior suite (read two small rooms cojoined by a tiny corridor) would house our two sons and my husband and myself. The air conditioning only operated in the back half of the room. My smallest son was on a z bed and my eldest was put on what I can only describe as a bench. It was NOT a pull out bed and he literally just fitted although we had several sleepless nights. The sheets did not fit any of the beds as they were too small. When I complained about this I was informed that the hotel had realised this after they had signed a contract with a laundry company and now had to see the season out with the small sheets but not a night went by without the sheets rucking up. Maid service was on 5 days out of the 7 – on turnover day and Sunday you were expected to put your own rubbish out and make your own beds.
This was NOT a cheap holiday. However I feel I would have done better for the family by flying to Crete and finding accommodation once there. It was utterly unexceptional.

4 readers found this review helpful

2008 was our 7th visit to Galazio Kyma; we are going back again in 2009. We have visited when it was run by Sunvil and by Simpson. The fact that we have chosen to spend our holiays there rather than anywhere else speaks volumes about the place and the people. Quite simply, it's lovely; you have the pool, which is superb for keen early morning swimmers like myself, plus a lovely, clean, nearly deserted beach all within striking distance of the accommodation.
The apartments and studios are simply but adequately furnished and equipped, with air conditioning - you don't spend very much time inside in any case. The village of Kalives is a short 20 minute walk away and for those of a more adventurous disposition, Chania is a bus or taxi ride away - or about 30 minutes by car.
It's all very sociable - there's a poolside bar, which tends to be the focal point for after dinner socialising, though you can be as sociablu or antisocial as you want - anything goes.

I cannot agree more with the other reviews. We discovered this place "by chance" in 2002 and are going back for our 4th visit this summer. Sea views, pool, beach less than 50m from your door, lovely little snack bar on site (yes, we miss Babis too!) and a real Greek village a mile up the road. So quiet, so friendly, so well run. Good for children of all ages - they will find new friends and entertain themselves all day. Simpsons also keep the balance right - they are there if you need them, but they are not pushing you to do tours as some reps do. I have heard that Yannis does not want to sell out to mass tourism and wants to keep this end of Kalives as it is. Good for him. Even better is that he is quite influential in the local community too in this respect. Galazio Kyma is the kind of place people do go back to and it is almost like you are meeting old friends when you get there. What more could you ask for when on holiday?

1 reader found this review helpful

We are returning to Yannis' excellently run apartments for the 4th time, after a 4 year absence.
We used to travel with Sunvil, but Simpson’s travel have 'taken over the flag'
We cannot recommend this place highly enough! The apartments are spotlessly clean and well kept by the friendly maid 'Maria' and her small team of hardworking housekeepers. The bar is a quiet, well stocked and friendly place to visit at any time of the day or night. (Used to be run by 'Babis' during the evening. We understand he's now left, which is a great shame, as he certainly 'made' our holiday there and it won't be the same without him)
The sleepy village of Kalives is a delight with plenty of eating places, offering excellent local fare (we recommend 'The Provlita' and 'The Green Pepper' restaurants nearby).
We have a 15yr old son who, at this difficult age always finds plenty to amuse himself. There is a river that runs into the sea just by the Galazio Kyma and this is always a centre of fun, with kids (and adults) jumping off the bridge into the river and then 'riding the current' out to the shallow parts of the sea.
We are certainly looking forward to seeing old friends when we go back in August 2006.
Go there. You’ll love it!
(date of writing July 2006).

Exclusive to Simpson Travel.
Fantastic beachside studios and apartments with large swimming pool and separate children's pool.
On a popular island like Crete we were very surprised to find such a place in such a peaceful positions, right by the sea on such a fine sandy beach that seems to go forever. Even in high season it seemed uncrowded and there is nothing between the buildings and the sand and sea, except for the surrounding tropical gardens with their bright flowers and astonishingly lush green lawn.
We had a fantastic time here and highly recommend it to anyone else.