Elissaios Villa

We travelled to Skopelos on 28th May 2010 and stayed in Elissaios Villa for 7 nights. We booked our holiday through Thomson with a smaller company called Simply Travel. When booking the holiday the brochure advertised the pool as being infinity and included was Jeep Hire. Upon arrival we found that the pool was not in fact an infinity pool and is just a regular L-shaped pool, obviously this does not effect the quality of your swim but it is mis advertised. The Jeep turned out to be an old Suzuki Jimny with next to no steering and was in fact quite dangerous once inspected by my mechanic partner so please be warned of this.
The Villa itself was very well equipped and finished to a fairly high standard with good amenities, I would however comment that the cleanliness left a little to be desired considering the price per person per week. The pool was also fairly murky green when we arrived and seemed to only be maintained two days before we left.
The track to the villa is no more than a dirt track and it would definitly be advisable to hire a decent 4x4 especially if travelling with children, as alot of roads on the island will turn into dirt tracks unexpectedly.
Details that the travel agency also left out were that you should expect to be travelling for a whole day either side of the holiday to get to and from skopelos - it entails getting a ferry from Skiathos which for us was a four hour wait after arrival, where we were advised to leave our luggage outside a cafe where it would be looked after (in fact it was left in the street whilst the reps went in and had a drink leaving it unattended)then when it was time for the ferry it was slung in the back of a pick up truck and then abandoned in the middle of the port (totally inconsiderate of the simply travel rep). As a whole I was disappointed with the holiday, I have experienced holidays in Greece before and really enjoyed them however this time I found none of the same qualities. I would stay away at all costs from Stergios Taverna on the port front it has a red wooden balcony and red tables and chairs the stray starving cats and dogs did not even want to eat the food I was served. I would recommend The Orchard which is positioned up from the main bakery on the right it is easily missed but some of the nicest food I have ever eaten. Please be aware that in the more privatly owned suoermarkets they do not price the products and you seem to pay a high premium for being a tourist especially at the supermarket just as you leave the town on the left at the t junction just after the owl taverna and at petrol stations dont be fooled by the serviceman filling your car they will try and rip you off get out and watch the meter. Although I would not recommend this place as a holiday destination there are many nicer places to visit such as Italy.
Finally I would ask that you researched the level of animal cruelty in Greece as before my trip this year I was quite ignorant towards the subject - however when visiting Skopelos I realised a total disrespect for animals from the local people and upon further research I am appalled by the poisening of cats and dogs at the end of tourist season and the mass cruelty that goes un-noticed. Please dont fund their cruelty with your hard earnt holiday money.