Camari Gardens Reviews

Hotel was very remote so therefore not suitable for little children as there is far too much walking unless you are prepared to hire your own transport. Otherwise it's by bus as not suitable for walking on main road, and a long distance from shops. Do not touch the welcome pack as very highly priced for a few basics. Shop next door is very expensive too. Drinks very over priced and a small beach about 10 minutes away. Many other beaches scattered around but you need to be able to drive and hire a car again. Room was large and clean but very basic, suitable for your holiday though as it's only a base. There are two swimming pools and lots of sunbeds for sunbathing and also a restaurant where the food is average but eatable. All in all not a bad holiday but next time we would probably go somewhere a little more accessible.

Probably the best Greek self catering complex I have ever been to!

Anyone who has travelled to the Greek Islands and stayed in self catering apartments knows what to expect . . but not at the Camari Gardens.

We picked up a car at Heraklion airport (Chania is closer but flight times were worse) and drove the 80km or so to the village of Gerani. Pulled off the 'New National Road' at the Gerani junction and drove a little way up the hill to the complex.

We were met in the reception by a very pleasant young lady who sorted the paperwork out in moments. Went to the room and we were very pleased to find our request for a top floor room with a sunny balcony had been met.

The room(s), serviced 6 days a week with clean linen 3 times in the week we were there, comprised of lounge/second bedroom/kitchen of a good size - 2 sofas which doubled as beds, table and chairs and a perfectly serviceable kitchen (could have done with a toaster) welcome pack of tea, coffee, sugar, butter, jam, crispbreads, milk, water, juice and beer was waiting for us if you use this its 15 euros but well worth it. bathroom - well no bath but better equipped than most I have stayed in - even had shower curtain and soap! dressing room - actually the corridor linking the front and back rooms - but there were 2 single wardrobes and a double - all built in and with 4 drawers beneath - plenty of hanging space as well as the usual shelves - and a good collection of hangers. Bedroom - a good size - twin beds as expected but VERY comfortable - 2 bedside tables and lighting that was placed right and the switches were placed correctly - by the bed. Balcony - small but perfectly formed - 3 chairs, table and a drying rack. The only downside was the sun was off the balcony by about 2pm - but the views . . . THE VIEWS... (just ignore the road and concentrate on the seascape)

A family run complex where everyone cares and has a great knowledge on what to see and how to do it. The food and drink in the onsite restaurant is high quality but not high price, we didn't feel the need to go anywhere else! The onsite supermarket had all the basics. A car is, in my opinion, essential but there were other holidaymakers there who travelled by bus and taxi. If you want anything just ask any of the family - there is even a washing machine available for guests!

This is a smallish family run resort with just 65 apartments and studios with 2 pools, a small playground, restaurant, reception/meeting area with book exchange library and a few electronic games and computers, a laundry, a small supermarket set in pleasant gardens overlooking the sea. We quickly discovered that the aircon worked with a remote which you had to pay 5 Euros per day to use. We did complain that we were not warned that aircon was extra and so they charged us 5 Euros per day for the 2 apartments rather than 10 as it would have been which was better but still an added extra. There is a welcome pack put into all apartments which sounds lovely until you find you have to pay 15 Euros as you leave. We priced the things and it came to 7 Euros in the little supermarket on site. Baby cots are also charged for extra. We had 2 one bedroom apartments and they were virtually identical. The bedroom had two single beds with hardish foam mattresses and only one pillow on each. There was a bedside table in between and a dressing table/shelf with a couple of small drawers below a mirror. There was a decent sized wardrobe with hangers and you could put your suitcase above this or underneath it for storage. There was no safe in the room. . The apartments were cleaned EVERY day except Sunday and linen changed at least twice a week. The main room was a large open plan area with two single beds against the wall on one side. The kitchen area backed on to the bathroom and the eating area was near the kitchen. It had marble floors throughout, curtains at all the windows which were clean and co-ordinated with the bed covers. The kitchen was very basic. It had a sink and an electric table top cooker with a large ring and a very small one. The kettle only stayed on for a few minutes and then turned itself off so you had to stand and hold it down until it boiled – the other apartment didn’t have one at all. The fridge was small and adequate. The bathroom was a wet room with a shower curtain round a slightly recessed area. It was IMPOSSIBLE to have a shower and not get the room soaked which could be a bit lethal on the marble floor. The toilet plumbing apparently could NOT cope with toilet paper so we had the yukky bucket beside the toilet. The towels were quite basic, white and a bit thin but there were plenty of them and they were changed frequently. There was a drying rack on the balcony which was very handy for washing and for towels and swimsuit drying too. The balcony was a large one for both apartments with plenty of clean plastic seating and tables. Nothing fancy but were ideal for eating outside.

There were two nice Pools and both of them had small children’s pool beside them. There were plenty of sunloungers and there was no charge for using them either. One pool nearest the reception area and the restaurant also had tables and chairs so you could get a drink or food from the bar/restaurant and enjoy it beside the pool. There was free wi fi in the area near the Reception which I thought was excellent in a resort of this size. The food was typical Greek food, well cooked and very tasty and was also quite reasonable but I did find it a bit cheeky that 60cents cover charge per person was added to the bill each time which added up over a few meals with our family of 6 including the two grandsons. We only ate there on a few occasions but enjoyed the dolmades, Greek salad, spinach and cheese pastries and cooked cheese amongst other things. Beer was 2 Euros but fruit juice was 3 Euros which was okay for beer drinkers but expensive for the juice I thought. Beer was 1 Euro in the supermarket for the same sized large bottle. On Sunday nights they organised a Greek evening around the restaurant and pool area which was nice but very late. It didn’t really get going until about 9pm and went on quite late. Other parts of the Resort included a small play area with plastic slide, and climbing thing which was just below the restaurant so we could enjoy a drink or meal and the boys went off to play while we waited for the food to come. The supermarket sold the basics of bread, milk, spreads cleaning stuff and jars of jam and other bits. We were able to buy enough to keep us going for a couple of days.

Camari Gardens is situated in a remote location, the only way to travel is to either take a bus from the main highway or the best option is to hire some form of transport. Walking on the main road is imposible and too far to all the nearby centres. The hotel has two swimming pools with plenty of sunbeds, there is also a bar with restaurant. The night we arrived the hotel provided enterteintment called "The Greek night", although the entrance was free, the drinks were very expensive. The room itself was very spacious and clean with a balcony attached, where we had our breakfast every morning. The kitchenette is very basic though. The hotel provides this "welcome package" which consists of couple of beers, milk, some teabags and dry bread (costs 15 Euro, a bit of a rip of, so don't touch unless you really have to). Also basic stuff like sugar, salt, washing up liquid is not provided and dearly overpriced in the supermarket next door, so if you can help it bring some with you,as there is no other supermarket within walking distance. There is also a small bit of beach where you can swim about 5 minutes walk down the hill. There are many other lovely beaches, but you need to drive to get there or wait for the bus on the main road (comes hourly). Otherwise it was a lovely holiday as we drove to city or Rethymno every evening, there is plenty to do and for people on the budget you can buy Gyros for as little as 2.50Euro. The souvenir shopping is best on the way to Georgiopoli (half the price) as well as cheaper tavenas and bars, it is signposted towards Chania, about ten minutes drive.

What can I say about the Camari Gardens that hasn't already been said? Clean and friendly, family run apartments that are spacious and well maintained. My partner and I have been to many Greek Islands and many apartments over the years and this was undoubtedly one of the best for cleanliness. On the downside there are a few things to watch out for. On our arrival there was a welcome pack of "essentials" in the room which we thought was a nice touch until we later discovered that these were charged at €15. Most of the provisions were not to my taste and were unusable by my partner due to her dietary requirements (Coeliac). Later in the holiday I priced the contents of this pack at Lidl in Rethymnon. It came to about €7 or 8 which added to "I've been ripped off feeling". Beware of buying too many provisions at the supermarket attached to the complex. Again the prices are ridiculous with the same wines you can buy elsewhere for €1.99 costing €5.00. I cannot emphasise enough how much you need a car at these apartments which fortunately we had for our full 3 weeks, otherwise we would have been committed to eating in the apartments each evening (Reasonable food but limited menu). The local bus service is not frequent enough to be useful and the main route on the national highway (which is noisy and too near the complex) is unreliable regarding stopping to pick up passengers. Taxis are too expensive to Rethymnon. If you do have a car I would recommend you head in the direction of Chania to Roccas Bar which is about a ten minute drive and has a great beach with friendly staff (The best coffee I found on the island).

Just returned after a weeks stay at Camari Gardens, apartments very clean all staff are very friendly and will go out of their way to make you feel very welcome(nothings a problem to them).
Must be honest though if its an action packed holiday you want this is not for you, its in a very secluded area not much to do I would advise you to hire a car.
Minimal cooking facilities so we used the restaurant on site everyday but that wasn't a problem as it saved on the washing up.
Would definately go back for a chilled out holiday without the kids as there is only one pool table and a couple of video games to play.
10 out of 10 for friendliness and cleanliness.

I started to write how i experienced this holiday, but realised i could go on forever complaining about it!

From the gruelling travel from the airport to the almost total isolation of these apartments from civilsation, bar the quite unfriendly little village at the top of the hill nearby, who are probably fed up with all of us tourists descending on them despereately looking for a change of scenery and food to the samey old thing at the camari. To get anywhere you need either a bus, taxi or to hire a car. The latter is the better choice and crete is relatively easy to drive around as compared to some other places we've visited. Taxis and cars are unpredictable, and some of the drivers were intimidating and unpleasant. Dont think you can go walking. There's no where to walk to unless you go inland due to the location of teh camari practically on teh crete version of a motorway. The local beach is dirty and the sea had a slick of scum on it. Rethymnon is about quarter of hour away by transport. Its not a specially attractive town. Beaches here were disappointing, the harbour left a lot to be desired, the streets could be litter strewn in places.

A lot of reviewers love this place. The staff are friendly, but after all it is there job to be so! All i can say is if you are looking for an atmsophere where you make 'friends' with everyone and don't mind stopping around a crowded, noisy pool and pretty much stopping put unless you hire a car or brave the taxi/bus service - then go for it!

We wont be going back.

Don,t believe the brochure the tranfer time was 4 hours. The rooms were very clean and the family that run this small complex were very friendly and helpful food here was ok.. BUT .... it was too far from everywhere, taxis were 8 euros standard fare, but when we got a taxi which used his meter it was only 4 euros. The local beach was well, awful! The buses didnt stop for anything untill the receptionist phoned the company to tell the bus driver we would be there .then they did stop ,but the bus stop is on a very busy road not suitable for people with young children. You really should hire a car.

Would we go here again . no . it really is too far from the town

This was our third visit to Camari Gardens and i can say it wont be our last, once again the family made us feel really welcome and greeted us like old friends. The original buildings have now been joined by new apartments, swimming pool, snack bar and supermarket, which had basic foods, all tastefully decorated and in keeping with the older apartments. Some new faces but never-the-less welcoming. The food although basic is good and good sized helpings the salads are especially tasty. You need never eat out.

Rethymnon is an wonderful place to wander around with plenty of shops that cater for tourists mostly selling the same trinkets etc. and a trip down to the resturants on the sea front is to be recommended, with differing styles and atmospheres. The downside is trying to find a parking space for an evening meal we had to travel around the town several times and then ended up parking quite a way from the resturants.

My favourite place is Georgioupoli, several resturants, a wonderful beach and some lovely little shops. We always visit Souda Bay to see the War Cemetary so peaceful and beautifully kept.

We will be going back to Camari Gardens, its a wonderful place to chill out completely.

Crete is a great place to visit but it would be so much better if they improved the airport, too small, not enough seating, and the baggage collection area is a joke.

Best holiday I have ever been on. My fiancee and I are definitely going to return to the camari garden apts - the family who run the place are very welcoming and kind. Always making sure you are having a good time.
Rooms were extremely clean and lovely sea view from the balcony!
There are 2 good size swimming pools here, very clean, both with pool bars serving nice cold beers!...much to my fiancee's delight..started selling beer from 10am onwards!!!
Good size supermarket on site too.

Location wasnt too good,had to catch a taxi to and from Rethymon which cost approx 7 euro's each way...Worth it though!...Stunning port and absolutely lovely bars...esp the strong cocktails!

Cant wait to go back..only regret i have is that we only went for a week!...Will definitely be going back to the Camari gdns for 2 weeks next time.I Recommend this place for everyone. Its fab!

Firstly, Rethymno - lovely little town (pop. 20,000) to wander around, with lots of nice bars and restaurants.

What it is good for:

1. Bit of culture - Venetian fortress, couple of museums, nice buildings.

2. Eating. Especially To Pigadi, Stella's Kitchen (for lunch) and Mesostrati. All in the rough guide to Crete but the tourist office can tell you where they are too.

3. Chilling out with a drink and watching the world go by - try somewhere near the Rimondi fountani like Cul de Sac or Galeri, or near the little harbour - there's a whole host of places near the Hotel Ideon.

4. Food! It's cheap, and many places give you free dessert (cake or fruit usually) and free Raki. Yammas! (Er, not actually sure if Raki is a good or a bad thing!!!)

What's not so good:

1. Clubbing - if you like clubbing (which I don't) go to Malia!

2. The beach in the town - bit dirty. Go further out east.

3. Not beinf able to put loo roll in the toilet - it goes in a bin! I'd never been to a Greek island before so this was a bit of a surprise.

OK, so what about Camari Garden itself?

Good points:

1. It's family run, and the staff are fantastic! Get to know them, and you'll have a right laugh! They are the most helpful staff I've ever met. When we were there, there another a group of 7 who had been there 8 years on the trot(!) and when they arrived it is like looking at a family reunion!

2. I expected the food to be so-so, but it is superb! There are some Greek dishes, but as everyone who stays there is English, there is a slightly western feel to the food, but it's not bangers and mash so don't worry!

3. The rooms are very clean, although there's only 1 hob to cook on. But we went self catering so we could eat out all the time, so that was fine!

Bad points:

1. The brouchure said it was a 1 bed apartment sleeping 2 people. That to me means a double bed. There wasn't one, so we had to endure twins which don't quite push together so you can't even pretend it's a double.

2. If you are looking for somewhere to chill out, as we were, this place is great. But if I went again, I'd hire a car to get around as - IMPORTANT, THIS - it's about a 7 to 10 minute taxi ride from Rethymno itself, BUT so are almost all the package hotels. The only Airtours place in the centre was the Ideon and I think that was 5 stars.

Taxi to town is e7 or you can get the hourly bus (e1.25 each) which takes about 15 mins.

3. Don't believe the brochure when it says you're 600m from a beach. You're 600m from a tiny rocky cove, which while the 'beach' is clean, it's pebbly, and water wasn't clean.

So, the important questions:

If I had my time again, would I still go to these apartments? YES (probably).

Would I go back another year? NO, BUT only because I never go anywhere twice - there's too much world to see!

Camarie Gardens is a family run Aparthotel. The transfer time was about 1 hour by taxi, however those that were transferred by coach didn't have such a quick journey, it took 3.1/4 hours, which is something Airtours would need to look at.

We were made very wellcome on our arrival and our apartments were spotless. A welcome pack was supplied which took care of our immediate needs such as water and tea. The Aparthotel had an adjoining supermarket which stocked everything. If they didn't have a particular item they would order it in, very accommodating.

We were situated on the first floor, with a beautiful view of the pool, rugged hillsides, and we could also see the sea.

The food in the bar/restaurant was excellent.

On the Sunday night they held a Greek night. Everyone joined in from the toddlers to teenagers to older folk. In fact it was so popular that some of the nearby villagers came along and took part also. It was an excellent night and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The Camari was a very sociable place, without being in your face or too noisy, everyone was very friendly and we had some good nights just having a good meal and a bit of fun and chat.

As far as beaches were concerned, there was a stoney beach about 5 minutes walk away, however we hired a car for a couple of days and some of the closest beaches approximately 5 minutes drive away were beautiful. The waves were quite magnificent if you like roughish sea, but was impressed by the fact that a life-guard was on duty at all times.

We would recommend taking a car out to see the sights, Crete is a beautiful Island

The family at Camari Gardens could not do enough for everone and put a lot of hard work into making our stay very relaxing and enjoyable. We would definitely consider going back again and you can't get a better testimonial than that.

Camari Gardens is a family run accomdation which is run to a very high standard. The accomdation and pools, bar areas, shop and food areas are all kept very clean the food servered is to a high standard and at very reasonable prices. Your apartment or studio is cleaned six days a week and your bedding and towels are changed twice a week, its a quite and relaxing place with two pools both with child sections and there is plenty of sun beds to go around.

It is very easy to get a taxi or local bus into Rethymnon or chania or even further afield, the greek nights that take place at Camari Gardens every Sunday Evening throughout high season are a execellent evening out and the only cost is the drinks are abit more for that night only. You can book this accomdation through Airtours or direct with Angela the owner by contacting them on there wed site WWW Camarigarden com

Having now visited Camari Gardens several times and always had excellent hoildays there i now think it is time to promote the accomdation by leaving this feed back and giving it 10 out of 10 every time

one more thing my son was two years old when we first went and he is now fourteen and still enjoys every minute

Our family party was made up of a mix of ages,so we wondered whether there would be enough to occupy everyone. The holiday was booked as a last minute bargain and we would have probably picked somewhere abit livelier had we not seen this deal. HOWEVER...we've all said that we would definately visit the Camari Gardens again.

We were welcomed on arrival by the Mum of the family who own the apartments and the friendliness and helpfulness carried on throughout our stay.
The apartments were comfortable and kept spotlessly clean. The self catering facilities were fairly basic, but more than adequate for our needs.

There are 2 pools with loads of sunbeds and space to chill out.
The restaurant on site had a great menu with a mixture of greek and international food at Fantastic Prices.Try the local wines- the Rose was delicious! The bar stayed open until you wanted it to close and sold the usual stuff plus a good selection of cocktails- perfect for sipping on the rooftop terrace whilst watching the sunset with panoramic views over the sea.

There isn't a great deal directly around the apartments- the village is about 10 minutes walk away with a gorgeous little bakery, a shop and a couple of tavernas. There's also a taverna down by the small beach.
For good shopping and nightlife cosmopolitan Rethymon is about 5 minutes drive away by taxi or 10 minutes on the bus.It has a pretty harbour area and narrow winding streets with traditional souvenir shops and boutiques. Also the resort of Georgiopolis is about 15 minutes away by bus. The beach there is lovely golden sand and there is a kids fun park aswell as a great choice of reataurants and tavernas.

All in all despite the fact that we wouldn't necessarily have picked this holiday from a brochure, we can't wait to return. the resort area was great, but it was the staff and owners of the apartments that really made our holiday something special.