Andromeda Apartments Reviews

We stayed here for 2 weeks starting 02/08/06. I suspected this was the first year British holiday makers had used these appartments and I was right. It is mainly used by the Dutch.

Andromeda is located on the main road from Kos town through Psalidi. However it is no more busy than any 2 lane road in the UK. I didn't consider it dangerous when it came to crossing it and thats accounting for Greek driving and 2 dawdling kids! Our room was at the back of the appartments and we never heard any traffic noise. Andromeda does suffer from its location, it is fairly isolated. But don't let it put you off.

The whole complex was immaculately clean. Maid service every day except Friday. Clean towels/linen every couple of days. Beds made etc. Our room was at the back and had sun from 10.00am until sunset, which was nice. Great for clothes drying and sitting on the balcony relaxing with the odd beer. Self catering facilites sufficient for 4 people however there are some essentials that you have to hire for a small charge eg: kettle, coffee maker. A bit cheeky. 2 ring electric hob. Only really sufficient for basic food. We had plenty of fruit and salads, boiled eggs and hot water. Grounds are very well kept, they even have their own banana trees, pepper and tomato plants. Pool is also very well kept and clean. Free sunbeds but E1.50 for bed mattress. There is a large outside bar seating area which I felt was under used. There were a lot of kids on holiday and not one pool table for them to use. Almost every night this area was empty as families had gone out to eat and entertain the kids. I feel a pool table would have given kids/families a reason to spend a little longer in the bar area and spend a bit more money, giving it more of a family atmosphere.

Local beaches are all stoney so take some 'rock shoes'. The closest beach is about 60 seconds away. They have laid smooth sandbags over the rocks to make it easier to enter/leave the water. Beautiful and clear for snorkeling.

Psalidi resort is actually about 10 minutes walk away, turn right out of the appartments and use the cycle path. This path stretches from Kos town through Psalidi. We ate in the Whitecastle Taverna when we ate out. George is the waiter and is very good at his job. He makes you feel like you are the only family he remembers, until the next lot come in and he treats them like brothers also. Food was good and not too expensive. They also have a games room at the back with internet access, pool tables, air hockey, Sky TV etc. This is why we went here - it gave the kids something to do.

DO NOT book trips through the reps. You will be charged the earth. We booked 3 trips and a car through TIGAKI TOURS, opposite Whitecastle, and saved ourselfs best part of E300. More to spend on you!

Example: NISSYROS. Boat trip to volcanic island. REP price E40 adult, E10 child. TIGAKI TOURS E25 adult E12 child. This is well worth a trip. Exceptionally hot but interesting. The taverna prices here were cheaper than Kos.
WATER PARK: E28 adult E24 child. Get yourself there its only E17 adult and E13 child. Please look around and spend your money on yourself.

CAR HIRE: SUZUKI JIMNY, Reps price E363.88 for 5 days. TIGAKI TOURS price E275 for 3 days.

Visit thermal springs. Nothing to look at but the water is amazingly hot.

Overall we enjoyed the holiday. Nice appartments, good food, friendly people and excellent weather.

We wont go back to Kos though, it wasn't that exciting!

We have just returned last week from a wonderful holiday on Kos.

We stayed at the Andromeda apartments in Psalidi, which is just outside Kos town (walking distance really, if you don't mind walking!) The apartments are run by a brother and sister (Marrietta and Gregoris) who are two of the most hard working, charming and helpful people I have ever met! They run the business between the two of them, and although there are 24 appartments, taking goodness knows how many people, they always made you feel like they have time for you, and nothing was too much trouble.

The appartments are spotlessly clean, thanks to some very conscientious cleaning staff, who are closely monitored by Marrietta and Gregoris. Our rooms were cleaned daily, and not at some obscene hour of the morning as can happen in some places. We even had the shower curtain in our bathroom washed during our stay! The appartments provide small meals and snacks, (divine greek salads) ice cream, drinks etc on site. They run a bar in the evening, so you can chill out by the pool with a cocktail when you return from an evening out. They also have a small mini market which they run from reception, so you can buy things like water, beer, mozi repellant( I needed lots of this!) washing lines, bread, etc. But the nearest mini market wasn't too far down the road if you needed items like toiletries or newspapers.

The appartments are situated about 2km from Kos town. YOu can walk there, but it will probably take about an hour to walk in to the town centre. We hired a car, but there was a frequent and efficient bus service that ran from just outside the apartments, and only cost 1Euro for the journey. Kos is an Island for Cyclists, and there were bikes everywhere. Outside the appartments, there was a cycle lane, which was well protected by a pavement to separate it from the road. Cyclists were up and down it all the time, and you could hire bikes from many places, including the appartments at a cost of 4Euro per day. As mentioned, we did hire a car, which we pre booked before we left the UK, but there are plenty of places out there, and in fact Marrietta and Gregoris can help you out with getting a good deal, so I don't think we would pre book in the future.

We used our car to drive around the Island, which was lovely. Our holiday rep tried to sell us trips, as they always do, but most of them we could acheive with a car ourself, such as the Thermal springs at Agias Fokas (just up the road from Psalidi), which they charge you about 15Euro for, but if you go there under your own steam, its free to get in the Springs anyway, and you will kick yourself if you actually paid someone to take you there. The one trip we did go on, was to Nissyros, an Island approx. 1 hour boat ride from Kos. This wasn't a long day trip, so it suited us well, and was actually very interesting. They tell you all about the volcano, and about the remaining population on the Island, which is only about 2000 people. We enjoyed this trip very much, and we had a greek guide, who was very knowledgeable, and without whom, the trip would have made little sense.

We visited camel beach and paradise beach, both of which have extremely hair raising 'roads' (I use the term extremely loosly here!) down to them. We had to turn off the air con in the car, so that the car had enough guts to get back up the hills again! But they were very beautiful beaches and well worth the visit. Also beautiful was Kefalos, which is at the opposite end of the Island to Kos town. The beaches are very different here to the ones around Kos towm, as they have sand!

We also visited Zia, the highest point on the Island. Again, the reps may try to sell this to you as an excursion, but DO NOT pay them for it. Get a car and go yourself. It's very pretty there and there are lots of little arty crafty shops, and some lovely tavernas with amazing views.

Talking of Tavernas, we went some lovely ones just outside Kos town. The Europe bar was our favourite, as the staff were lovely, and there was a mix of Greek, Australian and Irish working there (including my favourite waiter, Illios) There was a place just next door, which I think was called the Blue Ocean, or something like that, but it wasn't so nice.We also went to Mavromatis, which was great, lots of lovely greek dishes and friendly staff. Nikos and Kontessa, and Nestoras were both places in Psalidi that seemed to be frequented by the Greeks quite alot, to eat with their own families, so we took this to be a good sign!

We didn't actually venture into Kos town to eat in the evening, as we felt that the competition amongst places was greater, and probably more expensive food. The places we went to, you could just sit there for hours and hours and no one bothered you to leave, so it was nice and chilled.

We would definately return to Kos, and would go to the Andromeda apartments, as it was a lovely lovely place, and we were so sorry to leave it. The other great thing, is that if you are not in to the whole 'brits abroad' thing, then this is the place for you, as they cater mainly for Dutch and German customers.

Everyone we met was lovely,and it was one of the best holidays we have ever had! We will return soon.