Irini Filoxenia Reviews

Have just returned from Paralio Astros and have really enjoyed it. It is a really relaxing place. A small typically Greek village with a couple of streets and a lovely harbour with bars and tavernas. Everyone gathered here at night- the locals for their evening snacks and meals and the children playing energetically until late. A really happy place. There is a castle overlooking the village which you can walk up to if you wish (our room overlooked it.)There is a little building work going on but it wasn't much of a problem. We enjoyed eating at many of the tavernas. The Mouragio is good if you have a huge appetite and they can't do enough for you. Remezzo is very good too and there are many totally Greek tavernas to eat at too (although there were plenty of Greeks eating at the above tavernas too.) The Manos rep was great- always helpful yet unobtrusive as well. There were no organised tours but as we were happy to hire a car this was no problem.There are plenty of places to visit, in fact we maxed out on ruins. The Corinth Canal was also a favourite but we were not too keen on Mycenae. The railway is not running at the moment as it has closed for upgrade and no ones' sure when it will reopen. The Irini was a lovely place to stay, very clean and roomy, one of the best I have stayed in.Could have done with an extra pillow though! They also had screen doors which kept the mozzies out but the room cool.The owners are very friendly and the surrounding gardens are very pleasant.It's a five minute walk to the harbour and town beach and about ten minutes to the other beach which is sand and shingle with a gently shelving sea although it could be very windy. Would I go back here - definitely.It's so relaxing -although I wouldn't recommend it for families with young children who need lots of entertainment

Just returned from our first visit to Paralio Astros. What a fantastic place! The local people were very friendly and welcoming - the ";mini market"; on the shopping street kept us in a steady supply of tasty local feta and olives.

We found the tavernas to be reasonably priced - on average bills came to 20-25 euros for the two of us to enjoy lots of food and half litre of wine; we were often given another jug of wine for free, which was a bonus! We particularly enjoyed eating at
Mouragio and Remezzo - both on the harbour front.

We stayed at Irini Filoxenia - owners very friendly. We stayed in apartment B1 - only grumble was that the mattress was very uncomfortable (even for Greece!!), but this was the only gripe - our view from the balcony was fantastic - sitting and watching the mountains and countryside was very enjoyable.

A special mention should be given to the rep, Al. Her enthusiasm for the area is infectious and she was very helpful with suggestions of where to visit. We travelled to Mycaenae and Epidavrous - both worth a visit.

Paralio Astros is somewhere we will definately return to in the future.

Paralio Astros is ideal for those Grecophiles searching for a place where tourism is not the prime source of income.
With one tour operator (Manos) there are only about 50 Brits in the resort..while on the beach we seldom heard an English voice.The town beach was never crowded being about 11kms long.
Our accomodation was modern and immaculate and just a few minutes walk from the villages facilities
Whilst there were numerous tavernas our favourite eating place was ";Mouragio"; where the service was excellent and the portions enormous.

Make the most of the Pelopenese by hiring a car..many places are within a 2hour drive including Corinth (Canal) Loutraki(large resort) Epidavros (Amphitheater) Poros (Island) Tolon (resort) and much more...But you must take the railway from Diakafto to Kalavrita..the railaway journey is spectacular and to walk to the monument in Kalavrita where 1200 men/boys were slaughtered by the Nazis is unforgetable

We understand when the Athenians arrive in droves in July/August P.A. might be somewhat different.
If Al the Manos Rep. is still there she provides a wealth of other info to make your holiday into a treasured memory

well they said it was quiet and it was a little too quiet we had 3 children not a lot for them to do but the town itself was stunning we hired a car for a few trips out well worth it travelled everywhere to places i had always wanted to see and finally made it one thing i can not understand is why the city of sparta is not added to any of the trips they try to sell i was told not worth a visit there is nothing to see HOW WRONG CAN THEY BE i drove to sparta what a fantastic drive the views and sthe scenery are awesome and when you get to sparta you are greeted with a city that has a beauty and a pride that hits you straight away the ancient acropolis is fantastic and the tomb of the hero leonidas i climbed the fence to the ruins but it was worth the risk we then went to the football arena where the massive statue of leonisdas stands proudly good shops and great food and very friendly people if you ever get the chance visit sparta it is a fantastic city.

ok its out of my system back to paralio astros the people fabulous the holiday rep this little gem was worth her wait in gold nothing was to much bother even when my son wanted a football shirt from the team of sparta she made phone calls she asked people in paralio astros to make phone calls it was amazing to see a town and i mean a town people phoning relatives etc tring to get this little boy a football shirt how wonderful is that as reps go she was great 20/10 a special mention to the owner of astros car hire went out of his way to help us when we needed a certain type of car perfect gent. perfect rep , perfect accomodation. perfect holiday.
only one thing get sparta on the trip list alongside tripolis you will not be disappointed

Just come back from the above but never again,in fact if this had been the first place in Greece I had visited then I would never have set foot on Greek soil again.
Paralia Astros is a small village ,self sufficient and does not need tourists and it shows.It says something when there's only 1 tour operator(Manos)that goes there.
Lots of Greek people especially from the big cities of Athens and Patras have holiday homes here and the locals really do go out of their way to be nice to them ,of course they've got big bucks to spend,more than the ordinary foreign tourists on their 1 or 2 week holidays.

Having said that the apts (Irini Filoxenia)were superb,roomy,2 balconies and as it doesn't say in the brochure for anyone thinking of staying here there is a kettle,toaster and mini oven.
Al the rep is fantastic,nothing too much trouble she's there 24/7 at the end of her mobile and makes regular visits both to the apts and the manos office.She's a credit to Manos and made an otherwise miserable holiday into an acceptable one.
Lots of sites of historical interest within easy travel(hire a car to get the best out of your visit)there's Athens only a couple of hours away on the motorway,Corinth about 1 hour and the beautiful venetian buildings in Nafplion are only about 40 minutes away.

There's an awful lot going for Paralia Astros if only the locals were a bit more welcoming,ask me if I would go back and that's a resounding NO,I personally would rather do without a holiday than ever go back there.I must stress that the comments are my own personal feelings on the place ,you make your own minds up,maybe your opinions will be completely different.

In closing just 1 comment on the food I found it dreadful,pasta or chips,no veg and it wasn't cheap,maybe I found it difficult to find food I could eat as I am diabetic(diet controlled)and what I was eating played havoc with controlling my blood sugars.

This was our second visit,we first went in June 2004.The resort was paradise if you prefer an away from it all holiday with no mass tourism,and with only one English company doing it,its heaven on earth.If you like the real Greece then this is for you,empty beaches and beautiful walks,and a small harbour where you can sit and watch the fishing boats come in,while drinking a nice cool Mythos.The beaches are lovely,although the sea does shelve a bit,you can walk for miles on the main town beach,right round to the other side of the bay(although we haven't done this yet)be sure to walk up the hill to the old part of the village the views are breathtaking,and there is a ruined castle up there.

We found the local people very friendly,and while some of the older people didn't speak much English we managed to just point things out on the menus,and we even managed to teach them a few words of English and they told us the Greek version,we didn't find it a problem at all.We used to mostly go to one taverna on the harbour side for breakest,and on most days when we passed later on in the day the owner would beckon us in and give us a free drink and ice-cream.We never had a bad meal where ever we ate and the prices were on a par with anywhere else in Greece.

The Irini Filoxenia are lovely and the 1 nd 2 bedroomed apartments have balconies at the back and get all the afternoon sun and overlook the mountains, fields and olive groves,the 2 bedroomed ones have a balcony at the front too,the studios get the morning sun.These apartments were spotlessly clean.The owners live on the premises and whether you see this as a plus or a minus is a personal thing.We haved booked again to go this June (2006)to the same apartments.I only ever go back to places that I really love as this is my third time,I guess that says it all,all holidays are a personal thing and depend on what you want out of it,but if you love the real Greece and peace and quiet this is the place for you,however avoid July and August if this is the way you want it,as these are very busy with the Greek holiday makers.