Astra Apartments Reviews

Astra Apartments are good as far as Greek accommodation goes! Two bedrooms, a decent kitchen with full cooker (4 hobs, oven and grill) and a good sized fridge. Even had a dodgy kettle and a sandwich toaster which we didn't bother using. There was a draining rack for your washing up which we have never had before and stopped all that horrible clattering of crockery on stainless steel! No t. towel but we did have a breadboard. No window in the kitchen so had to have the light on all the time.

Bathroom had a bath with no plug (of course) a good shower, complete with hook to hang shower head from and shower curtain and decent sized wash basin.The hot water was heated by our apartment's immersion so you could have hot water whenever you wanted. This made a nice change!!

Bedrooms were of a decent size with the usual huge array of wardrobes (what do the Greeks think we want to put in these??) We also had a brand new duvet which we didn't use. The down side was the fly screens were non-existent so we ended up leaving the windows open but closing the shutters. Our bedroom had a ceiling fan which we were extremely grateful for when it became very hot.

Outside there is a pleasant seating area at the front, looking onto fields. There is also a huge BBQ which the owners allowed all the residents to use one night.

The owners live on the top floor but are not always in residence. They have a lift to their apartment at the back of the building. Inside, there was an indoor seating area with semi-comfortable chairs which we never used.
Our room was at the side and had the worst possible view, looking through a half built building. We always sat round at the front and were joined by two black cats, one a tiny kitty which was just a bundle of trouble. We ended up feeding them and just hope they survived after we left.

As mentioned by others, Al the rep is brilliant. Always at the end of her phone to sort any problems out. Her welcome meeting was one of the best we have attended and she really made us want to visit some of the sites, she spoke with such passion.

Paralio Astros in May was quiet to begin with but as the weather hotted up, the Greeks came rolling in and the beaches became much busier. Even so, it was not what you would call busy, it was just that the town was a little big for our liking. We prefer smaller locations with less traffic and fewer people. Having said this, we liked the place and it was nice to not have many of the package brigade about.

Prices we found varied. We were disappointed with restaurant prices for cooked dishes such as stifado etc. where they topped the ?8 mark.Drinks seemed to be a fairly standard price. We found Armonia cafe the best value with good plates of mezes at e2 and excellent pizzas for Philip for e3.
This is our second trip to Paralio Astros and we now feel we have seen everything in this area. Time to move on, but where?

This place is a gem - if you go at the right time!
Paralio Astros is a Greek resort for Greeks. There are several thousand empty apartments ready for the throngs from Athens and the inland mainland. In early June it was empty - just 50 or so Brits, some Germans and a few others - peaceful plus.

Paralio Astros is a pleasant old town facing south nestling around its small harbour under a castle mound at the northern end of a sweeping 5 km bay. (The vast sweep of more modern apartments (empty, remember?) run away southwards along the bay for about a mile). There is second bay running northwards up the Gulf of Argos on the other side of the castle hill. When we were there you could swin in either bay and have it totally to yourself. All of this is surrounded by mountains and has views across the Gulf to more mountains with the distant sight of the castles at Napflion and Argos (and if you look very hard - Mycenae).

The scenery all around is spectacular - the transfer from Kalamata airport takes 2 and 1/2 hours, crosses three mountain passes of superb scenery and sets the scene wonderfully. Locally there are extensive walks and much wild life (we were told by hardier souls than us).

The excursion up to Kalavrata for the Rack Railway (and then on to the Corinth Canal) is a must if you want to experience the amazing variety of landscape that is packed into the Central Peloponnese - and travel on a unique rail trip. We never expected to enjoy a 10 hour trip so much.

Finally - the Astra apartment; the most spacious and well placed for beaches and tavernas we have ever experienced

Cosmos - faultless throughout with a truly exceptional lady rep, Al - and breathtaking value for money