Eleni Studios Reviews

No problem with the location, even walking uphill after a feed/drink.

Problem with studio - have to buy your own toilet paper when your one roll per week runs out; have to take your own bath towels; kitchen (if you can call it that), EXTREMELY basic; must like spiders and cats (cats are friendly though - all five of them; bar shuts without any signs to say it's going to (closed for the England V Austria game!
However, food was good enough, draught Lowenbrau lovely.

Would go back to Skiathos tomorrow (probably will be there next year), but not to Eleni.

we arrived with intrepidation as always watching where other people were being dropped off i saw a list on the coach drivers dashboard we were 3rd drop off 18 people so i didnt feel too bad.
being quite honest we were not at all impressed with the first two drop offs they were in and just outside skiathos town (Pokey with no views).we were next apparently a further ten minutes drive.
we were dropped off on the main road at the foot off a hill about 200 feet walk quite steep but no problem.
when we got to the top a further 200 ft walk down a small track to our complex.

we were in room 11 and on entering i raced to the balcony to see what our view for two weeks was going to be like.
wow i was not dissapointed it was fantastic our small hill walk had sent us to a complex positioned with breathtaking views from all but one or two rear appartments. i would say to the tour operator get some professional photos of the complex from the bar looking across the pool to the sea not a picture of what look like a couple of sheds we nearly didnt go there by looking at the brochure.

we had a car for 7 days but after we were quite happy with the bus (first time ive ever been on one)we ate out every night and out of the 14 nights only a couple of dissapointing meals.
we went on the marine trip on a lovely big boat (kassandra)for the day saw dolphins
spent some time in allonisos old town (beautiful) and went to an island inhabited by a lonely monk.
the boat was moored on a rock and people were allowed of one by one almost walking the plank we were pretty well first i wanted to get up there first to save him!
this was a con we got up to the top quite a walk and were greeted by a chappy wearing t shirt and shorts asking for 1 euro to enter not a little chappy with a brown robe and a funny hair-do as i imagined. we didnt bother going in.

skiathos is a beautiful little island with some beautiful beaches. banana or troulos probably being the best.
koukanaries which is supposed to be one of the top beaches in the world. take it from me it's not! maybee because of the lake behind and the habitat it has special conservation qualities but the beach itself is only average
i personally this year in skiathos found the sea to be a bit cold compared with previous holidays zakynthos, rhodes, cyprus have much warmer seas.

it was very hot 39 degrees the one day sea was still cold so no getting around it and it seemed to be hottest in the day about 5pm.
the flights in and out with excel airways were excellent. on the way home you have to land on the mainland to refuel and re take off for home because the runway is so short on skiathos its a weight thing.

i would definately go back to the elini studios acladias is perfectly situated on the island we had the car for 7 days did about 350 kilometres and saw pretty well all of it.
because of the lush greenland we encountered a lot of unwanted guests (insects) trying to get into our appartments this would be the only downside to the holiday nothing else crickets 2 inches long and the odd spider as big as the palm of your hand (honest) but i only saw one of those outside although our neighbour had one waiting in their appartment for them one night (left their windows open didnt they) they laughed !!! (not)

the pool at elini is fantastic with superb views and is heated about 3ft shallow end and 8feet deep end free sunbeds but they dont like you taking drinks from your apartment down there.thats fair really.if you like greek islands cosy and personal next to zakynthos i would say this is the perfect place.

FLIGHTS

Having read other contributors' comments we were interested (!) to experience the landing, but it was no worse than landing at Leeds/Bradford - slam all on as soon as the wheels hit the ground and there was no requirement to jettison the luggage in mid-air. The take-off on our return was absolutely fine, in an Olympic Airways 737-800. Both flights (outward with Hola, whoever they may be!)were excellent, and the food on the Hola flight, although only a sandwich, could have come from MandS and was delicious.

ACCOMMODATION

We had Room 1, which has stunning sea views and, as we were so late in the season, we saw the (full) moon rise every evening at about 8pm, with the moonlight reflecting on the sea - very romantic! The accommodation is pretty basic - three single beds in this particular room, a wardrobe and a tiny ";dressing table"; (couple of drawers fixed to a wall with a mirror above). If you are planning on self-catering, don't plan anything that requires more than 1 pan! There is a two-ring electric oven, a decent fridge and a small selection of crockery and cutlery (very small!). The taps in both the kitchenette and the shower room were somewhat loose and the shower head had a propensity for flying off mid-shower (stock up on loo rolls, just in case - they get drenched!!), but this was the end of the season, so hopefully they'll be sorted by next year. The staff - Costas, the owner, and Yannis, barman - were extremely friendly. Yannis speaks excellent English, Costas is a little more ";pigeon";.

The grounds of Eleni are attractive, with a bar serving good food all day and evening and a small pool that seemed to be quite sheltered from the (frequent) wind, although we only tried it on our last day whilst waiting to leave on the evening flight.

RESTAURANTS

By far an away our favourite restaurant, which apparently only opened last year (or moved to these premises last year?), was MARIA'S PIZZA. The best Italian food we have ever tasted and the portions are HUGE - don't even think about 2 starters and 2 main courses - share 1 of each! You can either eat in the restaurant or out on the tilting cobbles, which we preferred, despite the fact that our table had to be ";chocked up"; to stabilise it and our spaghetti and meat sauce (delicious) also had to be supported on one side to keep the sauce on the plate! Try the Tagliatelle with Proscuitto, Asparagus and Cream - stunning! And the Garlic Bread stuffed with Two Cheeses - a starter the size of a normal Calzone pizza, stuffed with cheese and dripping with garlic butter. The interior decor is gorgeous with a pair of beautiful matching pink and red Smeg fridges being the focal point of the room.

We also tried the MOURIA which was exactly as previous reports - good food and friendly staff, and we were particularly intrigued to find Mick Jagger (in white socks) waiting on our table ...!

On Saturday we went to try and book a table at ASPROLITHOS for Sunday, our last night, only to be told that it was THEIR last night that night, so we grabbed a table and had a lovely meal. A lot more formal and trendy than the other restaurants, we could imagine this being the ";in"; place to eat during the summer.

Many of the other apparently good restaurants (The Windmill, for example) had already closed for the season.

Apart from the main restaurants, we breakfasted in the harbour cafes and lunched at whichever beach we decided to hit. The tuna sandwiches on Big Banana were scrummy, but the ";crab salad"; at the Paradise Bar on Achladies beach consisted of two or three crabsticks chopped into 1"; lengths with a bit of lettuce and celery, which was a disappointment - however, to be fair, it was their last day of opening - perhaps in summer real crab might be available??

BARS

We didn't really try many of the bars (too full of food and weary!) other than to lounge on the cushions on the cobbles outside the Rock and Roll bar/Slip Inn (old harbour) on a couple of evenings as we tried to regain the strength to walk back to the car, which was fun.

TRANSPORT

Although we had read about the virtually non-stop bus service, we decided to try a 4x4 for a couple of days. In the end, we managed to drive a bargain of one for 190 Euros for 6 days, which seemed to be a fair deal (although it nearly wasn't - more later!), and it was the best decision we made. The side road from the main road up to the Eleni Studies is VERY steep and most of the tracks down to the beaches are either steep or a good walk from the bus stops. Because of the weather being temperamental, we were able to simply throw everything in the 4x4 in the morning, bob into town for breakfast/shopping and then, depending upon the direction of the wind each day, try and work out which was the best beach to head for to not be blown off our sunbeds!

We also spent a day when the weather wasn't brilliant exploring the ";other side";. Made our way up to a monastery close to Kastro, where there is a tomb/shrine completely open to all weathers that we were shocked to find contained a number of human skulls and bones - all on public view in a pile! We then decided to take the road across to the other side of the island towards Kechria. We followed the dusty, winding track up over the summit and found ourselves in what looked like Death Valley. All the trees were broken off at about 6/7' and the trunks blackened. The road was fairly perilous at this point and, not having a head for heights WHATSOEVER, I soon found myself cowering in the well of the 4x4, insisting that we turn round and go back before it got any worse. Was I glad we did! Reports from Yannis back in the Eleni bar were that the road gets progressively worse and ";You drive with your hands together, praying!";. Apparently it gets even narrower, more winding and has a steep drop down one side. The blackened trees were the result of a fire (arson - started in three different places) that raged for 20 days in 2001 and almost reached the other side of the island. Very spooky!!

SAILING

We had a brilliant day's sailing on Zorba's (actually the drop-dead gorgeous Apostolis's) yacht. We booked it for Wednesday but, due to the heavy winds, weren't able to go until Saturday, but it was well worth it.

GENERAL

Better finish off this version of Notes from a Small Island. As we booked this last minute and it was very late in the season, the weather was often quite chilly and windy, particularly in the mornings until about 1pm; and the shops and restaurants seemed to be closing down all around us as the week progressed. I would not wished to have been there a week later (which was the very last week of the season) as I doubt there would have been anywhere decent left to eat. Also, all the water sports had finished, and the sea taxi, which had been recommended to us. The snorkelling was good, though!

IMPORTANT NOTE IF RENTING A CAR

When we negotiated our car deal, it never occurred to us to check over the car with the salesman and make a note of any damage before taking the car away. We returned the car on our last morning and the owner of the company went to check it over and came back announcing that we had put a 1"; crack in the moulded bumper and scratches down the side. A ";heated discussion"; ensued, during which the salesman was summoned from wherever he was hiding, but he seemed to be saying he didn't know whether the damage was there or not. The scratches down the side may or may not have been, but would have been easily removed with a bit of T-Cut. The 1"; crack, however, was definitely already there and was obviously pretty old. The owner eventually gave in when I told him I had a photograph which had been taken on the day of collection (true - although it was on disc at the time!), but our ";cheap"; car could potentially have suddenly become very expensive - BE WARNED!

OOPS - NEARLY FORGOT - BEACHES AND LITTLE BANANA!!

We had heard all about the nudist beach, Little Banana, and, not having ever tried naturist sunbathing, quite fancied the idea, albeit apprehensively! We were even more encouraged when, having been down to Big Banana on our first day and sussed out where Little Banana was, we met a retired lawyer and his wife on our second evening who said that they had tried ";it";, also for the first time, and found it ";very liberating";!! ((Lawyer-speak!) However, by the time we made it there again at the end of the week, it was just too cold and windy round that side of the island so we headed back to Achladies. During the week we also tried Koukounaris - very pretty, huge, but a bit bleak when virtually empty; Porto Nostos - nice bay; Big Banana and Achladies. Of them all we preferred Big Banana for atmosphere but, faint-hearted be warned, it's a good walk (downhill) from the car park and even longer (uphill and downhill!) from the last bus stop on the island.

The Eleni Studios are the one of the nicest apartments we have ever stayed in, the brochure pictures don't do it justice. The first thing you will see on arrival is the beautiful flowers that are all over the complex, we were given room 1 which had the most stunning view of Achladies Bay. Even though all the apartments were occupied during our stay the pool was never crowded and the bar served lovely food all day. The road down to the main road was steep but steps have been made down the side which make it a bit easier. We caught the bus (an adventure not to be missed! sardines comes to mind!) to Koukanaries beach every day as we found the sand on Achladies to be very course and once in the water you sank down quite a bit. If you are going to use the bus, the local taxi drivers will stop and offer to take you where you want to go, if you haggle with them you can get the taxi for not much more than the bus and the ride is a lot more comfortable!. Skiathos is a beautiful Island and well worth a visit.

FLIGHT/AIRPORT/TRANSFER
We flew with Excel airways and we found them to be very good with both flights departing and landing either on time or early.
Arrival
Skiathos has one of the shortest runways in Europe so be prepared for some heavy braking on touchdown.
The coach transfer took only 15 minutes but due to the positioning of Eleni studios the coach cannot access the complex so your luggage is taken by a truck.
Departure
The airport departure lounge is new and although there were three flights taking off close to each other the lounge was not too bad.
Due to the short runway the plane cannot take off with a full fuel load so its just a quick 30 minute flight to the mainland to refuel before returning to the UK.
ACCOMODATION
The accommodation itself was very good but it is situated just off a hilly section of the main road and a short distance up a steep hill. The road carries on for miles but the views are incredible.
The view out to sea from Eleni is very picturesque. The complex consists of blocks of apartments which are basic but clean and comfortable. They are cleaned six days a week with a linen change twice a week. The whole complex was clean and well maintained.
The staff were very friendly and on our first night in the bar we were challenged by Costas and Manos to a Greece vs. UK backgammon tournament.
The pool is small but we never found it crowded although I would not like to be here in August.
The pool bar serves good food from a limited menu and although the beer is cold it is expensive. The music from the bar suited the teenagers more than the parents. Bring your own CD's and ask Natasha to play them.
A beautiful sunset was witnessed from our balcony but we never got up early enough to see the sunrise!
EATING OUT
A large Mythos or Amstel would cost approx 2.5 euros in the town. Restaurant prices vary and for a two course meal plus drinks we paid anything from 10 to 30 Euros per head.
Below are our opinions on some of the Restaurants we eat out at in the evenings.
Dionysos
We wanted to go here because we had read such good reports from other people on this site. We were a bit disappointed. The food was good although everybody's potatoes/chips were cold. The waiters were efficient but only seemed friendly to the regulars. It was the only place we found that offered a set meal of starter, Greek salad, main course, metaxa and coffee. It was good value for money but we never went back to see if we had an ";off night";.
Asprolithos
Situated at the top end of Papadiamantis Street behind the school, everything about Asprolithos is superb. The waiters are friendly, the restaurant oozes quality, the menu is massive and the food is first class, but quality comes at a price so if you are on a budget you may not be able to come here 14 nights in a row. If necessary, save it until your last night. You won't be disappointed.
Mouria tavern.
Situated behind the Greek national bank just off Papadiamantis street, Mouria is small but cosy. The waiters are always smiling and are very friendly. The food is very good and although the menu is small there is enough choice to tempt you back a few more times. Try the cheesecake for dessert. It's the best I've tasted. Prices are comparable with most other restaurants, We never once observed the waiters trying to pull people in off the streets but it was still busy every night. The Mouria gets the vote as the favourite of our family.
Platanos
was visited many times for lunch. It is situated on a dirt track high up in the mountain with a superb view overlooking Skiathos town. I don't know about the evening food but make the effort to go here for lunch whilst touring the island in your hired 4x4. It will be worth it.
Main street bar
If you want food and drink at lunchtime whilst strolling down Papadiamantis street then try the platter for two at the ";main street"; bar. There is also a good selection of drinks.
BEACHES
Skiathos has an abundance of excellent beaches but we only sampled a few.
Achladies is a short walk from Eleni studios down a steep hill to the sand/shingle beach. There are two tavernas and watersports are also available.
Koukounaries Situated at the opposite end of the island to Achladies and Skiathos town, Koukanaries is the most famous beach and is apparently in the top 20 beaches of Europe. It is very big and will get crowded in the high season but in June we found it OK.
Banana (Big) was our favourite and it is accessed by going to Koukounaries beach and then taking the dirt track up to the right. As with Koukounaries beach, this one also has a Taverna and plenty of water sports.
Next to Big Banana is Little Banana which is the nudist beach although some of the nudists had spilled over onto our beach (probably Germans)! Get yourself some snorkelling kit as the water is clear and fish are plentiful.
SHOPPING
All the resorts will have at least one supermarket but the only place to shop is Skiathos town.
In addition to the normal range of gift shops, bars, cafes, and restaurants you will find designer clothes and jewellery shops. The shopping is concentrated in Papadiamantis street with smaller streets leading off and well worth straying from the main street. Papadiamantis street ends up at the harbour which is lined with (expensive) cafes which people can sit and admire some very beautiful boats coming and going. Be careful of the locals on scooters. They are mad and will ride anywhere including the pavements.
Supermarkets
One of the Achladies supermarkets will deliver you groceries by bike but if you have a car then the best one we found was on the main road into Skiathos town. You can't miss it, its got red silver and blue balloons outside.
Amstel or Mythos will cost you around 0.7 euro (50p) for a large can or bottle.
TRIPS
There are various boat trips to the mainland and other islands. We chose the MY New Start which is a modern sailing boat. It wasn't cheap but you can get your monies worth by drinking all of Captains Costa's alcohol. Also included in the price was the excellent buffet lunch on the mainland. If you want to learn to sail then Costa's will show you but if you want to just sit back, relax and soak up the rays then there is room to do so as he limits the number of people on board to about 12.
THE WEATHER
The first 3 days it averaged 85 and for the rest of the first week it was 100. The second week cooled down a bit with some wind at night and a few cloudy mornings which cleared up at lunch time leaving us with temperatures in the 90's.
The heat seemed more bearable than our last two Greek island holidays.
MISC
The island consist of one town, one main road ( approx 20 minutes drive from Skiathos to Koukanaries) a number of small resorts built up from beaches situated near the main road and plenty of tracks that lead up the mountain and over to the other side of the island.. Regular and very busy buses travel the main road and cost between 0.9 and 1.1 Euro.
A taxi from Skiathos town to the Eleni cost 4-5 Euros. If you want to tour the island then you need to hire a 4x4 but check the small print regarding insurance.
NEGATIVES
The island is small which limits what you can do if you are someone who needs to be on the go all the time.
Achladies resort is on a hilly section of the road therefore walking from Eleni to the beach or supermarket could be a struggle in 100 degrees of heat (unless you are a mad Scotsman) Also there were no footpaths and the local drivers are not the most safety conscious around.
POSITIVES
Nice accommodation. If you want a relaxing holiday with peace and quite then here it is. There are many good beaches but we only tried a few. The views and scenery were as picturesque as I have seen from a Greek island. The overall quality of restaurants and shops were good.
SUMMARY
This is only our third Greek island so there are a few more to do before coming back here but if you want to relax in quality surroundings then this may be the place for you. If you want nightclubs and theme parks go somewhere else.

Yamas.