Alykanas Beach Village(Apartments in Alykanas) |
 | 8/10 |
Thanks to all of the staff at the village, in particular Gloria and Dennis | |
the barman. A very children focused hotel set in idyllic surroundings. And for us oldies we could escape the noise of the reps by going to the circular pool. The cost of the on site snack bar was extortionate. 5 euros for a beer and 3-5 euros for a toastie, you can get around that by buying beer in the supermarket and taking it to the pool area at 1.40 euros for a can of stella, met and made friends with some good people. would I go back and stay? no, stayed at the contessina in tsivili last year, it was a lot quieter. Looks like we've reached the age of peaceful holidays| dave kent (Tuesday, May 20, 2008) | View 15 posts by dave kent | |
 - UK |
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Just back from Alykanas village. Gloria and her staff are just as great as ever and the Apartments with a sea view are just fantastic, the 3 pools and the sea are just great to relax in when those Thompsons reps are not about.
This was our 5 year at Alykanas village and the last 4 years have been so relaxing, just what all parents and kids need, 2 weeks to recharge the batteries
But where do I start with Thompsons
Thompsons your prices for everything are way too high from the hoilday to the excursions, when lying by the pool if I wanted to join in with the games I would come over to you and then I would not get woken up when napping.
To put it in a nut shell
Thompsons you have ruined probaly the best hotel on the island. Please Please consider moving your Super crap family holidays to another part of the island as Alykanas is not for you
With all this we will still go back, and stay next door if Thompson don't stop over priceing the hotel, £700 for a fornight extra than last year and all we got was head aches ( but that could be something to do with the drinking)
Gloria we will be back and you know my opions as we chatted for a long time see you next year
Ian, Sarah, Ryan, Cerys
My rating for hotel and food in local resturants were we did not have 1 bad meal is 10
My rating for Thompsons well you can all guess at that one | |
| ian waters (Thursday, October 18, 2007) | View 3 posts by ian waters | |
| - UK |
| 8/10 |
| Just back from a week at the ABV. 2 adults and 3 children. Everything much quieter in October. Kids club easy to get into, no need to get up to book loungers, no hastle at the entertainment. We were told during the summer that during one week there were over 200 children onsite. During our week around 30. Room for 5 was spacious if somewhat bare, toilet had a tendancy to smell at various points during the day and no we hadn't just been in! Entertainment staff excellent. | |
| Keith Brunton (Tuesday, October 16, 2007) | View 3 posts by Keith Brunton | |
| - N/A |
| 9/10 |
We have just come back from 2 weeks here and loved it... There were 3 of us (2 adults and an 8 yr old) in a 1 bedroom apartment.
We found that there was more than enough space and we were so lucky to get an apartment overlooking the sea - it is in a perfect location right on the beach...!
On a clear day you can see Kefalonia perfectly
The hotel has 3 pools - 1 at the front overlooking the sea and 2 in the complex.
The 2 pools in the complex is where everything goes on..
If you want you can be involved in activities all day and night, although you are never pressured into 'joining in'..
There is an on site snack bar that sells basic snacks and breakfasts, slightly over priced compared to the resort however it is very convienient...
It closes at 6pm which could be doing with staying open a bit later.
The hotel is very clean and the maid came 6 days a week.
We were charged 70 euros for 2 weeks air con and 50 euros (non-refundable) for the safe, which we thought was a bit excessive...
The bar is open till 2am and Nick the barman is brilliant..
You have to make sure that you are down early to get sunbeds and if you leave towels they will be removed..
The kids club is a bit of a nightmare -
There are 2 daily 'drop-in sessions' for ages 3-12.
You don't need to pre-register for these
Then each day there are the age-specific kids clubs for which you have to pre-register.
This means you have to queue in the snack bar from about 1.00 the day before..
If you don't get in the queue early enough your child will not get in as there are only limited places...
The entertainment is ok, although it can get a bit 'samey'...
Thoughout the day there is aerobics, water polo, water volleyball, quizes, darts, pool.... all sorts of things going on..
All in all a wonderful holiday..
It's a lovely hotel in a perfect location..
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| Donna Christy (Monday, August 20, 2007) | View 2 posts by Donna Christy | |
| - UK |
| 8/10 |
Stayed at the village from 1/6 - 15/6. The good points are that the complex is very well maintained, well-managed, nice pools, shop on site and also has a snack bar. You are literally yards from the sandy beach and not far at all from the bars and restaurants. The apartments are nice and spacious and there is a good children's playground on site.
The not-so-good points is that these apartments can be noisy at night (although Thomson and hotel managers take a very dim view of excessive noise which is reassuring). The entertainment on site can get quite tiresome after a while (imagine someone bellowing into a microphone near the pool all day and you get the picture), the entertainment laid on in the evening is pretty poor but this may improve given time. Also, a trip to these apartments will change your perception forever that the Germans are the best in europe at "reserving" sunbeds. Believe me the Brits do it in spades and if you haven't got your towel on by 8.30am then wave goodbye to sitting near the pool that day (despite notices everywhere telling people not to and the pool not officially opening until 10am). Also thought the hotel could have been a little less money-grabbing on extras such as providing a key for your (tiny) safety deposit box (25 euros per week...) and air con (8 euros a day...). Also, accept the fact that prices on site (bar, shop, snack bar etc) are way over what you will pay in shops etc a few hundred yards away.
One more bit of advice, the free coach transfer from the airport takes over 1h 30 mins whereas I just booked a taxi on the return leg which took 20 mins. Worth thinking about if you have young children under 2 like me who have already been made to sit still on your lap for hours on a plane ! and don't be fooled into paying Thomson to "book" a taxi for you (roughly treble the price you will pay privately)
Overall, well worth staying in but just be prepared for the not-so-good points and you will get a realistic view of what to expect !!
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| Andy S (Monday, June 18, 2007) | View 7 posts by Andy S | |
| - UK |
| 10/10 |
Just back from the above! what a fantastic place, staff lovely, Gloria the manager was lovely Thomson staff out of this world and all did a fantastic job entertainment in the day or night was fantastic you did'nt have to join in if you didn't want to but it was great fun my kids loved it (12 yrs old and 3 yr old) Jessica loved Thomson the Dog put most of all she loved roly moly smolie and was very jealous of Juciy lucy marrying him but all in all fantastic very easy to get to other places and some days the weather was not that good!!! worst we have ever had in greece!!!!!!!!!!! but red hot when we left yesterday:( when we arrived our family and my brother's family had lovely downstairs apartments but the had put my 70 year old father and my mother who does not walk well up on top floor!!!!!!! but they did soon have them moved downsatirs and they stayed there whole fortnight! only critisism I have is that there are not enough bins around the pool, and some people found it too hard to go and put any rubbish they left in a bin!!!!! and also the 2nd week (Whit week) it got ridiculous putting towels out it got to the stage if you hadn't put your towels out by 6.3am there was no way you would get a sunbed!!!!!!!! dread to think what its like in 6 week hols but overall a fantastic holiday, lovely place Thomson staff fab I cannot see anyone not enjoying this place. Have a fab hol
Corrine  | |
| corrine godfrey (Saturday, June 02, 2007) | View 4 posts by corrine godfrey | |
| - UK |
| 10/10 |
| We have just come back from a superb 2 weeks at the ABV. The entertainment team of Rowley, Lucy and Dawn are fantastic , hilarious and friendly and they encourage you to join in without being too much. The pool by the beach is away from the entertainment and is much quieter but we stayed round the 2 other pools as our children were really keen to be joining in. The kids club reps were also fab and friendly although we had to presign the children into the entertainment during half term week as numbers were very high. Rooms we stayed in on the ground floor had 2 bedrooms and a kitchen area, bedrooms were very spacious and we also had bath and shower. Couldnt ask for more ! Mini market on site was great plenty of fresh bread and milk every day some other items were a bit pricey but you pay extra because it is convenient. Snack bar by pool served yummy bacon rolls . Wish we were still there. | |
| louise raffan (Saturday, June 02, 2007) | View 2 posts by louise raffan | |
| - N/A |
Tracy sorry for not replying but just spent 4 days camping in the New Forest in the pouring rain.!!
cant wait to get to the sun !
havent been to ABV so can only go on last years super family holiday that we had in corfu. I have a 10 year old and a 6 year old also and they had a great time with lots to do. there is lots to do during the day if you want it, but as i say no pressure to join in. it was lively around the pool as there are obviously lots of kids around but all activities were fairly low key and away from the pool area. we did join in a few things but also spent a lot of the time just lazing around reading etc. i was never irritated by anything going on around the pool at all. we found the whole super family thing suited us as there was lots of things for the kids to do, with clubs they could go to for a couple of hours a day if they felt like it. they also had a drop zone which the kids could go to whenever they felt like it, giving us a bit of time to ourselves !
kirk
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| kirk sayers (Wednesday, May 30, 2007) | View 2 posts by kirk sayers | |
| - UK |
| 10/10 |
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i loove abv miss evry 1 there spesh landy he gave me advice i should of took it but i was scared 
but i relise that i do regret it i hope to talk or see u soon speshally harry i still luv him even tho i no wat hes lyk but o well im just a fool !!!! plz landy contact me on 
| chloe collins (Saturday, May 26, 2007) | View 2 posts by chloe collins | |
| - UK |
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Hi
For anyone wishing to email the apartments, I have found that they are quick to respond and seem obliging, as Thomson were as good as useless when it came to insisting on ground floor accommodation for my severely disabled dad. We felt it necessary to contact resort ourselves, and got a prompt reply stating that 'we will do our best to make you happy'! Can't ask for more than that!
Hopefully when we arrive on 11 June we will find that they have done just that, otherwise my dad will be camping out beside the pool!
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| TRACEY HANKINSON (Wednesday, May 23, 2007) | View 2 posts by TRACEY HANKINSON | |
| - UK |
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Hi Kirk
I too am going to ABV on 11 June this year, having booked in May last year. I was concerned that Thomson have changed this to SuperFamily, but only found out last week as they did not inform us. I am going with my 6 year old son and my parents, and we like a quiet holiday. Do you think that the poolside entertainment will be really noisy, or will it be a case of join in if you want to, and not be too noisy for those of us who want a quiet holiday (including a very grumpy grandad!)
We have not been happy with Thomson and as all accommodation is now booked up for that week cannot change our holiday, so need to make the most of it anyway. I just hope that it isn't too noisy for us!
Tracey | |
| TRACEY HANKINSON (Wednesday, May 23, 2007) | View 2 posts by TRACEY HANKINSON | |
| - UK |
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