Sandy Maria Hotel

   Yammas Spiros, the perfect host. A very friendly and likeable bar-owner who looked after us all very well and made the stay a very enjoyable one. We met some great people there and you made us all feel individually special. Thanks for arranging the BBQ and the Kareoke!! Your Greek Salad is the best in Greece, if not the World!

I've visited several Greek Islands over the past years and I can say that the facilities are at least equal to other places and, in some areas, much better. Anyone expecting self-catering facilities to be equal to staying at the Savoy really needs to rethink their future holiday destinations. The condition of the room and the toilet facilities are comparable to any other Greek self-catering destination. The maid service was good and the Manager, Sandy, became more welcoming as time went on.

The pool was well kept, clean and maintained on a daily basis. There were sufficient sunloungers although we did come across the *normal* guests who liked to bung their towels on them and disappear for hours on end. Very frustrating but says more about them than it does about the resort.  As I see it, the owners are continually improving facilities and I imagine that they will continue to do so. Bar food is of a very good standard, I hope the owners appreciate the work that Spiros does.


I would quite happily stay there again.

 Sandy Maria....returned on 22nd June....Would just like to say to all the people that voted this hole higher than 5..you must be normally holidaying in blackpool if you thought this place was nice.....rooms are disgusting..,dead bugs all over the place...my sheets were bloodstained and would wake up itching in middle of night, thats if you can sleep over the screaming and singing outside till 4:00am....The maid had the cheek to help herself to our change while we were at the beach....and must just pretended to clean! even took the trouble to go through my partners case and help herself to her most expensive brand new top and thats only what we noticed was missing could be others.....we reported it straight away to our rep and the miserable cow behind reception, got a weak apology so we are out of pocket....THANKS...reported that our room was left unsecure after fist day to the ignorant prat behind the bar nothing was done....spent everyday at the beach because we couldnt wait to get away from our apartments....Tsilivi itself is fantastic loved it and cant wait to go back..but to these apartments would be over my dead body....you have been warned..!!!!!   Simon & Becky

Just left santy maria's on sun 15th June 08, stayed there for 14 nights.  Apart from a few creepy crawly visitors (due to our apartments being pool level) we found the place to be a good location reasonably clean and the pool was cleaned daily.  Spiros who owns the bar was great very friendly and approachable and did not mind us eating out elsewhere, had many laughs with him especially with his scary fridge.  Alot of bad reviews have been written about him but we found him great, he seemed to get on with all of us staying there.His kareoke nights very memorable a decent bloke all round.  Already missing you hope to come back one day soon so keep the mythos cool and get the yager bulls ready for the yager boys. xx 

 just got back after two weeks here and all i can say is it was absolutley fantastic, best holiday we have ever had.

Just got back from Sandy Maria and we loved it!! Dont know why there are so many complaints, if you wanted 5* Marble settings book somewhere like that!!

This is a perfect Greek appartment block, pool was immaculate and lovely and quiet as was out of the way. Only a 5-10 min walk to beach and the resort centre. So many nice restaurants and bars.... something for everyone.

We would definatley go back and would gladly stay at the Sandy Maria again

. Just got back from Sandy Maria apartments, and they were o.k. Don t expect the Ritz, the place has a nice setting,a good pool. The owner Sandy is a bit aloof,but very elegant, she is miserable because she does not get paid by the the holiday companies most of the time, ours went bust while we were staying there.Spiros the barman is o.k but watch your change when he thinks you have had too much booze. The maid service is good, if you treat them o.k. We found a path at the back leading to some nice tavernas. I had a really good time here and can t think why there is so many complaints.

Can i just say to all those misribal people out there who gave this place 2/10 i dont know where you lot where staying???  Me claire from newcastle & my two brummie friends nickie & angela had a fab time. Spirios & his sister were lovely & of course Liza. We really didnt want to come home & would definently go back!!!  Thanks for making us all so welcome, yammas xxxx

Just returned from zante staying at the santy maria apartments, we have been going to greece and the greek islands for 20 years. the apartments were big and clean great balconies.Thats the good part, along with the majority of people i must say that the people running these apartments are nothing like any of the greek people we have ever met. Money grabbing miserable (unless you were spending money in the bar) and rather rude. Sleep is impossible on kareoke nights until 3am.Towels and sheets changed once a week.We loved zante and would go back but not to these apartmentsTed & Veronica Smart

what a pig sty just got back and have brought flees back with us from the santy maria.staff crap.rude an spyros is like horkeye watching you to make sure your not takiing your own drinks to the pool.if he sees you with a drink he will come over and make a show of you he is a pig.i feel as if i need my house fumagating since i av been back/ sandy the bad dresser is a misarble b***h.the whole appartments are minging.but we did meet two nice people kay,an zoe

Just got back after two weeks in the Santy Maria. Was disgusted at the hygiene levels with regards to bed linen, towels and bin emptying. No air conditioning, although fans were available to hire at a cost, but were of no use. Guests staying in lower ground apartments were appalled by damp and foisty conditions and some experienced brown worm-like creatures in bathrooms. Toilet roll must be classed as a luxury as there was one roll per family of four supplied for a two week break. Now as for 'Sandy;' (chain-smoking blonde permanently on her mobile) never once acknowledged or was courteous to paying guests. She must have a had a personality bypass.

Sandy Maria apartments are the most basic apartments i have ever stayed in. I don't know how they could class the apartments as self catering as it would be near impossible to self cater here.  The towels which consist of 1 bath towel and 1 hand towel per person only got changed 3 times in the 2 weeks we stayed there and the same with the bed sheets.  There is no kettle or toaster in the rooms.  The safes in the room cost 20 euros a week the airconditioning costs 60 euros a week, the toilet paper is 50 cents a roll which I know is not a lot but you shouldn't have to pay for it at all.  The matress for the sun beds was 1 euro a day. Sandy the owner of the apartments is the most miserablest unfriendliest person you could come accross she just didn't want to acknowledge the guests. The bar staff were a bit more friendlier. 

 Just retutned from 2 weeks at the Santy Maria.

Hey! Me an my boyfrend Kevin stayed at these apartments from the 8th til the 22nd July n thot it was brilliant. We will def be coming back here we really enjoyed it. Cant decide whether 2 go back nxt yr or not! The only down thing about it was that there was no air conditioning and u could hire a fan but it wasnt very good, it was just blowing the hot air round the room. We were glad 2 get home 2 have a good nites sleep! But overall it was really good.

Lauren & Kevin x

30/07/07Just arrived home from the Santy Maria apartments.

First impressions looked good. Spiros is charm personified but the rest of the staff couldn't care less. The studio was very small, fans hired off Spiros don't do a thing in the very hot weather.

When you hire a fan ask for a receipt, Spiros's sister called my friend a liar when she asked for her money, that was in front of the bar full of people having breakfast and waiting for transfers. Spiros later apologised and said calling a persons mother was not a insult in Greece.

Tip : take a toilet roll with you, you only get one no matter how many people in the apartment and check your change at the bar.

I loved the area, the beach was lovely but further than the 5 minutes quoted by Spiros but won't be going back

Hi There all!

 Hi its chis and farrah we stayed in these apartments from 12th to 19th of july, had a great time in resort, bedrooms basic but ok, pool was great, company great  Hi Wess, Nat, Carla and Stacey. Lots to do on the island. Drinks pricy with spiros ( Bruce Willis!!) but food was good at bar. Weather amazin. Had a great time not too far to walk to the beach and shops and sex huts!!

hi everyone its wesley and natalie we stayed in the santy maria on the 5th of july just got back it was lovely we had a really good holiday we made it good with the people we met hello Chris and mandy and to  leanne, james ,sonia mark and callum and to megan and lisa as well hope your not missing it tto much

wesley and natalie manchester stockport

I'm going on holiday with my partner in August. We've never been there before and would like a map to show us where the Santy Maria apartments are in relation to the restaurants, beaches, attractions, etc. Do you know how I can obtain one of these maps or information please?

 hey to all staff at santy maria thanks for looking after us for 2 weeks. sorry spiros for coming back so late every night (well morning). hi to little spiros thanks again for the letter and picture you gave us, couple of pics for ya. love megan and lisa x x

tina and spiros and liza are really friendly and the apartments are really clean

hello everyone

xxx

Hey There i stayed in these apartments they are very nice and basic pool is quite small but basic,  i went there for 2 weeks. it is quite far to walk to the town and beach you get quite tired after a while. but to be honest the holiday was fantastic the staff was very nice and i got a really nice tan from the weather as it was VERY hot!! The town is really nice and every palce is nice to eat and drink. The beach is very nice but can get very busy, i hope my comment helps you and have a good one

hello i am going to be staying in the santy maria studio and i was just wondering what the inside of the apparntments are like??  do they have kettle, toaster, hob, ect... please can someone answer me... if possible show some pictures of the inside of the appartment aswell ... could anyone recomend trips out that are good! and a nice english restarunt, cafe. where can i get a full english breakfast from too lol thank you very much...

We stayed at Santy Maria apartments in early July 2006 and what a fabulous time we had.  It was our first time in Greece and the welcome we received from the hosts Spiros and Tina was fantastic.  They were a lovely couple and nothing was too much trouble.  The rooms were spotlessly clean and the pool and pool area were also spotless and water quality monitored daily.  The apartments were about 10-15mins walk from centre and beach but this made for a quieter relaxing stay.  We arrived late at night and Spiros was only too happy to make us a warm snack.  Fantastic stay loved every minute and only reason we arent going back this year is we want to try another island, Kos, but would certainly recommend it and hope to go back one day.

Hi all, we were there in May this year, air-con is in some rooms at 50 euros per week, safe box in room was 20 euros, they have basic  self catering ie a 2 ring mini cooker unit (table top) a fridge but no kettle. Very clean and roomy, Spiros will look after you, but mind the measures (very large!!!) as I can confirm with his Johnnie Walker whisky.

Hello there

hi bev me again!!!!!!!!!just found out that there is no air con but you can hire fans although there seems to

hi bev i have registered again on site again as it said we were from germany and my name was lesley as i was on my mother in laws computer!!!!well i am stacey partner paul and our little girl demi who is 6 in august,we fly from manchester 2 august cant wait!!!stayed in alikanas last year and had a great time so thought we would try tsilivi this time.I am going to call libra this week and see if you can hire air con although i dont think there is any,thats the only thing im dreading as it was hot enough last may it was

spoke to someone who has stayed there before and they do have safes to hire in the room!!!!!

hi we are booked to go to the sandy maria on the 2 august this year just wondered if anyone knows if there is any air con at the apartments.!!!!!!

Hi we're booked into the Santy Maria for 2 weeks from 5th August this year, do the apartments have safes does anyone know? Thanks in advance.

HI.

Thank you to all those who posted comments on the website.  This has helped to put our minds at rest. We have never been before (I chose the apartments) and you know what it's like trying a new place ... and trying to keep the whole family happy!!!!!!!!!

Jodi (and family) Hopefully happy family!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cannot wait to return your superb apartments on July 8th 2007 !!!

just returned yesterday after one of the best holidays ever. apartment was clean and spacious and bins emptied on a regular basis. the only maid worked very hard. a fair distance from the town but at least was quiet and the stroll back on a night was pleasant after eating in the wonderful tavernas close by.

miss you already

Me and my boyfriend are coming to Tsilivi, Santy Maria Apts this sunday (3rd sep) and we can't wait!!! We have enjoyed reading all the nice comments and we are really looking forward to meeting Spiros and Tina! They sound awesome!

Thank you for all the positive comments too.Due to go on 20th for two weeks and looking forward to it now.

Just happy to hear the positive comments due to go on 27  august and cant wait thanks for all your updates

hello!! we just got back from the sandy maria aprtments, they were basic but clean. we had a fantastic time . tina and spiros were really great people always friendly and helpful, would do anything for anyone, we will miss them lots! the pool is beautiful and clean, this is our second time in tsilivi and we can not wait to go back again. try the bbq night for a good laugh with spiros, the food was lovely and if you want a giggle join in with the karaoke!! hello to everyone we met you were all fab! love from rob. melissa, jodie, luke, ange, trev, phil and beryl! x

Hello Jeff, Zareena and Jamie(pool champion!)here!

   just arrived back from zante at santymaria apartm. we were made very welcome and sandy the kind of boss was a weegem spiros and tina could not do enough to help us it is not 5* but it was clean and the pool was spotless.

Just come back from two weeks at Santy Maria, and had the best holiday! Apartments are good by Greek standards, the maid works her socks off cleaning every day (only has two days of a month!!), the pool was spotlessly clean, as was the pool area. Tina and Spiros make the place what it is.....fantastic, nothing is too much trouble, infact I wouldnt even bother with the Rep, just ask Tina! Temperature was medium to high 40's for the whole two weeks!

Stu & Nik (the two who didnt move off the sunbeds for the whole two weeks!)

Having been to the Sandy Maria Apartments in the first two weeks in July with my Husband and Daughter - I would like to say that it was one of the most wonderful holidays that we have ever had. 

The apartments are basic but clean, the bins are emptied on a daily basis and the area around the apartments and the pool area are spotless - what more can you expect from a self catering holiday.  On hand you have Sprios and Tina (and Sandy the apartment manager) who are there for your every whim & who will help you if you need it at the drop of a hat and nothing is too much trouble for them. 

The poolside has a bar with a snack bar which caters for all tastes - the breakfasts are particularly good, lunch and dinner too. 

If you are heading here for a holiday - I hope you all have as much fun as we had.  We enjoyed it so much we are going to book again form next year! 

Great to hear your comments.Going in two weeks time.Dont know where the negative comments come from eh????

We arrived home last sunday the 31st of july after spending two great weeks in the sandy maria apartments. the only thing we can complain about is that two weeks just wasn't enough, spiros and tina were absoluty amazing , and would bend over backwards to help you with all your needs (including filling you up with the best fried brekkie in tsilivi!) the accomadationwas simple but effective (excluding the ghost stories!!), the pool was always clean as was the poolside. We found that the placement of the hotel was perfect too, only a ten minute walk to the town and the beach, which may i add was beautiful (make sure you sunbathe on the loungers with the red and white parasols as they are spiros') if anyone from our 'original two week lot' are reading this my wet clothes from jumping in the pool on the last night soaked everything in my case!!! Overall if your going you're in for a cracking time!

All the best  Charlotte and Dan

comments made by who?

going to santy maria apts 30th july heard the air port is a nightmare can anyone tell me if this is right and when have u to vacate the room on day of leaving. cheers

Thanks for your comments because we were concerned after reading the others.We go to these apartments on 20th Aug.Did you have a nightmare at the airport.Is it as bad as people say.We went to Corfu last year and had to queue outside too

we have just returned on monday from these apartments,myself, husband and 15 year old daughter, what a lovely time we had, teena, spiros and sandy were lovely people and nothing to much trouble.my husband very badly burned himself on the beach and  teena was like a little nurse to him even providing some cream for him to ease the pain.cheers teena, its healing nicely.spiros provided us with many a good laugh, we watched some dvds with him , get the remote control off him if you can !!!!  

the shops were about a 10 minute walk away, all selling much the same stuff , the restaurants were ok, we liked camelot, That Bar is run by trish and lee who are brother and sister and lee is just crackers, (what else can we expect , hes from leeds !!!!!)

i feel your comments are out of order, i was there when you was and you never once approached sandy about your problems. knowing sandy, i know if you had she would of bent over backwards to help you.you never went to john the libra rep either.if  it was me i would of and not come home and left negative comments to put other people off going. 

No problem i was exactly the same i read the comments from last year and i was panicking but i think alot of improvements have been made. Say hi to everyone for me! hope you have a good time, let us know how it goes.

Thank you to Jenna for your comments.You have put my mind at rest big time.We dont expect much for Greece anyhow has have been before.As for the last day we have an early flight home so will be out of apartment before that.

I wouldnt be too concearned about the recent comments i got back just over a week ago and we had a really good time at these apartments. the last comment is right they are not 5 star but they are of a good standard for greece. We did have a problem with linen we only had it changed once and when they did  the towels were stained and i had holes in my bed sheets but that was the only problem. tina and spiros were brilliant and tina makes the best breakfast in tsilivi, we had one every morning. The only other problem was with the owner of the hotel who liked to boot you out of your room by nine o'clock on your last day and some people were asked to leave before that. But we met some great people at these apartments and would definately come back again. hi to spiros, tina and lisa!

To anyone who has booked these apartments for this years holiday please dont panic about the bad comments, although I agree with many of them, staying in these apartments did not spoil our family holiday one little bit.  Tsilivi, its a wonderful place and im sure you will have a fantastic holiday, we are coming back to tsilivi in three weeks times (but not to santy maria).  These apartment are not five star but will be ok if you just want a place to shower, change, sleep and enjoy the resort. Eat out there are some fantastic restaurants out there, try sandra bars for breakfast, if you have kids they will make you feel very welcome.

If you are thinking of staying at the Santy Maria Apartments in Tsilivi... DON'T!!!!!! Unless you would like to stay in dirty, smelly rooms, get short-changed by Spiros the barman and have your privacy invaded on a regular basis.

From the outside, everything looks really nice, however upon closer inspection, it was not. The bed frame in our apartment was falling apart, the mattress was wet, stained and ripped and the supposed 'clean' sheets were blood-stained and had cigarette burns and rips in. During our 2 week stay, the floors and units were never cleaned and the bin was not emptied every day (as the room itinerary states.) There were also faulty electric sockets in both rooms.

Ignore the opening hours for the pool bar as they regularly do not apply, especially after the bar staff had been up late the night before. The choice of food on offer at the pool bar was purely English food, except for the only item of Greek food... a Greek salad. For an excellent breakfast, go to Popeye's (roughly 10 min walk to Tsilivi), not only is it value for money, but there is also friendly service, which is more than can be said for the staff at Santy Maria. We felt that they were only interested in you as long as you were spending money. We also witnessed that as there was no set price for fan hire in the itinerary, the bar staff were charging different rates to different people.

The Santy Maria Apartments could be excellent accommodation if it was given a lot of TLC. 

The apartment are set back from the resort and away from the hussle of the main bars and restaurants, we took two children to these apartments last year (one of them was only four year old) and had a fantastic holiday, you wont have any problems as long as your not looking for five star accomodation.  There is no play area at these apartments but kids can play in small section of the pool. (our kids made lots of friends and had great fun)  We are returning to Tsilivi this year in late august.  The resort is great for children, some restaurants have play areas, (try moby dicks on sea front children eat free) food is good value and you can chill while they play. Im sure you will have a fun time we cant wait to return to Tsilivi.

lee maria & phoebe just got back from tsilivi

We stayed at the Sandy Maria apartments in may 2006,
Apartments were clean and spacious and the pool was exeptionaly clean

The stars of the show however have to be Tina and Spiros
who run the poolside bar, nothing was too much trouble for
these lovely peeps . Spiros even managed to nab us a couple of lobsters
for the bbq night which was a great night and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

We will definitly recommend to all our friends to consider staying at the Sandy Marias
and we wouldnt hesitate rebooking ourselves .

Hi, we stayed at the Sandy Maria Apartments for one week in May 2006, and had a great time. The apartments are in a perfect location, if you like to be a little bit away from the main resort which is about a five minute walk. The apartments are basic and clean with plenty of space.  

The pool bar is great, which is owned by Tina and Spiros. They are a very nice couple who always have time for you. They provide an excellent range of food and drinks, and the barbecue night which they provide weekly was fab. Hello and Yammas to the both of you! Wishing you loads of luck for the future x x x

 

 

 

 

Hi, have just returned from Santy Maria apartments. Had a great time. Spiros and Tina who run the bar are great people and Tina boils a mean egg!!!!!

Just returned from our 2nd visit to Sandy Maria. Just like last year we loved our stay. Spiro and Teena are so friendly.  Enjoyed the BBQ nights. I can't fault anything with the apartments, snackbar etc

We loved it!!! Had a fabulous holiday last year (August) with my boyfriend Aaron. Fabulous place, appartments and people. Great food, gorgeous pool etc etc etc!!! Beach and bars a stroll away (10 mins max). Appartments nice distance away from main drag. No noise apart from drunken fellow holidayers!!! All part of the fun! Small but hardly noticeable farm land across. cockerel sounds more like Ann from Little Britain so didn't wake us in the mornings!! Eh Eh EEEEEEh!

hi,

jenna

Well, what a holiday it was better than all our expectations. The Sandy Maria was spotless and in a perfect location just out of the way of the main drag but not to far away to stagger home drunk.

The pool was great, isn't over crowded and cleaned at least once a day by Nikos.

The hotel is owned and managed by Sandy who is a top girl and made us feel very welcome; all the comments on here about her are totally unfair she was fantastic company, a great hotelier and a true Greek goddess. ;-)

Spiros whose a great bloke runs the bar with Nikos and is often helped by his fabulous family and friends (hi Lambros you Malaker). Spiros is also a dab hand in the kitchen; sell good food at reasonable prices, serves a wicked cocktail and nothing is too much trouble for him.

In fact a bit thanks to all the people at the Sandy Maria they helped to make our holiday one we will never forget.

I would just like to say a bit hello to all the people we met and made friends with whilst at the Sandy Maria and I hope we weren't too loud for you. :D

Btw. Me and Jan are getting married in Tsilivi next August, so keep an eye out for the invites – 60 people have booked so far :-)

We went on our honeymoon to Tsilivi - couldnt have picked a more perfect place.

We just returned from the Santy Maria  and I must say we had a great time so much so we are looking to book again for 2006.

Thanks Spiro & family for a great holiday. 

Nice but basic appartments, we enjoyed the bbq but there was not much going on otherwise which would have been nice, they are nicely situated with a lovely pool and plenty of sunbeds.  I was very thankful that I had taken my travel kettle.  We met some lovely people, hello especially to Alison, Allan, Amy and Daniel.  A fantastic holiday, I went alone with my 12 year old son which was a bit daunting, but it was fantastic and we wouldn't hesitate to go again.

Just got back from the Sandy Maria, wasn't all what we expected. Rooms where ok but not cleaned enough throught out our stay (but what do you expect with only one cleaner). We had to ask continuously for clean towels. Spent many great afternoons around the pool with all the kids, biggest one being George!!  There are lots of great places to eat and drink, try the paridise bar, where we spent many good nights. Beach was very clean and only ten minutes walk away. 

Hi to everyone we met at Santy Maria.

Just returned from Zante. Lovely resort.

Santy Maria is very basic accomomodation, as towels and sheets only changed once a week resorted to helping ourselves from the linen cupboard! Rooms also cleaned once a week, but thankfully local supermarket sold bleach. Beds were lumpy and smelly - dont take your pillowcase off it may scare you. Spiro and family not as friendly as other reviews say and pool bar not open for breakfast as advertised did not open until 11am. Also check your change when Spiros serves you as lots of people especially children were short changed - some were done by 10 euros when changing money. The owner Sandy has no time for anyone.

Could be lovely apartments as pool area and location are fine.

Met lovely people staying there which made the holiday. Hi to Jo, Paul, Emma, Arron and Libby, Julie, Richard and Kids, Lynn, Peter, Chloe and Ellie, Emma and Sophie and every one else we met.

Will return to Tsilivi but not these apartments.

Hi, I have read all the comments about Tsilivi and Sandy Maria and I cant wait to see them for myself. Me and my boyfriend (well he will be my husband by then)will be on our honey moon from 28th August for 2 weeks. I would like to ask as a surprise for my husband to be (still sounds strange)for us to have one of the best rooms or a room with a balcony/nice view if we could? The rooms sound nice as they are but just to be a little bit special for us??? Look foward to meet you all next week x Lisa & Lee

Just come back from 2 weeks at the Santy Maria and we loved it! It is NOT too far out - only 10 mins to town or the beach - there is a farm next door and the whole time we were there we never got woken up by the cockerel. Accomodation is basic but if you are just using your appartment as a crash pad - then it is fine. Down side - mostly cold showers and sheets only changed twice in 2 weeks - but it didn't spoil things.

We spent our time at the beach (sunbeds 5 euros see Spiros) or at the pool (plenty of sunbeds) - on very hot days (it was 40c when we were there) go to the beach as there is the wind coming off the sea. Tsilivi itself is great - sooo many restaurants - try the family, manos grill, grub up or the golden lion (for when you are all greeked out!)

And then of course there is the lovely Spiros - filaki for you! Spiros owns the pool bar and is a complete character - a total greek del boy! He has a finger in every pie going but has a heart of gold - yammas spiros - hope to see you again one day!