Colin-delighted to hear you had such a great time.We think these are the apts. we are going to at the end of the month-in our brochure (panorama) ex Ireland-they are called aparhotel Alykanas Beach.There is a computer generated picture of them which shows one large pool and some smaller pools-are these kids pools?? Also how hot was it when you were there and is there an ATM machine anywhere locally.Thanks.

To all who are looking for info about the Alykanas Beach Village-we just returned last night having spent 2 weeks there-so I can give you all a full report!!We arrived on Sat 25th so the place was open less than a week at that point-therefore we were the first people to stay in our appartment.Everything was brand spanking new-but naturally there was a touch of the Fawlty Towers about it as well-as they were just getting things off the ground.We had asked for a cot for our 20 month old-and were told they had none until tuesday-but with a bit of persistance a travel cot was produced that night(obviously borrowed from someone) and the next day a brand new cot was delivered.The highchair however never appeared-it was on a boat somewhere coming from Athens!but it didn't really matter anyway.I remembered that the brochure said there would be an electric kettle-and when we asked-a brand new one in it's box was produced.So you can see there are some initial start up glitches but nothing major. The appartments themselves are very nice-we stayed in a 1 bed of which there are only 12.It had a small kitchen- a good size bathroom with bath and shower-a bedroom with a double bed and then another room with 2 single beds which had a sliding door to the balcony-this was also to double as the living room.I had a look into a studio which was a large room-with doors at the end opening onto the balcony.The kitchen was on the left-the bathroom to the right.There were then 2 single beds with a locker between-and further down near the patio doors was the double bed.The decor in all the rooms is the same and is very tasteful.There is a microwave which has a built in grill and there is also supposed to be a toaster-but we had asked for enough things so we didn't push our luck! There is no sharp knife at all in the cutlery-so if you think you'll be needing one bring your own-but pack it in your siutcase-I forgot on the way back-it was in my hand luggage and was confiscated-I was lucky I didn't end up in the slammer!! There are 3 swimming pools-a kidney shaped pool which is right down by the beach end of the complex-and has no real shallow end.The large pool which stretches up the middle of the comlex has a very shallow end adult knee deep-however there is no dividing point and it gets gradually deeper until it is chest deep.The third pool is waist deep and has a volley ball net across it -there was great fun to be had here-so get yourselves a ball!you can also play with bats and ball over it. Because it is right on the beach it is great for kids.We went to the appartments next door to use their playgroud once or twice.In answer to Heather it is only a short walk up the beach to the right to the hotel Valais in fact we spent our last night there at their greek night which was great value and excellant food.It is a short walk the other way to Alykes. The bar in the complex is very nice but was very quiet when we were there no doubt it will liven up as the season progresses-it is indoors and then has a large terrace overlooking the pools.On the last Sat we were there they had a Karaoke night which drew a crowd. There was no major building work going on but there was minor drilling and hammering now and again-but it really didn't bother us. I can't think of any thing else to say-I hope this has not come across as negative because we had a brillant time-the view across to cephalonia is beautiful-and if you are lucky enough to have one of the 30 studios which directly over look the sea you will be in heaven.If anyone has any more questions I will try to answer them.

to Carlos cid,if you are going with panorama then you are going to the Alykanas Beach Village-it calls it aparthotel in their brochure.we have just come back and I've written about it under Alykanas beach village.Have a great time.

we ate in this restaurant several times and had excellant food every time-all their traditional dishes are delicious.For us with 2 kids in tow(20months and 6years the sandy little tikes playground was a godsend-full marks dionisos!!!

had a cocktail to start-great food,great view what more do you want! and our 20month old was most impressed with the baked beans!!!

Just returned from 2 weeks in Alykanas.We took a boat trip to see the blue caves with a company called Golden Dolphin-based in Alykes.Because we had 2 small children with us we wanted a short trip- and this one was just perfect.It lasted 2 hours including a 20 min stopoff at a beautiful water side taverna-for refreshments.The boat was a speed boat-the captain very experienced and life jackets were supplied for the children.There was a swimming stop on the way back and we got right into the caves-it was brillant.I would highly recommend it for families.The boat holds approx 15-20 people.If you are staying in Alykanas they will drop you back to the pier there if you like.

To Jane Griffiths-in answer to your question-if you are going with airtours-these apartments featured in the Kosamar brochure are not the ones you will be staying in.The Alykanas Beach Village is next door and is a bigger complex.We stayed there and are just back-I've written a report on them-look under Alykanas Beach village.

Dear Heather Grigg,in answer to your questions-there is not a hair dryer supplied-I forgot to mention the cleaning which was excellant-they seemed to clean every day ie mopping the floors-the towels were changed every 2nd day-nice fluffy white bath and hand towels and the bed linen was changed 3 times per week.There are air conditioning panels in the ceiling but it was not functioning when we were there-it wasn't necessary.The fridge has a small freezer part at the top-you know the kind that are not seperate to the fridge.As for kitchen utensils-they are a bit thin on the ground-as I said before there are no sharp knives-we did have a can opener,a bottle opener,and a cork screw and some salad servers.The onsite snack bar stays open until 6pm and you can take food from there back to your room if you like.Have a great time-bring us back some sunshine-there is no sign of a summer here in Ireland this year!!!

In 2 weeks we ate at the Greedy Greek once-and that was once too much.We were lured in by the Kids play area-which is actually kind of tacky-there are 2 cots which look like they belong in some horror film on orphanages!My advice is give it a wide birth-go up the street to Dionisis.

in answer to the last 2 questions.we stayed in a ground floor apt. in may and it is private enough as there is a wall around it which is about chest high-so when you are sitting down you are quite private.There is a kids club but it is for panorama clients only.

JP-there are actually only 12 one bed apartments in the whole complex-4 are ground floor and the others 1st and 2nd floor.

none of the one bed appartments overlook the sea-as most of the complex is made up of studios-it is a block of studios that overlooks the sea.

dear Tony,
we stayed in a 1 bed apt here last year-there is a double bed in one room-which is where the tv is -and then in the other room there are 2 single beds-proper beds not couches-and there are sliding doors from this room to the balcony-hope this helps.In answer to Nadines question about the balcony-last year we were on the ground floor and the balcony was walled in.We tended to climb over the wall to get to the pool and so our 18mth old climbed on a chair to copy us! hence I think if you are on the first floor or higher you won't be tempted to hop over giving bad example!!!!as far as I recall the balconys had railings about my chest height(5'4").Gary I saw into a studio apt and it is all one big room with a seperate bathroom with a bath and shower over the bath.We are going back this year and have booked a studio as they looked really nice and only studios are in the front block which directly overlook the sea.

Dear Andrew,
happy St.Patricks Day-we stayed in a 2 bed apt.here last year and are going back this year-our 6 year old son was able to go to the kids club as we had travelled with panorama-but would have had a good time anyway with the pools and being right on the beach.I have described the apts.in a previous comment if you want to read it.have a great time.

dear phoebe,I was able to get pampers nappies here last summer and they had other kinds as well-so it's not a problem.All of the restaurants seemed to welcome children and had high-chairs-our favourite was Dionysos-for the excellant food-but also for the sandy little tikes playground-where kids can play within your sight until the food arrives.Have a great time we are going back again this year.

Dear Rebecca,
this complex was brand new May 2002 when we stayed there-so it should have matured since then-I hope the grass will have grown as we are returning this May!! We had a great time-for more detail have a look at previous comments I made after we came back last year,enjoy.

Dear Isobel,
we have just returned from the Beach Village{our 2nd visit}We had booked a studio for 4 but when we arrived had been put in a studio for 3-they told us they thought our 2 and a half year old would be in a cot!We insisted on having a studio for 4 and they gave us one.The studio for 3 is a little bit smaller than the studio for 4.The studios for 4 have 2 single beds with a bed side table between and then there is a wall about chest height dividing them from the other 2 single beds which are pushed together.Some of the 4 bed studios are a little bigger than others depending on their position in the building.Hope this helps.

Damian,
we had a kia sportage last week in zakynthos-it had seat belts for 3 in the back-so possibly this will suit you.We booked it with Merlis Rental in Kalamaki-from Julie Rutherford who was more than helpful-if u give her an e-mail{address on this site under car hire} she will be able to advise u further.