... Aghios Nikolaos (AgNik) is no exception to the rule.
We booked thorugh Kosmar to stay in the Dilina Rooms on a bed and breakfast basis. On first approaching the 'hotel' in the middle fo the night we were quite worried that it was a bit of a shed, however, after sleeping then waking in ... Read review
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Advantages: Picturesque, friendly, great weather Disadvantages: Nightlife fairly quiet
...and food it offers. Aghios Nikolaos (AgNik) is no exception to the rule.
We booked thorugh Kosmar to stay in the Dilina Rooms on a bed and breakfast basis. On first approaching the 'hotel' in the middle fo the night we were quite worried that it was a bit of a shed, however, after sleeping then waking in the morning for breakfast we were warmly welcomed by the owners - Nikki and her husband ( I forgot his name).
Breakfast ... ...tea and coffee to drink. One day a week Nikki went to market and served fruits and on a Sunday she brought some different breads from church. The personal touch was really sweet.
At the welcome meeting we discovered that the owners were actually famous across the island for their dancing - in the breakfast room downstairs they would hold massive dance events and cram locals and tourists in, serve wine and home cooked foods. There are ... more
My boyfriend and I were looking for a fairly cheap holiday abroad over summer in 2004 and particularly wanted to visit Crete as we like the culture, friendliness and food it offers. Aghios Nikolaos (AgNik) is no exception to the rule.
We booked thorugh Kosmar to stay in the Dilina Rooms on a bed and breakfast basis. On first approaching the 'hotel' in the middle fo the night we were quite worried that it was a bit of a shed, however, after sleeping then waking in the morning for breakfast we were warmly welcomed by the owners - Nikki and her husband ( I forgot his name).
Breakfast consisted of bread and cakes with jam and butter, juice, tea and coffee to drink. One day a week Nikki went to market and served fruits and on a Sunday she brought some different breads from church. The personal touch was really sweet.
At the welcome meeting we discovered that the owners were actually famous across the island for their dancing - in the breakfast room downstairs they would hold massive dance events and cram locals and tourists in, serve wine and home cooked foods. There are various cuttings on the wall with newspaper articles of the couple. One of these was a British broadsheet from the 70's! Nikki also cleans all the rooms (to a high standard), runs her daughter's crepe shop and paints religious icons. I think she stays awake all summer then sleeps all winter!
The resort benefits from several beaches - all quite narrow but lovely and sheltered.
There is also a famous lagoon - some say bottomless. The legend is that at the end of WW2 alot of German tanks were left on the island, and rather than giving them back, they dumped them in the lagoon. They can't be found becasue the lagoon is just too deep. The lagoon is surrounded by many reasonably priced restaurants that have lovely views whilst you are eating. More expensive places to eat may be found on the cliff overlooking the lagoon.
In terms of nightlife, all restaurants, bars and cafes stay open til the early hours, but we never saw any where you could dance (unless you don't mind dancing on your own) - it never got that lively. The locals tend to socialise in AgNik, so music stc tends to cater for both UK and Greek tastes.
Other places to visit in the area is Elounda - where Mariah Carey stays and Sarah Michelle Gellar has been known to visit, and possibly Malia if you did want a wild night (not for the shy), Knossos (Palace where the Minotaur was said to be) and Heraklion for shopping in the capital.
If you want a holiday that is cultural as well as relaxing I would recommend AgNik - just wish I could go again this year!!
Advantages: nice outside the peak season Disadvantages: can't imagine being there during the peak season
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The resort has no tall buildings, I didn't see a hotel with more than four floors - a Spaniard from, say, Torremolinos would only sneer derisively - in Heraklion we didn't see a single skyscraper, Crete appears low key and modest to us. The private houses in the small towns and villages are exactly like the ones in other Mediterranean countries, i.e., simple, ugly concrete boxes with flat roofs, the Cretan variety is advanced in one respect, though, nearly all houses have a collector for solar energy on the roof, very laudable!
What did we do? We walked along the coast, had a look at the tiny harbour (the town itself isn't pretty) and discussed the fact that every ten metres there's a high price jewellery shop or a pharmacy, never have we seen more of both in one place!
Or we took the bus to AghiosNikolaos, a famous resort in the east ...
MALU 08.09.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Crete (Greece)
Advantages: Large island - plenty to see an do. Friendly people. Superb weather Disadvantages: Doesn't feel like an island. The drivers
the Greek spelling) is about dead centre on the north coast of the island. The famous resort of AghiosNikolaos lies much further to the east, whilst the largely unsung but nonetheless visit-worthy towns of Rethymnon and Chania are west of Iraklion. All well known towns are along the north coast with the exception of Ierapetra in the south. This can be explained by the fact that the south coast, apart from the odd flat stretch, is largely impenetrably mountainous except by dead-end roads or by boat.
Koutouloufari turned out to be something of a 'designer' village - not entirely phoney, as it contained a wealth of old buildings and sympathetic new ones, but with a much higher proportion of eateries and boutiques than you'd expect in a 'real' village'. However, eating out is high on our agenda, so this looked more like our cup of tea than ...
BNibbles 04.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Crete (Greece)
