Last month I visited Rhodes for the first time. My destination? Pefkos, which is in the southern half of the island.
Me and my friend had booked the holiday back in November so we could pay it off gradually. All the same, we didn’t want anything too expensive so when we found the Finasapartments for 325 pounds each, it seemed ideal. The apartments had received fairly mixed reviews but enough people liked them for us to decide to give it a go.
We arrived in Pefkos after midnight and when we were dropped off by our transfer bus, we looked at the masses of stairs we were going to have to climb. In the dark. With our suitcases. Oh man. Halfway up the stairs, a man came running down to us, stopped us and carried our suitcases back down some of the stairs and along to an apartment at the side. Me and my friend were looking at each other worriedly, since we’re not used to going somewhere and not going through some sort of complicated rigmarole at reception. Instead, he asked for one of our passports, told us to pick it up in the morning from reception and left us alone. Having been the one to relinquish my passport since it was booked in my name, I turned anxiously to my friend. “He does
actually WORK here, right?” I asked, hit by the sudden rush of fear that some stranger had just ran off with my passport.
It turned out to be okay. He did. Phew. Anyway, let’s get onto the important stuff . . .
LOCATION
Finas is located within a short walking distance of many restaurants and also the beach.
THE APARTMENT
We were in a studio apartment. It was fairly basic, I have to admit. The bedroom had a huge wardrobe and I think there was a chest of drawers too, although we didn’t use these. There was some counter space with a mirror (presumably for doing one’s make up or the like). The beds were kind of annoying as they’d been pushed together and one sheet spread over both of them as if it was meant to be a double bed. There were two very thin sheets provided to cover us as we slept. The first night I was pretty cold. Luckily I then realised there were some warmer blankets in the wardrobe.
Considering how small the studio was, the kitchen facilities supplied were pretty good. We had a cooker (which we didn’t use), a large fridge and sink, as well as all the necessary plates, cups, glasses and cutlery. The only thing we ever really used was the fridge – to store alcohol, of course! ïŠ
The bathroom was fairly decent too – there was even a hairdryer!
My main bone of contention was our balcony – the sun only shone on it early morning AND it overlooked the car park and reception. In fact, when I say overlooked . . . it was actually pretty much IN the car park. So much so that on our last day when we needed to take our suitcases to reception, we actually ended up just jumping over the balcony and taking them with us, rather than having to lug them up the stairs again!
The room wasn’t cleaned daily, it was probably more like every two days, but there didn’t seem to be much of a routine to it. One day we went to go back to our room at half three and the woman appeared saying she wanted to clean it – it was a bit annoying it had been left so late but when we came back in ten minutes she was gone and the room was clean so I guess it was all good in the end. We DID end up having to buy our own toilet paper at one point though as we hadn’t received any replacement rolls.
All in all, basic accommodation but considering people generally don’t spend a lot of time in their rooms on holiday, it was acceptable for our needs.
THE FACILITIES
*POOL* The pool was very nice. And my mum will be glad to hear that there was even a shallow end! It was fairly small but never too busy if you wanted a quick cool off from the sun. There were always loads of sun loungers going spare – the only nuisance was that all the parasols were fixed into the ground so there was a lot of sun lounger readjustment required to ensure you could get the sun on your whole body!
*RESTAURANT* This was next to the pool, which was very handy and we often went there for breakfast after a couple of hours of lounging next to the pool. The prices were reasonable and the waiters friendly. The fry-up breakfasts were great, and occasionally if we ate a bit later, I got a chip butty for a mere euro and fifty cents! On the day we were going home we had dinner there as well which was also delicious – although we made the mistake of ordering starters as well, were too full to eat our main courses and the waiter kept asking if there was something wrong with the food. Oops!
*THE BAR* We liked the bar so much that every night after we went out to eat we just ended up coming back and hanging out there. The cocktails were great, and only about three euros, the bar staff were friendly and most nights had some sort of entertainment going on. There was karaoke two of the nights, a pub quiz (which we won!) another night, and a hypnotist show – which was obviously staged but still entertaining.
THE PEOPLE
I’ve never really noticed this before but at the Finas, people MIXED with each other. Everyone always said hello by the pool and chatted away to each other, the staff mixed with the guests a lot, and everyone was just so friendly. Pefkos is a pretty English oriented resortin general from what I could see, and most of the guests at the Finas were English – but the staff were mainly Greek or Scottish. They would all chat away to you and make you feel welcome. It was definitely the friendliest place I’ve ever stayed at.
TIME OF YEAR TO GO
Obviously in May, what with it not being the school holidays, it was fairly quiet at the Finas. The receptionist told us they only had about 40 apartments booked out the time we were there, but in July./August the place would be heaving when it was at capacity. I’m quite glad we went when we did because you could always get a lounger, a table at the bar, swim in the pool easily – I think with too many people there it would be a little claustrophobic. So if you like your holidays quieter, obviously its best not to go at peak season.
DRAWBACKS
In this case, it really is just that if you aren't particularly fit or healthy, you may not like the fact there are so many stairs - especially in the heat. There were the stairs from the street up to the car park/reception/pool area, stairs up to our apartment . . . it could get a bit tiring in the heat. That being said, it was possible to walk around on the road and therefore avoid SOME of the steps, so as long as you don't mind tackling some slopes, you should be alright.
IN CONCLUSION . ..
Would I recommend the Finas apartments? I would - without a second thought! Obviously if you're a first class, five star all-the-way type of person, it's going to be a bit beneath you, but if you're just looking for a good base, and a great atmosphere, then you'll definitely find that at the Finas . . .
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Advantages: Out of main town, close(ish) to beach. Lovley staff, great bar and good food. Disadvantages: Basic rooms, small pool, long, steep hill to walk up from the town. Quiet area.
Spangle10_1 20.12.2005 (20.12.2005)
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Review of Finas, Rhodes
Advantages: Out of main town, close(ish) to beach. Lovley staff, great bar and good food. Disadvantages: Basic rooms, small pool, long, steep hill to walk up from the town. Quiet area.
Spangle10_1 20.12.2005 (20.12.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Finas, Rhodes
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