Stalis

...at the Irini Studios in Stalis for what we discovered was the last week of the season.

**************First Experiences*********************

Our first view of Stalis was in the wee small hours of the morning. We were extremely tired having landed at Heraklion Airport at 3a.m and waiting on the coach for over an hour before it set off for the resorts. At 5.30a.m. We were in no fit condition to haul our cases up a steep ...
...*****************************The Resort****************************

Stalis is one of the quieter resorts according to the brochure - This proved to be a more than accurate description, as in the last week of the season there were very few holidaymakers and many of the shops and restaurants were closed for the winter. Just the sort of peace and quiet we were looking for.

Stalis is situated on the Northern coastline of ... more

We booked a 7 day holiday with Kosmar who are the self proclaimed experts on Greek holidays at a cost of £384 each and were looking forward to our last holiday of the year. We were booked to stay at the Irini Studios in Stalis for what we discovered was the last week of the season.

**************First Experiences*********************

Our first view of Stalis was in the wee small hours of the morning. We were extremely tired having landed at Heraklion Airport at 3a.m and waiting on the coach for over an hour before it set off for the resorts. At 5.30a.m. We were in no fit condition to haul our cases up a steep flight of steps to our apartment, nor were we observant enough to notice the condition of our apartment. What we did notice though was the awful smell of stale cigarette smoke in the room and the difficulty in opening the shutters to let some fresh air in to try to get rid of the smell.

Exhausted, we fell into bed without looking at where we were sleeping. On waking in the morning we began to realise the squalor that we had paid good money for.
During the night to toilet had leaked leaving a small lake on the bathroom floor. It was impossible to use the bathroom without paddling through what had gone into the toilet during the night. The light fitting in the bathroom was broken and the light fittings in the apartment were hanging off the walls and ceilings exposing bare wires.
We looked at our beds and decided that we had got to move. The pillows were brown and stained and the blankets had what looked suspiciously like semen stains all over them. Looking around the room it was obvious that it had not been cleaned for some time. The small kitchen area and fridge were disgusting.

In a very short time we had contacted the Kosmar rep and told her in no uncertain terms that we wanted to be moved immediately. I think she knew that she had to do something for us fairly quickly and she arranged for us to be moved to the Irilana Apartments. We used the time whilst she was making arrangements to investigate the pool area which lived up (or rather down) to our expectations with dumps of rubbish and deflated inflatables.

Having had numerous holidays in Greece we were not expecting 5* luxury as most self catering accommodation tends to be extremely basic, but is generally clean and adequately maintained.
We were not disappointed by the Irilana Studios which were just what we needed; basic, clean and with a decent view from the balcony. An added bonus was the few steps up to our apartment.

*****************************The Resort****************************

Stalis is one of the quieter resorts according to the brochure - This proved to be a more than accurate description, as in the last week of the season there were very few holidaymakers and many of the shops and restaurants were closed for the winter. Just the sort of peace and quiet we were looking for.

Stalis is situated on the Northern coastline of Crete between the livelier resorts of Malia and Hersonnisos, both of which are within walking distance or can be reached by bus.
There is also a small land train that runs between the resorts

The main road runs at the back of the resort, here you can catch regular buses to Heraklion, the island's capital, and from there to the rest of the island. (Fare to Heraklion is 2.90 euros). You enter the resort by a narrow side road to a main street (Beach Road) with apartment blocks, shops and restaurants on either side. The beach lies beyond the shops and restaurants.
There were no banks open when we went in October, but there were a number of cash machines to withdraw money from.

There are also shops where you can exchange English money or travellers cheques into euros. They generally sell excursions too which are far cheaper than and just as good as those offered by tour operators. There was a particularly helpful shop in the side road between the beach road and the main road. Here we were warned about the cigarettes on sale in the tourist shops (all fake and factory floor sweepings) and were advised to buy any cigarettes from the supermarkets where they were genuine. I know, I know - we shouldn't smoke, but try telling that to my 85 year old mother.

**********************Eating******************************

There are restaurants to suit every taste from the bars selling a full English breakfast, fish and chips and pies, to traditional Greek tavernas. For fish lovers I can thoroughly recommend Dianomeas on the Beach Road where a fish platter for 2 costs around 20 euros and includes swordfish, red mullet, sole fillet, king prawns and sole fillets accompanied by potatoes and vegetables or salad. Yum yum.

Like most Greek resorts outside every restaurant and bar are handsome young men trying to entice you inside to buy their food and drink. Suitable responses without being rude are 'I'm meeting some friends' or 'I've already eaten', whatever you do don't say 'I'll be back later' because they WILL remember! This of course will probably not apply in high season it's just that when we went customers were in short supply.

Even out of season there were places to eat to suit all tastes. Prices varied between about 3.50 euros for burger and chips to around 15 - 20euros for a more expensive Greek style 3 course meal.

Imported drinks tend to be expensive but drinking the local wine is much, much cheaper and very nice indeed. I could drink 2 glasses of wine or even ½ a carafe for less then the 3 - 4 euros my friend paid for a Bacardi and coke. Unfortunately I cannot comment on the price of beer as I don't drink or buy it.

***************************Accommodation****************************
Most accommodation in the resort is self catering apartments, which from my introductory comments you must have gathered, vary widely in quality.
There are a few 'resorts' which I understand to be something of upmarket self catering apartments and some hotels which supply half board, they too appear to vary widely in quality.

****************What to do**********************************

Apart from eat drink,shop,lay by the pool,lay on a beach and generally be lazy what else can you want from a holiday? For those of you who want to spend days on the beach an umbrella and 2 sun beds cost 6 euros for a day although some beachside bars have their own bit of beach which you can use for theprice of a drink at their bar.

Jet boats and other watersports are available from the beach manned by hunky young men with suntans and rippling muscles in all the right places. (nothing wrong with a bit of window shopping you men do it all the time!)

If nighttime entertainment is your idea of a perfect holiday it is possible to find bars where there is kareoke, bingo, quizzes, films and FOOTBALL on huge screens.
For more lively nights Malia and Hersonissos are probably more likely to meet your needs.

Shopping addicts like myself are so spoilt for choice, as well as tourist souvenirs there are shoe shops, clothes shops,spice shops and supermarkets.

There are no really interesting historical sites in Stalis itself but there is a historic Cretan House in Hersonissos within walking distance. Just beyond Malia there is the ruins of an ancient Minoan Palace.
To see more of the island you will either need to hire a car, go on an excursion or catch a bus.
Excursions go all around the island and also to Santorini. They are expensive through tour operators but much cheaper booked through the excursion shops.Prices do not generally include admission prices at the destinations.
We shunned both of these options and our explorations on the local buses took us into Heraklion and Knossos. Far less cost and far more of an adventure and so easy to do.

***********************Other bits*********************************
Most holiday companies have holidays there in their brochures. Despite our awful experience at the Irini studios most of the other accomodation offered by Kosmar in this resort is of a reasonable standard.
Transfer time from the airport is around an hour depending on the number of drop offs. 

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