Filoxenia Apartments & Studios

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple

Very Good
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children

Very Good
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children
  : This is a really tricky review to write, because, admittedly, first impressions weren't great. The resort is located right off a main road, which we found really offputting initially. HOWEVER, the actual resort is lovely and especially the people - Nikos and his family are so welcoming, and all the staff are incredible - so polite and friendly. Our cleaners did an amazing job on our apartment each day, it was spick and span. Our kids quickly made friends with other kids that were there and the setup with the little playground near the restaurant mean they could go off and we felt totally secure. The pool was fantastic, it was nice to have the two pools as the slightly larger (shallower) pool tended to be used mainly be the kids, and the deeper one by adults - so no-one got in each other's way. The kids are already begging to go back next year. For what it's worth - the plane noise, we -genuinely!- stopped noticing after a few days. Initially, we were a little shocked by how close we were to the airport and flight path, but the flights are relatively infrequent and you really do get used to it! For info, we paid 15 a night extra for air-conditioning, for two units in our apartment. We knew about the charge and had budgeted for it.
  : Ok, so the tricky part. Filoxenia itself is genuinely lovely and offers real value for money. This is possibly partly a reflection of the location - if you stuck this on the other side of the island you would pay double. The fact is, it's located on a main road, and whilst there are a couple of restaurants near the beach, this doesn't offer your 'standard' Greek dining in a cosy village (in comparison to our experiences at least). The beach is fine, but choppy - it's mainly used for kite surfing and water sports, and it wouldn't suit really small children. Our 7 and 10-year old loved playing in the waves but if you like your beaches calm and sandy, this isn't it! The food at the restaurant is lovely, so if you're not bothered about eating elsewhere, you could happily hole up in the resort for a week or so. We tend to like eating in different places and found options limited. Saying that, Billy's down the road was really nice and fun (with a pool table for entertainment) and the food at Spitaki was also great, though the road noise/proximity was more obvious there. The only other niggle we had is that they literally charge for everything, even playing with the big chess set - it seems a shame as it's just there, not sure it needs a 3 charge attached!