Symi, Greece Review

Overall Rating

Very Greek

Standard of hotel.

We stayed at the Pedi Beach Hotel in Symi. This hotel was the pits. The rooms were appalling. Curtains were black out linings that were heavy with dust. Furniture was very heavy and dark. The bathroom!!!!!!!A tiny square shower base set into a corner with a curtain rail that was supported at the 2 points by the wall but not at the crucial point in the centre so that the curtain just slid down the rail and gathered at this point. The bathroom floor was flooded every time we had a shower.
The food was very suspect. Breakfast was laid out the night before. Fruit, yoghurt, cereal etc.all uncovered and not in a refrigerated unit. The night time temperatures were approx.20c and the flies and mosquitoes had a wonderful feast every night!!!!!!!!! Our Saga rep told us that this was the only hotel on the island that could take a group of 28 people and Saga had awarded it a gold merit for it's food.
Pedi Beach itself was a big shock on day one as it is enclosed by very high, grey, barren mountains that resemble a huge mound of excess concrete that someone must have dumped one dark night. However, the little bay and it's local tavernas and people seem to caste a spell on you and you are slowly enthralled by it's simplicity and charm.
Being very Greek can have it's drawbacks. There is only one road into Pedi Beach and the local council decided to tarmac it. The local bus ran in the morning and we all trooped into the main harbour for a wonderful day strolling, watching, drinking and eating. We had been warned that the bus may have to drop us off as near to Pedi Beach as the roadworks would allow. What we didn't realise is that the tarmac would be laid the whole width of the road leaving no path for us to walk along back to our hotel. We had to scramble along a dried out ditch for most of the way back but at one point had to walk on the soft tarmac. God bless her - our tour rep came to meet us off the bus and guide us back and even brought carrier bags for us to walk on over the tarmac section. This didn't stop my husband getting his shoes covered in tar. The local boat builder sorted him out with petrol and rags and he was able to clean his shoes on the seashore surrounded by a hen and her chicks. Our stay would have been idyllic if we had been accommodated in one of the self catering apartments snuggled among the old fishermans cottages.