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“We will never ever take our holidays with Kosmar...”

☆☆☆☆☆

written by jackie chimp on 13/08/2005

We will never ever take our holidays with Kosmar again!! A simple apology can go a long way, and to tell the truth is a must! We were treated and spoke to very badly. They didnt seem to care at all about our welfare!
They will never have my hard earned money again!!

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“Kosmar - After reading some bad reviews about the...”

★★★★☆

written by kist24 on 30/06/2005

Kosmar - After reading some bad reviews about the Marina Beach Apts/Studios and the resort Kavos I was surprised how misleading they were. My wife, 28year old son and myself, both nearer 50 than 45, enjoyed ourselves.

The accommodation room 17, although on the third floor, was very clean with the cleaner coming in each day, a very nice and friendly lady and even met her family so had no problems there. We had a Studio, which consisted of a toilet/shower room, a large kitchen area with refrigerator, two-ring plate and sink and plenty of tables and chairs. Two steps up was the first sleeping area with two single beds. There was a door to another bedroom again with two single beds. If you manage to get room 16, you will get a better view.

Attached to the accommodation is the bar and pool area. Beyond the bar area is a clean sandy beach and the sea. The pool area is kept clean with plenty of sun beds to be had. It also has a pool and table tennis table. There was no problem taking the sun beds onto the beach. The drinks and snacks were reasonable, but remember everyone is on GMT (Greek Maybe Time) so do not be in a hurry.

Some previous reviews mentioned the black seaweed on the beach. Yes there is a small amount right on the waters edge, but the sun is so hot it is dried to a crisp, its like walking on dried leaves. The sea itself is clean, with a sandy bottom with little or no stones, bare footed no problem. You can walk out for ages and still the water will only be up to your knees, and very warm. The seabed then tapers off into deeper water.

As mentioned, the accommodation is just off the main strip, so if you want an early night you can just hear the throb of music. While we were there, the Checkers Night Club was just starting back up but still never heard any noise. The first week was quiet but unfortunately the second week fifty-four Bristol Rugby lads moved in. Thirty into Marina Beach. It was a right laugh seeing some of the antics they were getting up to. Even when they were rowdy they were still respectful to us. Apart from the noise 5 o'clock a.m.

Our biggest problem was mosquitoes; we took out with us the little pads, which fit on to a heater, an Ultra Violet Zapper. (The kind used in catering) and an ultra sonic repeller. None of them worked. My wife even had a personal ultra sonic repeller for walking out of a night. No good. Our best relief was spraying ourselves with a well-known spray also using one of them "spiral" mosquito killers while we were out of the room. It was heaven getting a good night's sleep.

Kavos resort itself has a lot to offer, plenty of places to eat and drink some expensive and some very reasonable. The expensive being the Taverna's, but some offer a three course set menu for nine euros. Watch out for the price of drinks, one charged five euros for an alcohol pop. The P.Rs. (touts) were a problem some were very nice about it and other were very abusive and rude. My best rules is, if there are locals, reps or a few people drinking and eating, then go in. If not, barter for a better deal, cheaper drinks or a free game of pool.

There are places for everyone to have a good time, too many to mention. For a lively time the top end of the strip is the place. Near the bottom of the strip it's a little more subdued. Some of the bars like the Stoned bar, SOS bar and Playtime are well worth a visit. Our favourite to end the night (morning) was Johns Cocktail Bar, owned and run by a husband and wife team. The best bar in Kavos, the best service and the friendliest. It had all we needed, good drinks, good price and if you were hungry you went over to John's fast food order and pay for what you wanted go back over to the bar and it would be bought over to you. Many English ended up there and it was a good source of information and we made lots of friends. Also it was right next to a very good supermarket so you could buy anything you needed.

So, to conclude, Kavos is not just for the young, we had a good time, good drink and good food. (No spanish belly) and not a cloud in the sky. Parties with young children may struggle to keep the young ones entertained by day with just the pool/beach maybe the operators should pick up on this and include more "Aunties". We hired a car for a week at good rates all in. Toured the island, visited Corfu Town by day and night, Sidari, Allaries, the palace and up in the mountains all were similar to Kavos but on a quieter scale. For trips out look about for deals such as a boat trip Paxos/Antipaxos, or go to the next village and catch the ferry to the Greece Mainland for four euros.

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“Kosmar - Left from Stansted Airport and arrived at...”

★★☆☆☆

written by pmaine7007 on 28/06/2005

Kosmar - Left from Stansted Airport and arrived at Rhodes only to be told that the return flight would be going to Gatwick and leaving Sunday morning rather than Saturday night.

No help was given to find another night's accommodation and initially only 20 Euros compensation was offered! They finally allowed 30 Euros per person for the extra inconvenience.

Having been given the revised flight times we arrived at the airport only to find that we had not been booked on the flight. Thanks to an excellent rep who negotiated on our behalf we managed to get on the flight and assured us that transport would be waiting to take us to Stansted.

When we arrived at Gatwick the Kosmar rep in England had no knowledge of customers needing to get to back Stansted Airport to collect cars, etc. A minibus arrived to take us to Stansted but no-one had a list showing the passengers that needed to be transferred to the airport.

Everything worked out ok in the end but the communication between the Kosmar staff was virtually non-existent and they didn't appear to have been informed of what was going on.

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“Kosmar: ”

★★★★★

written by susan2309 on 24/05/2005

Kosmar:
My family and I know what we want from a holiday, we actually have a checklist. Quiet location, but not too far from the airport, close to at least one supermarket and a few tavernas, an on-site pool (keeps the kids occupied) and a balcony (for night-time wine slurping). Oh and it has to be in Greece. We find all we require by booking through Kosmar.

Kosmar claim to be the UK's No 1 specialist travel company to Greece and it's easy to see why. An independent company with over 23 years experience, they don't offer huge discounts or fancy frills with their holiday packages as their prices are extremely competitive to start with. We are travelling to Crete next year with them in the children's summer holidays and are paying less than £1500 for a family of four (including all insurances and supplements). Mind, we had to book before the brochure was actually published to get what we wanted. We have found that the apartments suitable for families are snapped up pretty quickly. As it was we were lucky to book ours, as it was the last apartment left in the accommodation we wanted. I have found that a lot of people who use Kosmar become regular customers.

The Brochure
This is essential reading matter when choosing our annual holiday. It tells me everything I need to know about each island, the resorts and the accommodation. So far I have found the descriptions to be accurate and truthful. If a resort is situated on a steep hill or is miles from amenities it tells you. You are often advised to carry a torch for late night returns. There is always a warning if the accommodation is close to an airport in case the noise disturbs the holidaymakers. We have had a couple of holidays close to the airports but can honestly say it has never spoiled our holiday, on the contrary sometimes it has been quite entertaining watching the aircraft landing and taking off. There is also a lot of information about what to expect when visiting Greece, such as the mosquitoes, lack of kettles and strange plumbing systems.

The brochure is colourful and well set out; each islands page is a different colour for easy reference. It gives lovely descriptions of each place and just flicking through it again makes me itch to book another holiday. Just opening at any page I am tempted by this:
'Like Rhodes the friendly little holiday island of Kos has a busy main town, with a Crusader castle and lively nightlife, some fine beach resorts a mountain range providing a dramatic backdrop to the green and fertile interior, and an international airport for easy access'.
Sounds idyllic, doesn't it?

Destinations
Kosmar offer holidays to over fifty Greek resorts, catering for all age groups and all types of holiday. They introduce new islands and resorts each year to give their customers maximum choice. This year amongst old favourites such as Corfu, Crete and Zante, newer destinations include Ithaca, Alonissos and Finikounda. This year we travelled to Skiathos, which is an absolute gem of an island. We have in the past visited Santorini and would recommend that particular island to everyone after a peaceful relaxing holiday.

The Reps
One thing I abhor about package holiday is the tour companies representative (apologies to any of you who have been one). I still shudder at the memory of an all-inclusive holiday we endured (the whole experience was cack), where all the new arrivals were herded into an underground, airless room. We were then subjected to two hours of sales spiel from the pushy teenage reps who attempted to intimidate us all into purchasing overpriced excursions. We only went along cos of the promise of a free drink; we had forgotten we were all-inclusive. We had also wanted to sign the children up for the kids clubs but after seeing the reps decided that our children would be better off with us, poor lambs.

Kosmar reps are different. Always smartly dressed in a very bright orange and blue uniform. Attentive, but never pushy, we have never had any problems with these reps. Our rep in Skiathos, Ben, was pleasant, informative and knowledgeable about the island. His welcome meeting was hilarious as he didn't have a proper map of the island and used his souvenir tea towel complete with ouzo stains instead. He gave us a list of excursions but we found they were no higher priced than others offered on the island. We have always found the reps are easy to contact and very approachable.

Accommodation
The majority of Kosmar accommodation are self-catering apartments, a few being bed and breakfast. Each one we have stayed in has been simple, but clean and pleasant, with basic self-catering facilities. The owners generally live on site and are usually very nice and friendly. This year we had a double-glazed bungalow with two bedrooms, which was close to the pool area without being overlooked by others. The complex was set in its own well-tended grounds, well away from any roads (it was a bit of a trek to the main resort - took about 5 minutes!). Kosmar regularly checks the pool areas. I had read on Holidays Uncovered that a lot of people who had holidayed at these apartments last year had ear infections from the pool, so maybe it was being more closely monitored. None of the Kosmar accommodation we have seen has been overly big or high-rise, the majority being only two storeys high and with never more than a handful of rooms or apartments, so it never gets too crowded.

Flights
Kosmar fly from many UK airports, Gatwick and Manchester being the main ones. We always fly from Newcastle and haven't had a problem so far in getting a flight to whichever destination we fancy. One thing that really annoys me are flight supplements, but I have noticed that Kosmar's aren't too bad, we usually pay about an extra £100 for the entire family to fly from Newcastle. The aeroplanes Kosmar uses are not the norm. This year we flew by IslandFlug, an Icelandic company, I think they must have been the Icelandic equivalent of EasyJet as there were no films or entertainment throughout the flight and the interior was very basic. Actually the exterior was very basic too, I now refer to them as Meccano Jet. This is indicative of all airlines we have used when going through Kosmar. We prefer daytime flights and have found that Kosmar tend to offer times that suit us. It's awful having to vacate your accommodation at midday and hang around until late at night especially with children so daytime flights are ideal.

Transfares to and from the airport
The transfer times are detailed in the brochure and are very accurate. We did have a minor disruption with our transfer to our resort in Skiathos as a herd of mad goats and even madder farmer decided they wanted to take an amble down the main road, but I actually found it quite funny to hear our Greek coach driver screaming obscenities at the poor beasts. Transfer times back to the airport are posted a few days before departure and we found that we had no problems there either.

Special Offers, Car Hire and Travel Insurance
Kosmar offer two-centre holidays, discounts for children (if you are quick), two weeks for the price of one (at selected times) and discounted car hire. They insist on each holiday member having appropriate travel insurance and offer a very attractive policy.

Prices
As I said before, Kosmar are extremely competitive with their prices. The average cost per person is around £400 for a fortnight's holiday, in peak season. We have been fortunate to secure a free child place for next year and get a £20 discount for our second child. This doesn't sound like a good deal until you total up the entire holiday and compare it with other companies. Thomson's prices were well over £2000 for the four of us.

Booking
Kosmar have their own website, where all the information is exactly the same as in the brochure apart from the fact that you can book the holiday of your choice on-line. I found this very handy when pricing out the total cost of my trip. I prefer to book through a travel agent as you can usually get free insurance and if you use Co-op TravelCare as I do, can have points put onto your Dividend card (at least enough points for a few bottles of decent wine).


I think the only fault I can find with Kosmar is that the holidays tend to sell out very quickly so early booking is essential. I have no hesitation in recommending this company to others who wish to book a low cost, hassle free holiday; just remember to leave a few holidays for me to choose from please!

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“Kosmar: ”

☆☆☆☆☆

written by axp on 13/05/2005

Kosmar:
The times of holiday changed as they could not fill up the flight - we were placed on a different flight from Bristol to the Midlands, then onto Greece. We were Due to arrive 11 am, now will arrive at midnight so we will miss a day of the holiday, and we are coming back 8 hours earlier aswell. No compensation as time change is 10 hours not 11, terrible service.

Stilliard's Response to 193163_axp's Review

Written on: 24/06/2005

I agree with this comment, we heard a few weeks ago that our flight has been changed from 10am to 7pm, which means that we loose the day, and again we come back earlier than advertised. And trying to speak to someone about it...... I rang and rang and rang, eventually contacted another department to see if they could help, Waste of time, wouldn't let me speak and kept saying we can't help you ring back the other department, which is very frustrating, when you have been trying to do that for that last two days. Then they put the phone down on me. I won't be travelling with Kosmar again.

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