Argaka, Limone Villas

Hi all, we stayed in Villa 4 from 04/09 until 14/09/2013. There was just myself and my wife and I have to say the reports we read on various review sites made us a little nervous.

It didn't start well as Olympic had given us the wrong Villa number (not what you want at gone midnight after a full day travelling), there was no one on site to advise us so I had to call the emergency number, which meant not only did I have the wrong information but it cost me a small fortune to get in touch and resolve the problem! Also I felt the Rep I spoke to was very unhelpful almost to the point of being rude, as if I had interrupted her night! On several occasions I had to stop and ask her to listen as she was talking over the top of me and repeating back the wrong information. She also made me feel as if this was my problem and my fault, not sure how that worked?

Anyway, we were advised to go into Villa 4 as this had been set up for us and the key was in the door.

On entering the property we were pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't "Ye Olde Torture Chambre" but a fairly nice, spacious, if a little dated open plan kitchen/diner/living area. Due to the time we had a quick coffee and retired for the night.

The bedrooms were both clean and presentable and although the bathroom was old style and a bit dark and dingy but was clean and serviceable.

Next morning we had a good look around, the Villa was generally okay, in the past we have stayed in good quality hotels (4 & 5 Star usually) so we know what we are measuring against. For a 2 star Villa I have to say this met the requirement for what we wanted. There were reports of cockroaches in Villa 4 but we saw none and in fairness I think anywhere abroad if you don’t keep to good standards of hygiene you will get all manner of bugs. We washed down all work surfaces and I bought insect repellant and although we did get the occasional ant we were generally bug free.

A bit of an annoyance was the pool, I don’t feel that it spent enough time filtering and was a little cloudy for the first few days we were there. It did clear after Nikos had been and put in some extra chemicals, he assured us this problem was due to a family with children putting on copious layers of sun cream then going into the pool, the pool was cleaned and water tested regularly by either Nikos or his son so it was not a matter of poor maintenance. On the up side the loungers provided were awesome! Lovely Rattan style with 4” thick cushions and matching tables. In addition there were fruit trees with lemons, limes and pink grapefruit which Nikos said to help ourselves to. Finally on the pool/garden area I do agree that there is no privacy between villas 4 & 5, this does need to be addressed as a matter of priority.

We were provided with a brand new Renault Clio which was very nice and had all the bells and whistles we needed and was reasonably economic on fuel although the system of paying for a tank of fuel up front isn’t my favorite way to do it.

In summary, we booked a 2 star villa and got a 2 star villa. I think anyone who would criticize this property is expecting too much. The villa was situated in a quiet area but still within easy reach on the Kiosk for food, drinks etc and the large Supermarket in Polis is only 10 minutes in the car. Polis and Latchi have loads of reasonably good quality and value taverna’s and eateries.

I do feel that the villas need some renovation but due to the current financial situation in Cyprus and Greece in general it is difficult to fund such work. I spent an hour with Nikos who owns the villas and talked through all of this, he is more than aware of the short comings of the properties and has plans to address this but cannot at present. Nikos is a very nice man and a realist and I wish him good luck and best wishes for continued success.

Would I return? Yes, I would, if I wanted a good value villa, in a quiet and relaxing location. Furthermore, when we go to this type of property it is mainly for the outside space, We spend enough time indoors at home and when on holiday we try to spend every minute we can outdoors which is what Limone does well. This is not a luxury villa it is a utility villa, it does what it says on the tin and provides lovely outside space, a nice pool and relaxing atmosphere, if what you want a luxury villa then don’t go.

I booked into these villas and stayed last week

Initially put in to Villa 3 - To summarise,

there was someone fixing the pool when I arrived so I could not use it on my day of arrival

i went out for food after putting down my suitcase and then went back to the airport to pick up my friends

When we all got back to the villa at midnight we looked the place over, our findings were as follows:-

Cockroach on the dining table

The villa furniture was dated and dirty

The towels on the bed were dirty with hand prints on them

No welcome pack to detail how to get AC as the owner/manger of the villa keep them on them as you have to pay for the AC via them directly - so first night without any AC

Used sanitary products in the bathroom bin - clearly not been cleaned since the last people visited

Musty smell when you walked in

The bathroom was uncleaned with clear stains in the bath - again not cleaned

Sofa was not just dated by dirty - like it had been picked up off street

1st night of our holiday - no shower, 30+ degrees heat with no AC - dirty surroundings = no sleep or shower after all of the travelling

Filthy bath mat

Stains around the toilet on the left hand side

Brown stains on the wardrobe door

Brown stains on the double bed frame (dont know what they were)

Light chords covered in dust

No security light so when you drive up the narrow drive way to the villa - you have to be carefull

No other villas (4 of them) where in use when we arrived

PLus side: Pool was clean and fixed the next day - sun loungers are new

We complained to our rep at Olympic holidays on the Thursday after arrival, unhelpful, unsupportive, met us at the villa on the FRIDAY (after all 4 of us slept in the villa my father had renteed on cushions on the floor)

Olympic holidays then advised they would not move us to hotel unless we paid more money - then offered us ike for like in villa number 4 at Limone Villas

We looked at Villa number 4. it had just been cleaned, the people who looked after the villas tried to tell the rep we had left the fridge in number 3 open and there was only 1 key - the 1 that we as guests had - this was rubbish as they had been in to Villa 3 and moved our food and drink from the firdge in Villa 3 to the fridge in Villa 4 summary:-

Again very dated, kitchen, front room and bathroom were clean but dated. I had to shower with flip flops on as it didnt feel clean

The pool was dirty on arrival - no one came to clean it, so we didnt use it the whole holiday

Didnt want to cook there, but on the last night I had to as I had run out of money (remember this is supposed to be a self catering holiday)

the GAS for the cooker had not been switched on for us to use, no instructions on this - fortunately the cleaner was in another of the villas that day and switched it on for me!

OVERALL it ruined my first 3 days of my holday and the last 4 were spent showing with flip flops on, no use of pool and for the last day when I had to cook - unable to use the cooker!

Would not recommend, or return

The Limone villas are in need of updating,refurbishing and cleaning! They appear to be quite run down. We had to be moved from no 4 because of a cockroach infestation. No 5 had less cockroaches but was still quite dirty. Your holiday will also depend on your neigbours as although each villa has its own pool there is nothing to separate the pool areas so you are on full view and not private at all. Good points are that the villa is spacious and set in a quiet area and within waking distance of one very good bar and restaurant. The Fly Again Bar.

A very quiet resort only 3 bars & restaurants.