Ok so where do we start?
We stayed at the Smaragdi apartments in Lambi just outside of Kos centre.
We could walk in to town in about 15 to 20 mins depending on the heat.
First impression – the outside looked nice and clean.
The reception area was quite large by Greek standards and plenty of seating.
The greeting we received from the lady on reception desk was warm and welcoming.
Not that it is particularly relevant but she was Australian/Greek and spoke very good English.
Now we can only comment specifically on our room which was number 6.
Again, first impressions was that it was clean and tidy with plenty of room.
You walked into the small but well equipped kitchen area and immediately to the right was the first bedroom/seating area.
Next room along to the right was the main bedroom with 2 single beds.
Straight ahead was the bathroom/toilet.
Okay now the nitty gritty.
Good points – clean, plenty of space, very well equipped kitchen area.
The staff were friendly and welcoming.
The main person, the one who was there most of the time and does the cooking and drink service and the one who, in our opinion is the face of the Smaragdi was Maria.
She worked really hard and a lot of hours (From 9am-5pm then from 8pm to whenever).
She always had a smile on her face and makes some rather nice cakes (ask to try some)
In the 2 weeks we were there we had no problem getting a sun bed.
Bad points –
Serious lack of power points/sockets – the kitchen area was well equipped, as mentioned, with toaster, kettle, mini oven, coffee maker BUT only ONE power point!
Main bedroom had ONE power point which we found we had to keep switching electrical items between kettle (which we had to boil in there whilst making breakfast in the kitchen), electric razor, camera charger, hair dryer, toothbrush, mobile phones.
The other room also only had ONE power point and that was in a daft place just underneath the light switch.
As is the case in many apartments and hotels you are supplied a key with a key fob and the fob has to go into a slot to switch on the power for the apartment. No problem except when you come in at night… when you step in, turn to close the door it becomes very dark indeed. You then have to try and find the key hole to lock the door and then try and find the slot to put the fob in the slot which is in the first room round the corner. And no it wasn’t possible to separate the two.
I fortunately brought a small torch just in case of a power cut. Came in really handy for locking door at night.
Storage/closet space was ridiculously limited. We had a half length built in cupboard/hanging space which was in the kitchen area.
NO hanging space/area in either of the bedrooms. So all three of us had to make do with this very small area to put 2 weeks worth of clothes.
The daft thing is there is plenty of room to put a full size double wardrobe in the main bedroom.
It’s a self catering apartment however there is no eating area or more specifically no table to eat anything on. There was a small very wobbly plastic table on the balcony. Barely big enough for 2 to eat at but the way it wobbled meant that wasn’t really possible anyway.
The walls are thin. Fortunately it was a relatively quite intake of holiday makers. That said, everytime someone flushed the toilet it sounded like it was in your own room.
Outside:- The area around the pool was a little tired and needed some TLC.
A few broken tiles close to the edge of the pool were in need of replacement as they were sharp and dangerous. The ladder which allowed entry and exit to/from pool was loose – very loose!
Last but by no means least – BEDS!
Horrendous! The worst mattresses we have ever slept, sorry attempted to sleep, on.
Just to give us a fighting chance of any sleep we had to use the thicker bed cover and put that on first then the sheet. It made little difference. One of the mattresses actually made so much spring noise when moving that alone would have been enough to wake the dead.
Just for reference:- We personally found a few really nice places to eat. Three of our favourite…
Turn left on to the road when leaving the hotel and walk up the road about 5-7mins and the very first taverna is on the left opposite the fire station. This is a place we ate at several times and found the food and service excellent.
Continue down the road to the supermarket and turn right. Continue down this road for about 15-17mins and you will be just outside of Kos town centre. Just before you get that far look down the side roads for a place called Boomerang. A fantastic place to eat!
Finally…get to the square in Kos town and look out for Jumbo Style.
REALLY BIG PORTIONS! Great guy/owner – Australian/Greek.
Check out my blog for some pictures.
