Koni Village Apartments

"Read this review of Koni Village & Stalis to help you have a better holiday"

We arrived back to sunny Gatwick (not!) last night, having spent an enjoyable two weeks stay at Koni Village, Stalis, Crete. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 children. There is so much information to give you, that I will endeavour to try and highlight as many things as possible for you to have a wonderful time in Crete.

Firstly, you have to accept that you are in a foreign country, where quite a few things are done differently. It's no good expecting the same high standards as the UK for everything, you are just not going to get it. In Crete, there is a relaxed atmosphere to virtually everything, some would say there is no sense of urgency and others may say that it's a Health & Safety Officers nightmare!

We DID enjoy our holiday for about 95% of the time, but it's the 5% that I need to bring to your attention for you to have a 100% holiday. The Koni Village complex as a whole is an agreeable place. There are 2 swimming pools, a small quieter one at the front of the property and a larger busier one near the bars. We spent several days at the busier pool. Both pools are clean and well looked after. Next door to the larger pool is the restaurant. Although the food and drinks are nice here, you are a captive audience and so the prices are higher than elsewhere. A good tip is to go a further 100ft to the on site basic Super Market and buy your beers there (eg Amstel can E1.35) and take them to the pool area. You will save around 50%. They can't say anything because you bought the drinks on site. The bar has several tv's which usually screened English football matches (although they can't get ITV) so you can keep up with what's going on football wise. Next door to the bar are two pool tables. They cost E2.00 a game and the tables are not even, the balls have chips on them and there is not chalk. The table football game in between then was not working. There are 5 computers behind the pool tables. They cost E1.00 for 15 minutes, so you can sit there and hope you don't get a cue in the back of the head whilst looking of Facebook etc.

The Koni Village rooms were cleaned every 2 or 3 days, so you have to pace yourself with the towels. I only found 4 silverfish all holiday, so not bad really. The toilet paper must go in the bin and not down the toilet, so a room spay maybe required after all that lovely Cretan food. You get 2 toilet rolls at the beginning of your holiday and you have to buy the rest! The Koni Village owners know that you need air conditioning, so they charge a massive E55.00 a week!!! So budget for this. A very clever trick here, is to take your room key off of the heavy room number brass tag (it's tricky, but worth it) that you place into a slot to turn on the electricity. That way you leave the tag in the wall with the electricity running and thus the air conditioning on all day, so that when you return to your room it is nice and cool, instead of coming back to a boiling hot room! You are rather dependant on your fellow guests as to how much sleep you get. We had about 3 bad nights due to loud Irish girls drinking outside and people returning from nearby Malia nightclubs in the early hours.

The Koni Village staff are in the main reasonable, but they all seem to smoke. They all work such long hours so you're not really going to get any dynamic staff, especially near the end of their season. Occasionally they come over as rude or sharp, for instance, our door handle broke (which was very loose when we arrived) and when replacing it the man intimated that we would have to pay for it! I immediately spoke to the Thomas Cook rep Charli who said we would not pay for it. We didn't. We did hear about things being stolen from other people's rooms, but as Crete has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, there is a possibility that it may have been a guest? Koni village is located up the hill from the main Beach Road, so it's about a 15 minute walk away. We found it OK though.

We did book 3 trips with Charli. We knew we could buy cheaper elsewhere through high street shops, but with 2 children, we wanted peace of mind. We booked the Crete Highlights tour which includes Knossos, we did the Jeep Safari (with real Land Rover Jeep's, not Suzuki's) and booked the Spinalonga Boat Trip. All 3 trips were very enjoyable. The guides were either English or spoke good English. All were very well informed. I would say, that you have to save up to go on these as they were not cheap, but they are an essential part of your holiday memories!!

We also decided to hire out a car for 2 days. We chose Caravel on the Beach Road in Stalis. Under no circumstances should you ever hire anything from these thieving lying bast****! We were told that a Hundai i10 would be E80.00 for 2 days and that will include absolutely everything including insurance and that the car would be ready the following for us to jump in and go. When we arrived, the car wasn't even there! Not only that, the man said that it was E80.00 plus another E20.00 for insurance (that we had been told that it was inclusive less than 12 hours earlier) and then they said they wanted another E10.00 for theft! So the E80.00 had become E110.00. Then I had to walk the 15 minutes back to Koni Village to get my credit card (despite already paying them in cash) as they wanted the details for security. They had not told us about this the night before. They we had to wait with our 2 children for over 2 hours for the car to arrive. They said they were going to give us an upgrade because of the non arrival of the vehicle, but as we were virtually loading up they changed their minds. So there was a car standing in front of us going nowhere. They said the car would arrive in 15 minutes, another lie. They said that they were at the petrol station putting fuel in, another lie as it arrived empty! We therefore had to limp to the petrol station to put fuel in. They even did not allow us to bring the car back 2 hours later! So DO NOT rent from this company and please tell anyone you know that is visiting Crete about this company. They also have branches in Heraklion and Hersonissos! I shall be taking this further..........

On a great note, the Cretan food is stunning! We tried shark, swordfish, calamaris, octopus, snails, Greek salads, souvlaki etc etc. We eat out every night and had some awesome food (except at the Chinese Summer Palace on Beach Road, Salis, next door to the English run Bar Code bar). The quality of the food is well below that at home. The best restaurants on Beach Road in Stalis are Jannis Golden Heart Restaurant and Knossos. You really MUST go to both of these places, they are brilliant! For a treat, try a pancake at the Creperie with a mad man with the bell...what a character! However, the jewel in the crown has to be Rodamanthis Traditional Cretan Taverna in Mochos (in the mountains high above Stalis). You must visit here...it's a crime not to!!! It's very cheap, very good food, very friendly staff and very attractive surroundings!

Its great to see the Koni Village Apartments are still well liked. I have been coming to the same place since i was about 10......im now 25. I now have a daughter of 2 and am certainly going to consider Koni for another holiday in the near future.

The staff in all parts of the complex are very helpful and honest and you will find that they will try and help you any way they can.

The complex is on the side of a hill so could be difficult for people with walking problems.

But on the up side the view is great.

Its not 4 star, but first rate for value and cleanliness and you get what you have have paid for.

I stayed here May 2008. All the staff where friendly and helpful. All areas well maintained and clean. I would stay here again.

Just returned from the Koni Village and had a good stay at this complex in Stalis. Having read the other reviews, I'd say there are generally some fair comments, if you are worried about the much mentioned hill to the higher up apartments, then unless you are old, aged or infirm, I would suggest that it isn't an issue. Anyone who is fit and healthy will not have a serious a problem, except the odd moan.

The complex itself is very nice, clean and a good size. The main swimming pool is a good size but the second pool is much smaller. This is good though as the small chill out pool can only be used by adults, so those wanting a quiet sunbathe won't be disturbed by shrieking kids. Sadly, holidaymakers put towels down hours before they use the sunbeds, meaning you have to get up early to get a sunbed or reserve one.

The food isn't anything special but contrary to a previous reviewer, it isn't expensive either, as snacks go you will be OK at Koni. The pool tables are however overpriced at 2 Euros per game, most tables in the resort are 1 Euro. The bar area is nice, the staff were good and the bar is open until you stop spending. Another quibble is the lack of toilet roll in the communal toilets, I got caught short more than once, not pleasant after you have dropped the kids off at school.

The rooms at the hotel are a super size, nice and spacious and the cleaners are in thrice weekly.

The shop on the complex is decent, well priced and also stocks a nice selection of newspapers and magazines, should you want to catch up with developments back in Blighty.

The hotels location isn't the best, located on the wrong side of a busy road, but if you take the underpass and then a short walk it doesn't take long to get to Stalis.

All in all it is a good hotel, worthy of 8 out of 10, for your average holiday maker. Sadly the holiday is now over and it's back to the grindstone.

The location of the Koni Village Apartments in Crete was not ideal. They are quite a way from the beach and resort centre. The roads are very narrow with little in the way of pavements, and you take your life into your own hands whilst walking, due to the amount of quads and scooters on the roads. The apartments are situated on a hillside. If you get a 'lower' room it's not too bad, but if you get a high number room it's terrible. There are no lifts and hundreds of stairs to climb. The people of the resort are very friendly, and the restaurants are excellent. Our favourites were 'La Pasterie' and 'Cresta' by the sea. The food was superb and not too pricey. For an English breakfast or a Sunday Lunch we recommend 'The Rose and Crown'.

We can't wait to go back to the Koni Village Apartments it was the best holiday ever and the kids, who are 13 and 11, didn't want to come home. The food is great and the resort is great and the weather for May/June was lovely.

The resort of Stalis is something special and that is reflected in the Koni Village. It has an extraordinary feel to it and is lots fun. Its is resort for everyone with a strong feeling of togetherness and safety. The apartments are well equipped taking in to consideration it is a foreign hotel and there was also plenty of hot water from a strong power showers. The beds are comfy and sheets changed regularly. It's clean! The hill however is very steep, those with walking difficulties who really struggle should maybe give it a miss :( but still I recommend visit stalis!

Overall the Koni Village Apartments were a lot better than anticipated. The bar, Taverna and supermarket in the resort are very expensive whereas eating and drinking in the town is a lot better value for money, for example, a good English breakfast in stalis, cost €3, the same breakfast in the resort cost €7.

The pool area is well maintained with plenty of sun beds and umbrellas. There is also a tennis court for the more athletic among you.