Golden Beach, Filipidis Studios

My boyfriend and I spent a week in Golden Beach, this was my second time (from five years ago), boyfriends first time. We both had an excellent holiday and would definitely go back.

The Filipidis Apartments are beautiful, white and blue, really clean. Other people on the reviews state that there is no air conditioning - this is very rare in Greece and so those who have been to Greece before will appreciate this. We always take our own fan; it's about 12" in height so is perfect for the case. Balcony is a decent size with blue frosted glass between the apartments. Bathroom is of a small size, but perfect for a holiday. Bins changed every day - towels changed twice a week with linen. We purchased the safe, which cost €18 for the week - this is worthwhile and gives piece of mind.

The apartments are facing a campsite - to be honest this really did not cause any problems at all. Most noise came from people selling patio furniture and fish off vans along the road. Whilst in the room this could hardly be heard anyway. There are patio doors which also have a roll down shutter so this could be pulled down of a night and the door kept open keeping any of the mosquitoes out. We also bought citronella candles from the supermarket which worked late night to keep them away and also created a lovely atmosphere.

I would advise to buy repellent for the mosquitoes. When I came five years ago the wasps were much worse. There are a few flying around and they will come if you eat meaty foods - therefore it is best to eat later of the night as they aren't there then. My boyfriend got stung once on his feet, make sure you have after bite with you.

Favourite bars included Cavo d'Oro, the staff were very friendly, try the ham and cheese omelette and the fruit with waffle - delicious! They also have a happy 'hour'. Between 8-10pm cocktails are €4. For a fantastic view try Vigli's, you can see all across the bay - they do really nice frappe's and chocolate milkshakes.

Favourite places to eat - we tried quite a few different places but the best food and cheapest was 'Sotris' which is near the end of the bay. Typical meal cost €25 and I would advise the fried courgettes, cheese and ham pies and sole fillet ala cream with prawns! The food in the Vigli was also really nice, made even better with the fantastic view.

We were very disappointed with 'Fedra' - food was OK but service was awful - we waited twenty five minutes for a bottle of water and the restaurant wasn't even busy. The staff did not appear bothered that we were unhappy with the service provided.

The beach is gorgeous, but beware the sand is boiling hot - even though it's white! The sea is lovely, first few days the sea was like a mill pond, towards the end of the holiday the waves were really high around 5-6" - this wasn't a problem for us as it was really fun.

The weather was fantastic reaching 41 degrees on some days therefore we tended to stay in the shade till 1-2ish. We used a high sun factor (30) and did not burn.

The Thomson rep was OK but pushed the excess baggage allowance - only to find out at the airport that they weren't really that bothered and if you were over by a lot, it was €10 per kilo versus the £100 the rep told us it would be. We did not go on any trips, but would consider it next time. One of the restaurants towards the campsite runs a boat trip, which sounds very good. Transfers on the way back were unorganised - considering one of the reps has been there for twenty years.

Overall we had a fantastic time and will definitly go back to Golden Beach and the Filipidis apartments.

Other than there being no air conditioning at the Filipidis Studios in Thassos, it was good all round.

The rooms were clean and spacious, and the cleaner was excellent.

It is family run and very friendly. The daughter speaks very good English too. The Filipidis Studios are also in a good position for local tavernas and the beach.