We visited these apartments during the summer of 2011. This was the fourth time we had been to the island and our third visit to Skala so our expectations were high.
However, our holiday was spoilt by Elisabeth's attitude to us, once she realised we would not be spending a large amount of money or time at the hugely overpriced pool bar (2.5 euros for a can of coke!)
In addition to this, there were 3 incidents which Elisabeth dealt with in a very rude manner.
Firstly the bar-b-que; we had booked 4 places and intended to go but a medical emergency meant we had to cancel at the last moment. We later received a note from her saying that we would have to pay 30 euros as she would be out of pocket for the food she had bought. When I discussed this with her she was very rude and walked away.
Secondly, when I pointed out part of the swimming pool edge where my daughter had cut her foot, she said that the pool could not possibly have caused the cut. Once again she seemed to forget the fact that, as her customers (not her "guests"), we had the right to be treated with respect.
Lastly, the information document. We had not filled this in as we did not think it necessary or legal. She chose her moment carefully and approached my daughter, whilst on her own, demanding that the form be filled in. Threats were made about removing our passports if this "instruction" was not complied with.
People say that she is extremely friendly. Well I can assure you that she is the rudest hotel proprietor I have ever met.
When we were there, even the so called "in crowd" were scared of crossing her. One guest was heard to say how he was "so relieved" that he was not responsible for the fault with his air con system.
In addition to this, other guests frequently made fun of how strict Elisabeth's poolside rules were saying "It's OK to dive, Elisabeth isn't watching." When someone broke a glass by the pool, his daughter said, "Well you'd better get packing because you'll have to go home now!"
If you have children who like to enjoy themselves when they are in the pool, this is not the place for you. She keeps watch on everybody like a stern headmistress, and whenever anyone steps out of line in the slightest way, she sends one of her staff to remind them of the rules.
It seems that if you want to keep yourself to yourself and not spend time socialising with her at the bar then Elisabeth resents this.
We would not return to the Andreas Apartments unless there was a change in management.
We returned to the Andreas Studios in August and had a wonderful time. Elisabeth and her staff worked so hard to make sure that our holiday was restful and idyllic. Nothing was too much trouble. The entire complex is spotless. Elisabeth's high standards and many kindnesses really did make the holiday extra special. Many thanks!
Paul and PennyThis year was our second holiday in Andreas Apartments, although we have stayed in Scala many times. In our experience these apartments are without doubt the cleanest and best maintained. Over the period of the two holidays we have grown to love Elizabeth and admire the way she manages the pool area. It is a haven of calm and quiet. This is undoubtedly the reason she has so many guests returning to enjoy a totally relaxing experience. I hope that Thompson will enable Elizabeth to provide the same quality of care for many years to come.
Stayed at andreas studios for the 1st time this year with my other half.
These are the cleanest apartments in Greece. Rooms cleaned EVERY day for 2 weeks with towels/bed changed every 2 days.
Elisabeth takes a lot of getting used to but once you know her she is easy to understand.
We'll definitely book again.
Only 24 hours before we arrived at Andreas apartments the resort of Skala witnessed its most horrific bush fires in memory. The whole resort was evacuated with lose of power and water.
Our reception was very warm and welcoming by Elisabeth and her family, it's difficult to imagine how hard they worked to prepare for new arrivals after the fires.
The same day we attended a wedding which took place at Andreas apartments. 40+ guests attended and was a fantastic event. We genuinely thought we were invited to witness the wedding and share a toast of champagne. How surprised were we to find a fantastic spread laid on, the evening partied on into the early hours. We meet some great people that night who would all agree it was a credit to Elisabeth and her family who worked unbelievably hard for the wedding to go ahead.
The apartments were spotlessly clean and maintained daily.
We rarely dragged ourselves from the pool area during the day as we found it most relaxing and maintained spotlessly clean. The pool bar offered us everything we needed.
We've travelled
Elisebath and family, keep up the good work and see you next year.
Lee and Nina
X X
We have returned from our third holiday at The Andreas Apartments, and once again had a fantastic time - many thanks to Elisabeth, her family and staff for all their hard work. Two weeks of pure relaxation!
Hi Lauren,just to let you know we were there when the fires started and sent to some dump in poros,would have perfered to stay on the beach with our bottle of vodka,and yes the reps were a joke,hadnt got a clue.As for the cpl gettin married it went a head we were all invited,and to be fair to Elizebeth she put on a good night for them.We didnt need to evacuate at all,as their were 3 fire breaks before the hotel,and the staff stayed there all night,no water or electric tho untill 4.30pm on thur.Fortunatly we had a car a stayed away till it was ok to return.
Hello again, thanks so much to everyone who posted back to me before my holiday. We returned a couple of weeks ago and had a thoroughly enjoyable holiday the only downside was that on our last night we were evacuated because of huge fires all over skala - a very unpleasant experience indeed! After we left the apartments we were sent down to the beach front where at one point fire blew out into the road and people were running for their lives! A long sleepless night followed and we were eventually taken to poros at 4:30am but thankfully we had all of our luggage and our plane left on time the next day. I have to say a very strongly worded letter will be on its way to thomson as the reps just cracked under the pressure. It was clear they didnt know what they were doing and at one point one rep denied she was a rep at all (despite the fact she was wearing a uniform!). The first choice, kosmar etc reps were up and down the beach in fluorescent jackets with water, giving information, telling people what to do and generally controlling the situation.
Hello Lauren,
Just go and enjoy yourself with your boyfriend, start off at the pool and make sure you go to the BBQ on Tuesday evening, make a point of speaking to Elisabeth and Denis and make them your friends as many others have done, Diane and I have just returned from a fantastic fortnight and have added to our list of Christmas cards we must send.
Hi there Lauren
Please take time to read my comments, the Andreas appartments are wonderful!
Im 24 and look younger, i am also a relaxed person and my boyfriend and i had great time.
Do not worry about the negative comments, its just peoples opinion. By the sounds of you, what you have said i think you will enjoy it as much as i did!
Let me know.
lydz_sugar@hotmail.com
Hi there, my boyfriend and I have just booked a holiday to the andreas apartments for two weeks time, and after reading some of the comments here to be quite frank I'm now quite worried that I'm not going to enjoy my holiday. I am in no way jumping to conclusions but it seems that the owner of the complex does not like younger people staying at the accomodation. My boyfriend and I are both 20 years of age, and mature, relaxed and friendly people, but we do however, look younger than we are, so I fear we may not be treated with the manners and respect received by some of the people who have posted positive comments here. I also find it interesting that there is such a huge extreme of opinion - how can a person be so nice to some holidaymakers and then not to others?!
I have recently returned from The Andreas Appartments.
It was a fantastic 2 weeks, the place was stunning. The views were magnificent, it was well kept all around.
I am 24 and its not just catering for the maturer person, its ideal if you want a relaxed atmoshere.
I felt very at home there, everyone who was there were very friendly. The rooms were very clean and the terrace we had we loved.
The bar and pool area was a great place to go to just chill out and that again was a very clean area.
I really enjoyed my 2 weeks at the Andreas Appartments, with thanks to Elizabeth and all the staff who were lovely! Will certainly be coming again very soon.
My wife and myself have just returned from our second visit in two years to the Andreas Studios and Apartments.
I have just returned from a holiday in Scala staying at the Andreas II. I do not usually bother to post comments on websites bet felt I had to this time due to our experiences at the apartments and to help anyone make a decision to / not to stay there.
Firstly, there is a huge difference between Andreas I and Andreas II; they share the same complex, look similar but are the Andreas II are generally not as nice, e.g. the Andreas II apartments are smaller, further away from the pool, are generally not in as nice a position Our had almost a building site outside and the shower didn't even have a shower head holder!
Secondly, the owner Elisabeth. I'm sure you will read through this site and find comments praising her, (probably repeat visitors / her!!), and find negative comments about her attitude and rules. I'm afraid I fit into the latter category of having a negative opinion of our experience as I found her rude and aggressive. We were spied on, shouted at and questioned about why we wouldn't let the cleaner in when we had had a lie in until 10-00am, (mid week not the last day). Sorry I though I was on holiday to relax not be questioned!!!
Reading through the comments I am coming to the conclusion she does not want people younger than 30 or so, or with kids at her apartments - Fine but it should say so in the brochure!!!
PS - don't read too much into comments around the BBQs - it €15 each! You can eat far nicer food in the town for that!
Kefalonia is a stunning place marred only by the majority of the islanders attitudes towards animal welfare. Imagine Cruella D'Ville of the kitten world and you have our 'hostess with the leastess' Elisabeth. In Kefalonia it is now totally normal for holiday makers to feed cats and dogs due to the increasing numbers of them - islanders largely disagree with neutering, despite the valiant efforts of Kefalonia Animals Trust to re-educate. We fed a cat living in a drain below our apartment because she was emaciated and had 3 tiny beautiful kittens. I'm not unrealistic - I know not everyone like cats, but you'd have to be a hardhearted battleaxe not to let this little family tug at your heartstrings. Which is exactly how I would describe Elisabeth the manager. With no prior request for me to stop feeding the cats, last Friday I faced a tirade of aggression from this poisonous witch, the like of which I have never experienced, especially from someone I was actually paying as a guest! What a joke. This woman will ingratiate herself when you're handing over your Euros, but God help you if you upset her! We actually saw her watching our apartment every morning after this! With help from the above mentioned KAT charity, we took the mother to the islands only vet and had her neutered, however I have returned home very upset and concerned about the future welfare of our little friends because of Elisabeth's nasty attitude.
We have just returned from a fantastic fortnight at the Andreas Apartments in Skala. We cannot thank Elisabeth and her family enough for the brilliant way they looked after us: These apartments are exceptional: We had a wonderfully relaxing two weeks and look forward to our return next August. Thanks again, Elisabeth!
This is the 3rd time I've tried to add a comment here, so here goes, maybe it will be 3rd time lucky.
We decided to take a late deal through Thompsons to Skala but with accommodation on arrival.This in itself was a good saving. To be allocated an appartment at the Andreas studios was like winning the jackpot! The appartments can only be described as in pristine condition . The view from our balcony was beautiful. The pool and the bar area again was excellent. For people who enjoy lively holidays with plenty of noise this wasn't the place to come but if you wanted to relax it was perfect . We stayed for a week another week would have left us truly horizontal . Elisabeth was a smashing host and the negative comments can only come from people who expected a totally different kind of atmosphere. We only got back today but our first job tomorrow will be to pop into our travel agents to thank them and recommend it highly.
The reason I put good and not excellent against location is that it is a good 10 minute walk to the beach and a 15 minute uphill walk back.This wouldn't deter me from going back but for people with poor mobility it would be a problem.
Have just returned from Andreas Apts Skala and really enjoyed it. We found Elizabeth very friendly and helpful. The apartments are excellent, clean and well appointed. We found the location very restful and relaxing. Would have no hesitation in coming again or recommending this location to anyone. Everyone we spoke to at the apartments said how much they were enjoying it.