Greece Travel Review: Athens, Rhodes, Crete, Santorini, Meteora, Samaria Gorge Hike, Knossos Palace, Olympia Ruins Tour

I would insist on not using the tour company for our first 5-day portion on the mainland (Athens – Epidauros – Delphi – Olympia – Meteora). This company made terrible decisions and their staff were equally bad. The driver was unsafe; the guide was unsympathetic to having a large group (50+ people) and was constantly explaining sights when only a handful of people were close enough to listen. Both were in way too much of a hurry, rushing through important areas, yet wasting huge amounts of time with unnecessary bathroom breaks of 30min+ and wasting additional time discussing logistics in hotels when posting a simple 1-page info card could have covered all the same key details, and had us in our room / pool / etc 30 min sooner each time. This is one area where I’d like to hear from our travel agency as to why a smaller tour was not offered. They definitely exist, as we saw them in all the same sights, even by the same company.

I was only disappointed in one hotel. This looks like a hotel that's under construction and still 1-2 years before opening. Our "honeymoon villa" didn't look anything like the images on the website, nor like the photos on Booking.com. Totally false advertising, and if we paid $600E per night for that, I feel cheated. The room was very average, with elements that were actually quite poor. The sink in the upstairs bathroom was unusable due to poor design (faucet too close to vessel and water pours all over counter). The soap dispenser didn't work. The bed seemed old and unspecial for the "Honeymoon Villa" where you'd expect the best bed in the hotel. The downstairs bathroom had unfinished shower walls and the floor didn't slope properly so water built up really quickly. There were exposed wires throughout the villa, sticking up from the floor. Our friends, staying in two other villas, had significant problems due to poor design and bad workmanship in construction of the rooms. Showers leaked, front door locks didn't work, etc. It was like someone bought high quality fixtures, tile, etc and then had an amateur install everything in a hurry. Having said that, the staff were excellent, and the food was top-notch as well – all the breakfasts that we had plus a really nice dinner, using farm-to-table produce and family cooking.

Travel Company's Comments

Thank you, Blake, for taking the time to write a review and your comments are very important to us as we strive for excellence! I understand that your overall experience was truly outstanding with 2 concerns regarding the escorted mainland tour and a specific hotel in Naxos. 

For the escorted tour we have limited options of available suppliers to work with.  There are only 3 suppliers offering these tours and we have used all three in our travel itineraries.

Typically these local tour companies use deluxe motorcoaches in which some people may join the Nauplion and Olympia portion of the trip and then others will join from Delphi and Meteora portion of the trip.  
Because this was during the peak season indeed the tours were full.  We do offer totally private tours for 2 people, however they are quite expensive as you would have to pay for the driver, the guide, the guides hotels/meals and journey (plus your own).  Thus we were limited with options as far as a choice of a historical sightseeing tour. 

Also, there are no semi private tours offered with smaller busses or minivans.  The only private tours that are offered with smaller minivans are for small groups of friends or families.  These are private groups that are more affordable than 2 people traveling and we offer those small group tours as well.    

About the hotel in Naxos, we have stayed and have visited these villas/hotel several times. Naxos island is a rustic island that has limited hotel options offering deluxe services.
This specific hotel is actually the best on the island.  We contacted the hotel and they advised that they wished you had brought these observations to their attention during your stay.  The hotel explained that the unfinished shower walls are a typical design of the Cyclades islands and it’s the establishments style.  Also the hotel is looking to stay open in the winter time and they installed piping for heaters which are currently visible (but not dangerous) and they apologized for this.  

Overall though your experience and especially the service and food at the Naxos hotel was excellent and I am very happy for this!