Panmar Appartements

We arrived at Panmar Apartments at 1.30 in the morning we were greated by Yannis. He was friendly and so kind to make us a Greek salad, cheese pies, crusty bread and a bottle of water in the fridge. This was above and beyond anything we expected. In waking the next morning the views from the balcony were stunning. The apartments were spotless, comfortable and well maintained. The harbour and beaches were just a short walk away. Yannis also helped us with car hire, we were very well looked after. I will definitely stay here again.

Having not visited Greece or the Greek islands before we really didn't know what to expect but Panmar Apartments turned out to be a really good choice to enjoy Crete - its people, its spectacular, imposing mountains & its unbelievably clear blue seas. Our one bedroomed studio suited us perfectly - we over-looked the bay & the sea beyond, we were a few minutes from both the beaches & the local shops & restaurants. The balcony was perfect to enjoy the sunshine from early in the morning through to the evening. Yannis, the owner, was welcoming & helpful; he clearly took pride in his business & spent time chatting with guests. It's a couple of hours drive from Heraklion airport - a bit hairy in the dark but the superb vistas in daylight were amazing. We loved the whole experience.

Spent two weeks in a maisonette at Panmar (we were in number 7, next to number 8 which is the corner one you see in the brochures and website). The maisonette is very well equipped with kitchen items for 4 people and basic cooking facilities on the small electric hob and mini-oven. There are 2 balconies, one upstairs and one down, both looking out straight out to sea and to the left you look out over the village of Makrygialos which is just an easy 5 minute walk away. Downstairs is pretty much a full size studio with private terrace, kitchenette, bathroom with shower over bath (good hot strong water pressure and no floods!), dining table and chairs and sofa bed. Great size comfortable bedroom is upstairs with aircon, ensuite toilet, triple wardrobe, hanging hooks, dressing table, large balcony with good sun umbrella. The apartment was cleaned every 3 days (floors mopped, all rubbish removed, bedding and towels changed (they are professionally laundered and smelled clean and fresh though perhaps a little worn). Safe, aircon and wifi are included. There are plenty of electric sockets throughout the apartment and mosquito repellent plugs are provided (the little refill mats cost about 3euro for 45). The gardens are pretty (watered on a timer, in full bloom for our visit, very pretty with morning birds and dragonflies). We didn't have a problem with cats. We swept the balcony every day to keep the ants at bay but i wouldn't say they were a problem, just the usual meanderings and they never came indoors. It was a pleasure to stay somewhere where we had plenty of space and everything worked properly. The apartments are not newly built but they have been updated nicely with modern fresh curtains, good lighting and fixtures in the bathroom and toilet, hanging hooks for your convenience. There are wooden shutters on the windows and doors to keep cool. Seat pads are provided for comfort on the outdoor chairs. We loved our stay at Panmar, it was very peaceful and yet very very close to tavernas, beaches and good mountain walks. Yannis and his family were very welcoming and friendly and will advise you which restaurants are the best for different types of food (though to be honest we tried them all and they were all very good!). Yannis speaks several languages and his mother (lovely and very interesting greek lady!) also speaks german (which made for an interesting welcome chat!). Having explored a lot of Crete over the last 5 years this was our final corner to visit - Panmar was an excellent choice for our stay. I have no doubt we will re-visit! (sorry it is a lengthy review but when we were choosing where to stay there wasn't many reviews available so I've tried to give detail; below is a little about Makrygialos itself). Makrygialos is a lovely little holiday town with pedestrianised sea front with plenty of food and drink choices. We especially liked that we didn't have to run the gauntlet of waiters touting for your custom every night - the staff everywhere were friendly, polite, non-intrusive and certainly didn't try to drag you in. There was no need, they were all full anyway every evening! Lots of greek families, a few french and italian, not many english (though english is the common language). Many of the restaurants and bars have free sunbeds in front of them on the beach and will bring you drinks. It doesn't have wild night life or dancing clubs, it is very much a family or couples place - relaxed, laid back, friendly. There are plenty of little supermarkets, bakeries, 2 ATM's, bus service (we had a car so I can't say if its reliable), pharmacy, doctor, dentist. It was very hot during our stay, over 38 degrees for several days so we got up early to watch the sunrise from our upstairs balcony then went for walks - up to the minoan villa through olive groves (it's fenced so nothing to see but is a pleasant walk). Or up to Aspros Potamos (traditional village set in the mountainside) and on to the bottom of Pefki Gorge. There's a nice drive up to pefki and a walk down to the gorge from there too (it was too hot for us to walk it in one go - its a well made and easy enough path as its the E4 hiking trail but never underestimate the power of the sun and there are no shops along the way, just beautiful cretan countryside, olive groves, citrus groves, pine forests, heaven). You can walk to Green beach (Dhiaskari) or drive there or to other beaches. It's a very pretty coastline with lots of coves and beaches if you want to explore further afield (though there really isn't any need to go far at all!).

We stayed in one of the two-floor apartments and had lovely views of both the Libyan sea as well as Makry Gialos bay from our balcony. Panmar is situated in a quiet area so you will not be disturbed by any traffic or noice from beaches or restaurants. Still…only 3-5 min walk to two beaches, restaurants by the sea and super-markets & bakery. Ideal position in other words! No meals are included but you have all you need in the small kitchen to make your own breakfast and meals. No microwave-own or television, but we never use that on our holidays anyway so that was fine with us. Wifi is provided so you can check the news on you own lap-top if you like. The owner, Yannis, is very friendly and gives you plenty of information on arrival both about the apartment and restaurants nearby, and also knows a lot about the eastern side of Crete so if you plan to tour by car, just ask! Air-condititioning is provided in the upper bed-room and a fan on the first floor. Bring something for the mosquitos as there is plenty of them! Anti-mosquito wall-sockets are provided but you need to buy the tablets for them. So why not full points? There are some minor things that easily could be corrected to give a better total experience. -change the towels into new ones (the ones that are provided do not smell good so you do not want to dry yourself with them) -during our 6 nights stay there was only one time cleaning and towel-change. Although this is self-catering it would be so easy to just have a quick clean up and garbage taken out, (especially from the toilet) every second or third day. This would give the apartment a fresh feeling and also add to the total feeling of the whole stay. -somebody needs to take care of the garden. As it is now it is not well attended (some plants/trees will die out of lack of water) and it could be such a beautiful garden! - somebody would also need to take care of the cat-families in the garden.We know greeks tend to view cats and dogs in a slightly different way than we do, but still: the guests that come here are in the category of caring for animals. So - either no cats at all or take care of them… Happy cats can also add to a more happy feeling of the whole place. -Ants -there are lots of them moving around - so attend to this before they invade all the apartments. But still…these matters could easily be taken care of and give the place full points every time! This place has great potentials so why not bring them into full bloom?

Wir waren zum wiederholten Mal hier und es war wie letztes Jahr auch, obwohl, oder gerade weil man es bereits kannte, einfach Erholung pur. Zweckmässige Unterkunft und ich verzichtete die 2 Wochen gern auf einen Fernseher. Der herrliche Meerblick, diese Stille und die netten Einheimischen, 1 Glass Wein am Abend auf dem Balkon....was braucht man mehr, um sich zu erholen und die Seele baumeln zu lassen??? Wir werden nie wieder in ein Hotel gehen. Unbedingt zu erwähnen ist der Inhaber Yannis, der sich im Hintergrund hält und dennoch sehr zuvorkommend und hilfsbereit ist, wenn mann Fragen oder Probleme hat. Vielen herzlichen Dank, Yannis. Liebe Grüsse aus der Schweiz. André und Lilian