Villa Giannis

Another fantastic holiday here, fourth time staying at this hotel and it was as good as ever, Maria greeting us with open arms each time. Maria and her team work so hard to give you the perfect holiday Greek night the best as always!

We’ve just returned from our first ever visit to Thasos where we spent two excellent weeks at the Sunray Hotel in Limenaria. On arrival we made our way into a nice little reception area to be welcomed by nobody for about ten minutes. Maria, the owner, eventually turned up and welcomed us to the Sunray and we completed formalities in a matter of moments. So, to the formalities, basically it was being given a room key and also being relieved of some cash. The optional air-conditioning costs 6 euros per day so we opted for that as it was absolutely red hot when we arrived. The safe is available at 10 euros per week so we took that option in return for a key and there is also a small Tourist Tax to pay which was a paltry 7 euros for the fortnight. While we were at it we booked for Maria’s legendary Greek Night on Tuesday at 16 euros each. Anyway, we were allocated room 204 and we decided to take the lift down one floor just because we could. We arrived at our room and it was a case of offering up the key card to the pad on the wall outside the door and pushing the door open. Once closed from the inside it couldn’t be opened from the outside without a key. The card was then slipped into the usual slot to work the electricity or so we thought. There were a few occasions when we left a light on when we went out and it was still on when we returned even though the key was in our possession. Anyway, we entered the room and, although there isn’t much of a wow factor, it wasn’t in any way displeasing to the eye. All the furniture matched and at first glance looked clean and functional. Immediately on the left as you pass through the door is the sink area complete with kettle and pointless cooker hood, there was nothing to cook on. I’d read previous reviews stating that a single ring cooker was located by the sink but we didn’t have one. We didn’t really want one in any case as we were on bed and breakfast and intended to eat out. As stated by others previously the lead for the kettle stretched across the sink when in use but we didn’t feel this was an issue of any real concern, just don’t have the kettle on while you’re running the tap. Underneath the sink is a cupboard housing the rubbish bin. Next on the left hand side is a tall cupboard split into three, the bottom section is for storage, the middle section housed the fridge while the top section contained the safe and room for a bit more storage. The safe had a digital entry pad on the front but the security panel had been prised off to reveal a key hole which overrides the keypad and opens the door with a simple turn. As stated previously we had been issued with a key at reception and I suspect that everyone’s key was the same but I can’t prove it. There was ample room for our valuables but we never felt nervous about leaving camera equipment outside of the safe when we went out as it would have been a bit of a squeeze. We also left jewellery and phones lying around without any worries. We were actually told by a guide on an excursion that there was a zero crime rate on the island which, if true, is very reassuring. There were also a couple of blankets stored in this cupboard though when you would actually need them is a mystery to me. Next on the left is a large wardrobe with easily enough hangers and space for our needs for the whole two weeks. Next comes the dresser complete with mirror, light and yet more storage space in the shape of a draw. There is enough space between the wardrobe and the dresser to store your empty cases. There is a small wall-mounted flat screen TV just past the wardrobe which we never even turned on so can’t comment on picture quality or channel choice. On the right hand side as you enter the room is the bathroom with the well reported Greek plumbing. It is big enough with a full-sized pedestal and large sink complete with a mirror and a light. The piece de resistance though is the shower and it takes a bit of getting used to. Water pressure and temperature are both fine but the shower head is mounted at waist height although it is removable. There is no hook any higher up on which to hang the shower so it becomes a hand-held operation and it makes everywhere really wet. The reason is that there is no cubicle or even a curtain; there is just a raised boundary around the shower area. It takes a few days to get used to the whole room becoming drenched but you stop worrying about it after a while and just get on with it. We just mopped up as best we could with the supplied bath mat and hung it out to dry every day. Another Greek ‘custom’ to endure is not throwing paper down the toilet but instead putting it in the waste paper bin provided. I’m sorry if it causes problems but my used paper went down the toilet. The bathroom is basically dark as the light above the mirror is the only one in there and it isn’t that powerful. Some toiletries and liquid soap are supplied along with a healthy supply of toilet roll of average quality. Towels are of good quality and they are changed every few days which is sufficient. The bathroom door is made of smoked glass but you can’t actually make out any detail through it and for some reason it opens both inwards and outwards and does not lock. The only thing I haven’t mentioned in the room is the bed; it is a double and on the firm side of being comfortable. We both seemed to come away with more bodily aches and pains than we arrived with courtesy of this bed. The bedding is clean and replaced around the same frequency as the towels which again is sufficient. We found ourselves alternating between having the air conditioning on and sleeping under the sheets or with the balcony door open with no sheets. The pillows are very thin and not the best quality to be honest but I managed to fold one in half to double up the thickness. I prefer a thick pillow but a lot of people will be fine with them as supplied I guess. There is a small bedside cabinet on either side of the bed proving yet more storage. The air conditioning unit is mounted just past the bed for some reason when logic would suggest in the middle would make more sense. As it turned out it was on the wife’s side of the bed so she was always moaning about being cold as I lay there sweating. There are bedside lamps on either side and also the main lights can be turned on and off while in bed. There are no ceiling lights and the main lights comprise a couple of spotlights near the TV and a further light to illuminate the kitchen area. So, time to look outside I guess. The balcony door only actually half opens and this open area is also covered by a fly screen. This makes it possible to have the balcony door open through the night without fear of being eaten alive in your sleep. There is a blackout curtain and a brown net curtain across the whole width of the window. Our net had a large rip in it when we arrived and was eventually taken down a couple of days before we left. It was not replaced. The air conditioning automatically shuts off when you open the balcony door and re-starts on closing it. During our first week it was simply too hot to sleep with the door open at night but we did try it a couple of nights later on. I’ll always prefer the cooling air conditioning to be honest though. On the balcony there are two chairs and a table, a washing line and several pegs. The balconies give no privacy whatsoever and everything you do is visible to other guests on either side. Our view, which I assumed would be a sea-view, actually turned out to be what I’d refer to as a side sea-view although we did have a nice view up the coast and into town. Immediately in front of us was an area of waste ground used for car parking along with some derelict buildings so not exactly a pretty sight. If you are on the other side of the hotel the view would be of the neighbouring property, the Blue View apartments. Just a final couple of thoughts regarding the room; you could hear most of what was going on in the adjacent bedrooms with the biggest nuisance being when someone fell asleep with their TV left on. With your balcony door open it seemed as if you could hear everything that anybody on that side of the hotel said. Also any passing traffic was quite loud and the early morning refuse collections woke me several times even with the door closed. On the occasional nights when there was entertainment provided it was impossible to sleep until it had finished. The Greek nights continued until after midnight so if you had an early start the next day it was a bit tough. The obvious plus side was that you could also hear the waves hitting the shoreline as you drifted off to sleep. Cleanliness was never an issue and the maid did a great job during our two weeks and we tipped her accordingly. She seemed to be able to sneak in and out while we were at breakfast. The only thing about the cleaning was that the bathroom was always really wet afterwards and, like when showering, it stayed wet for a long time. On the whole we were happy with the room despite the few negative points that I’ve mentioned above. Breakfast is served buffet style and comprises most of the things you would expect with few surprises. There is a good coffee machine and a not so good toaster. Basically it was just a two slice domestic toaster and a lot of the bread was small and difficult to extract once toasted. Luckily there was a supply of cocktail sticks which you could use to spear your toast and remove it from the toaster. Bread was always fresh and in good supply. Tea, coffee and toast aside you can also choose from plenty of biscuits and fresh cakes, cereals, pastries complete with a large selection of preserves. There was fresh melon most days, tinned peaches everyday, cold ham, cheese and salad items plus the obligatory olives. The hot food comprised the Greek version of sausages and bacon along with hard boiled eggs every day, fried eggs or omelette on different days, spinach and cheese pie, baked beans, tomatoes and some things I didn’t recognise. As has previously been mentioned there is a lot to choose from for such a small establishment but, after the first day, I stuck to cereal, toast, fruit and coffee. My experience with the hot food wasn’t that great to be honest; I found the tiny cocktail sausages a bit undercooked for my liking and I wasn’t keen on the bacon. The beans seemed incredibly salty and herby so not really to my taste either. My main gripe though was that nothing seemed particularly hot. The majority of other guests were tucking in happily so it’s probably just down to personal preferences. It is requested that you takes your own plate etc. back to the servery and deposit any leftovers in the supplied bin. Breakfast is usually served from 8am until 10am except on Sundays, which is a big changeover day, when it kicks off at 6.30am to cater for early departures. The bar and pool area is superb, spotlessly clean and complete with enough chairs, tables and sunbeds for everyone; it never seemed crowded except on Greek nights when the sunbeds were removed and extra tables drafted in. The service at the bar was exceptional as was the attitude of the very friendly and efficient staff. As usual I’ve forgotten some names but special mention must go to George and Sotiris who were great. Maria always seemed to be in charge of the cash transactions and could be seen every day and night with her calculator sat near the end of the bar. You don’t have to pay for anything up front and, when you do pay up, Maria has all your receipts at hand to give you your total bill. The bar prices were OK and compared favourably with tavernas around town. A large beer (400ml) was 3 euros 50 and a 500ml bottle of Mythos was 4 euros, all cocktails were 9 euros as were many of the single spirits. A half a litre jug of house wine cost a miserly 6 euros and was pretty good to be honest. We only made one error of judgement really and it was our fault for not checking the price beforehand; we had three 330ml bottles of Strongbow each one night the cost of which was 36 euros. We did try a couple of cocktails during the course of our stay, we both had a Mai Tai which I didn’t particularly enjoy, I had a Thassian signature cocktail and the wife tried a cosmopolitan. Both of these were very nice. We also had a Cuba libre each on one occasion which is more of a spirit and a mixer than an actual cocktail. This too was priced at 9 euros. So, the bar service was great and the selection of drinks available was good, what about the food? The same bar staff also took food orders either at lunchtime or dinner time and the service was really good as we’d come to expect now. The menu is extensive enough to satisfy most tastes with a lot of Greek staples on there. You could basically sit wherever you liked on either of the two main levels and even on the roadside right next to the beach. We tried several dishes with the wife predominantly ordering omelette and/or French fries. I was a little more adventurous even though the stifado was so good I ordered it four or five times. Between us we also tried the kleftico, cheeseburger, pita club sandwich, pork fillet, chicken fillet in mushroom and cream sauce, spaghetti napolitan, spaghetti Bolognese and the regular club sandwich. For our last lunch we both ordered a bowl of vegetable soup and it was amazing making us sorry we hadn’t tried it earlier. Prices were very good and compared well with other tavernas around town. We did eat at the hotel a lot as the food was simply as good if not better than anything we ate elsewhere. We never got a chance to order a dessert as a free one turned up every evening. They were mostly delicious cakes of varying flavours and styles and were very enjoyable indeed. French fries were the most common accompaniment to most meals but oven baked potatoes or rice was also available. Some lunch times came with the minor irritation of a few wasps but, in general, I think we got off pretty lightly from reports of previous years that I’d seen. Evening meal was accompanied by the spectacle of dragonflies swooping in and out of the area hunting for smaller flying insects. They don’t come anywhere near you and are quite fun to watch. The beach area was good on the whole and the sea was always calm and warm. Getting in and out could be an issue in some areas due to uneven surfaces and rocks but wearing water shoes overcame any problems. The depth is ideal really; I could stand 50 – 60 meters off-shore without any issues. As I stated earlier there are twenty parasols complete with two sunbeds each and we always managed to find a place to relax. The excellent bar service is available on the beach and one of the boys will come down to take your orders throughout the day. There is a bin that gets emptied every day but still some people decide to leave all their rubbish behind. My only gripe was that the beach isn’t particularly well looked after in that it doesn’t get swept or raked so there are fag ends and other small items of rubbish lying around. I should mention Maria’s legendary Greek night; it isn’t strictly speaking our kind of thing but we felt it worth trying just the once. It costs 16 euros per head and includes food, entertainment and plates for smashing. The food consists of masses of barbecued meat of different types and lots of salads and other accompaniments. You could easily eat 16 euros worth of food if you chose to. It starts around 8pm and goes on until after midnight so forget any idea of an early night. There is a pretty good band playing, several traditional Greek dancers, other singers etc. etc. You are encouraged to get up and have a go but it isn’t compulsory. We left around 10pm so didn’t see the floor being set alight or the plates being smashed but we heard everything from our room. We didn’t book for the second week and decided to have a night in town instead but we heard the last two hour’s worth of noise again. It would be remiss of me not to mention the lovely Jessica, the TUI rep. She was really friendly, approachable and helpful. I had an issue with my card being refused when we tried to book some excursions but she said not to worry and we could pay before we left. I think Jessica was there 5 days a week and some evenings but, other than to say hello, we didn’t really talk to her again until we saw her at the airport on the way home. Well that just about covers everything and a brief summing up is required. We really enjoyed our time at the Sunray despite what may come across as some negativity in my review. The staff are all fantastic, the food is top notch, the facilities are good and, most importantly, the location is brilliant. On clear days you get a good view of Mt. Athos in the distance and the sun shone every day for two weeks. It was only a five to ten minute walk into town with other tavernas even closer than that. There is a well-stocked supermarket on the main road to the right as you come out of the hotel which can be reached in less than five minutes. The water is drinkable as all the water on Thasos is natural spring water but we still bought bottled water out of habit really. The excursions we booked through Jessica were amazing and added to our enjoyment immensely; there are some fabulous natural sights on the island. We will definitely be back as I previously stated, Thasos is now our new favourite place. Limenaria is an excellent resort and the Sunray hotel is a great place to stay so thanks to all involved in making our holiday very special.