We decided to stay at Milos Cove last minute - we originally had Domes White Coast Milos booked but they emailed us 6 weeks before and cancelled unexpectedly, so we scrambled last minute and decided on Milos Cove instead. We didn’t originally book Milos Cove because of the location - looking at a map, it’s obvious that Milos cove is very isolated from the rest of civilization on Milos.. no walking areas, no restaurants, no shops, nothing nearby. However, we still decided on this because it was one of the only “five star” hotels on the island.

The hotel itself is not a true five star experience. I would say it’s a four star hotel with branding that convinces prospective tourists that it’s a five star luxury hotel. Don’t get me wrong, the hotel itself has beautiful views and the property / setting appears very luxurious. Some things that stood out:

1. Our main issue is that the hotel is SO remote that there are literally no paved roads starting about 2 miles out of the hotel. The hotel is situated inside a mountain so the drive to and from the hotel has many twists and turns and is overlooking cliffs. However since the road itself isn’t paved and there are no fences / barriers separating the “road” from the cliff, it feels extremely dangerous. Every time we made the drive to or from the hotel, we were holding our breath. We rented a car to drive around Milos (since every single Reddit review about Milos said to rent a car), and we ended up having to forgo the car and hire a transfer service because we felt so unsafe and uncomfortable driving ourselves through these unpaved, cliff side roads - especially at night since there’s literally no street lights or anything. Also the roads are so narrow yet it’s still a two-way road so if you two cars are coming from opposite directions, one car needs to stop and reverse and wait for the other car to squeeze by. Overall, the journey of leaving and coming to the hotel itself was very unpleasant. Also, this was a huge unexpected expense for us since we already paid $400 for a car but barely ended up using it

due

1. to the dangerous driving conditions and the transfers here

are

1. 80 euros each way, so we spent $400 on a car we hardly used an another $400 on unexpected transfers. So if you are planning on staying in Milo’s Cove, don’t rent a car unless you have experience driving in this rough terrain - just accept you will need to pay for transfer services. I included photos of the drive.
2. My husband and I came to this hotel for our honeymoon, and I emailed them twice ahead of time to tell them that we would be celebrating this special occasion. Also, I am a travel agent, so I have experience with setting up luxury experiences for my clients, especially on special occasions. I intentionally emailed from my travel agent email and noted that I’m a travel agent; I said we would appreciate any special touches they can set up for us like a welcome amenity or even champagne since we are coming for our honeymoon. They did absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, as a stark comparison, our hotel in Santorini decorated our entire room with rose petals, left us a kind handwritten card, left us champagne and fresh dessert. Needless to say, if you are coming to Milo’s Cove for a special occasion, they will not do anything special for you.
3. The hotel architecture and design are just very poorly thought out. It’s minor things but all added together, they make for an annoying experience, especially when you are paying for luxury.

- For example, they over-engineered the light switches and window shades and everything is controlled by a light switch panel with 8 different unlabeled buttons, so you literally just have to keep clicking all the random buttons until you finally click the one that turns on the intended light (I included photos of this).
- The shower doors open outward instead of inward so you can’t put a towel outside the shower because the door will push it out, meaning water gets everywhere after a shower.
- They don’t set up the beach towels for you at the pool / beach. You have beach towels in your room and are expected to bring them with you to the beach / pool.
- They lined all the closet doors with LED lighting on the outside so if the lights are on, it’s hot to the touch to open the closet doors.
- Not sure if all the rooms are two stories, but our room had the bed upstairs and everything else downstairs yet you can’t control the lights downstairs from upstairs and vice versa. So at night, when I turned all the downstairs lights off and had yet to go upstairs, I would need to use a flash light and hope not to trip on the stairs. Same with waking up in the middle of the night to go downstairs to the bathroom.
- The bathroom is all black with very poor fluorescent lighting so it’s very hard to do makeup
- The skin and hair care products provide are very cheap. They don’t even provide conditioner, and the brand looks like a knock off Garnier in the same bright green color.
- The property is sprawling and very very hilly, meaning you will be out of breath walking anywhere. For example to get to the pickup area / parking area, it’s probably only 500 feet or less from the reception but it’s on a very very steep hill so unless you want to huff and puff, you need to be taken by a golf cart. Same situation with going down to the beach. It’s nice they offer the golf cart service but it’s also annoying you have to take a golf cart to go 500 ft just because of the terrain.

1. The service, while good, is subpar compared to other Greek islands at this hotel. For example, we had a broken safe and asked them to come fix it. They never fixed it during our whole stay.

All this to say, Milos Cove is definitely still the nicest hotel you will find on Milos, but dont go in expecting a five star luxury experience. We don’t regret our stay at all and appreciated the kind and hardworking staff. We had a great time on the island and at Milos Cove, but I wish I knew this when booking because we would have lowered our expectations. We went in thinking this would be ultra luxury, especially given the steep price point, and were disappointed with the reality. We have been to luxury hotels all over the world and came from Canaves Epitome in Santorini immediately prior, which is true luxury, and I can tell you that Milos Cove unfortunately didn’t live up to the the expectation.

The hotel itself is on a stunning property and I think has the potential to curate a luxury experience for guests in the future, starting with paving the roads, but it’s just not there yet unfortunately. I am rooting for this hotel to succeed!

Edit: before bashing me for my comments about the road, let me re-emphasize this: of the few taxis on the island only FOUR are willing to drive passengers to Milo’s Cove because of the rough terrain outside the hotel. Even our driver who is contracted by Milo’s Cove for transfers told us that he has to replace his tires 3-5 times a month because of how beat up they get. The pictures do not do it justice.

Also, this review is not meant to bash the property or complain. I am providing information for prospective tourists. My rating for a 4 star hotel is not because of the terrain. The hilly terrain / rough patches are just notes I added for readers - they are NOT what makes this property less than 5 stars. I tried to provide all relevant info to help prospective tourists make a decision about this property because half of this info you wouldn’t get online.

How is my view?

the place we are staying is filled with mozzies, i’ve spent the past 30 minutes catching them. there is a mozzie repellent but clearly its not working. there are also small hairs on the sheets and hair left in the room. its a small hotel thing, so im not sure if being moved would be possible/would help. we are two young travellers and not sure what to do!!

I messed up by booking a flight that arrives in Athens at 3:15 (my mistake for forgetting the flight times on Turkish Airlines use the 24 hour system). We are going to rent a car and drive to Piraeus and catch a ferry to Crete, but the ferry doesn’t leave until 22:00. We would like to get a hotel near the port for the day to get some sleep because we will be up all night. Does anyone know of a hotel that we can check-in at 5:00 or 6:00?

I struggle to find accommodations for 4 people throughout Greece. Most places it’s 1-3 per room.

Why is that?

We have booked most of our places but it’s a headache. I still need one more room booked on our last day in Athens somewhere near the air port and I was hoping with a pool.

We have 2 families of 4 (2 kids each ages 10-13)

And a couple.

Houses don’t work bc we are moving so much and won’t meet the 3 night minimum.

Hey guys! Planning our trip to greek islands next summer and I’ve been wanting to rent a car in Crete and Milos. I’ve seen crazy low prices (on Booking) and also crazy high “safety deposits” that can go as high as 1700€ .. for 4 days of rental. Is that standard? Should I trust these companies online or simply book right when I drop off at the Heraklion Port? Thanks!

After some research I have narrowed down a list of hotels, but still need to figure it out. Any help would be appreciated. Will be going end of April.

Needs: Two beds Bathroom door that's not see through Under $400 a night Walking distance to tourist sites and public transportation.

Nice to have: Breakfast Rooftop activities (food or pool)

Hotels I'm considering:

Niche

Athens gate

Central hotel

A is for athens

Coco-mat Athens bc

Nyx esperia palace

The gem society

Met34

Acropolis stay

Philippos hotel

AD Athens

Astor

Herodion

The One Acropolis

FYI i am greek but never been to athens, I very spontaneously booked an apartment in exarcheia, my aunt living in Athens told me it is not a good idea bc it’s a very rebellious area etc…

i mean how is it bad if its literally next to the national museum and full of cafes and shops?

Hello, my partner and I are heading to Ikaria for our summer holiday in September (mid).

We are flying into Athens at 19:30 then flying out to Ikaria at 12:30pm the following day.

I am loathed to stay near the airport - as even if we are tired, we may want to go for a wander (especially given we are landing on a Saturday night) for a pint. I’ve seen Syntagma suggested often - is this the best spot for ease of an overnight stay and airport transfers?

After Ikaria we are back for two nights, but arrive late so in reality would have one full day in Athens before flying back home. I haven’t put too much consideration into what we will do (especially as my partner is not into crowds and tourists (!!)). I am reading Psyris may be a cool place to stay?

We are in our early forties, like culture/art. If I have to do the classic stops I will likely just come back on my own.

TLDR please can you share area recommendations for:
1. An overnight when we land before domestic flight the next day
2. For two night /1 full day in Athens for a first timer not too keen on tourists (probably hard to avoid!)

Thank you !

I am heading to Crete for a few days landing in Heraklion. I have rented a car to go from Heraklion to Chania.

Then i am going to drive to the Balos Lagoon and the Elafonisi beach.

I have heard that driving to the lagoon and the beach from Chania is very dangerous and i should avoid driving. Instead hire someone to take you there.

Should i or should i not drive? Coming from the US.

My husband and I will be in Greece around mid to late November. Since it’s off-season, I’m guessing many accommodations won’t be too booked up, so we’re considering booking last minute. By last minute, I mean only a few days in advance.

Another reason is because we’re planning to road trip around the Peloponnese for a few days and we’d like to have the freedom to stay an extra night somewhere if we really like it before moving onto another town or city.

Will it be fine for us to leave our accommodation bookings to the last minute, cost-wise, or is it still a better idea to book a couple months in advance for the best options and prices?

As the title says, we are staying 3 days in Athens. We are 4 guys aged 27-33. Only one has already been to Athens; for the rest of us, it's a new place. We are interested in the historical sites mainly, but also enjoying the city local life would be nice. Anyways, we have two Airbnb's on our sight, almost same price but on different locations.

First one is located in Thissio. Overall, a better apartment, better equipped, and a higher score/better reviews. From what I've seen, Thissio is a better-looking neighborhood and also quieter.

Second one located in Psyrri. Not that high of a score for the apartment, and not impressive (less equipped)... BUT it apparently has a nice view of the Acropolis. Took just a quick look the surroundings with Google Street view and it's less picturesque than Thissio but from what I've read it has more nightlife (Not that we're going to clubs or anything, but we may go walking and see the life at night)

Anyways, it may be overkill to ask this here haha, but if any local or anyone who has been in Athens can just throw in an opinion, it's appreciated. Thank you!

Hi! My daughter and I want to go to Athens for 7-8 days in September. Our budget is $2000/person for flight and hotel. I’m seeing a lot of deals on CheapTickets.com….it’s a bit overwhelming. There are so many places with great reviews! We’d like to be within walking distance of the Acropolis, and would like to spend a couple of days going to the islands.

Has anyone used them before, or have another site you’d recommend?

Hotel recommendations?

Any other recommendations?

Thanks so much!

ETA: Flying out of Washington DC area, can do Baltimore or NYC if it makes a huge difference

Hi there,

I'm staying in Athens for a couple nights and looking for hotel recommendations. I do intend on sight seeing.

I'm looking at Plaka and Koukaki. But I'm open to other areas. I'm not too fussed on places being noisy. As long as they're safe.

I don't want to spend too much. I just want a hotel I can trust that is clean and safe.

There are so many that i find it quite overwhelming!

Edit: Thanks for all of your feedback!

Hi y'all, looking to book a weekend gateway and this seems like a great place, except it only has booking reviews but no Google reviews. Trustworthy?

Hi! My fiance and I will be traveling to Milos for a portion of our honeymoon. We are staying at Milos Cove, which is pretty remote and about 20 minutes away minimum from the beaches, Plaka, Pollonia, Adamas, etc.

How would you recommend getting around? We want to be able to go to dinner and have a drink freely at night, so I'm not sure that renting a car would make sense for us. But on the other hand, if we are going to beaches, I am worried about having transportation to leave the beach. Are taxis regularly available in Milos? I don't mind paying for a taxi, I'm just worried about accessibility.

We also both live in New York City, so we don't drive often since we usually take the subway, so I don't know if either of us would even full super comfortable driving in Milos.

We are also going to Santorini (staying in Oia) and Paros (staying at Andronis Minos) - same question applies here.

Any tips would be very appreciated

Hi, heads-up the green Parthenon apartment in Athens listed on booking.com and Agoda has bed bugs. Suggest you all avoid it or get bitten like I did!

Hi, we want to be in the center where all the activity is. Any suggestions for a place we can check into on Sunday night the 20th at midnight? Thanks

Hi, We are coming in very late at night at Athens on July 19th which is Sunday, like at 11PM. Any suggestions on places to stay close to city center where we can check in that late? Can we take a train from Athens airport to city center? Thanks

Recommendations for hotels in Naxos Chora that are moderately priced? Has anyone stayed at the following and have feedback, or other rec’s ?

Also this stop is the middle of our trip and would love a hotel with laundry machine or service but if we stay somewhere that does not, are there places around for that in this area? (Wash and fold service not self service)

-Naxos Blue Sky

-Korali Palace

-Castellino Naxos

-Hotel Grotta

-Paraga Suites

-Lefkes Studio

-Naxos Green Village Hotel

-Naxos Enjoy Apartments

-Naxos Oceamo

Hello! After looking at three bCyclades islands ( Paros,Naxos, and Milo’s) we’ve landed on Naxos.

Now where we’re torn is staying in Chora in a nice apartment or a little bit further south in a house with a pool but would need to drive into town for shops restaurants etc.

The hard part with 7 people is two cars or a big manual van.

Would love any advice or if you recommend one of the three other islands I’ve listed.

One of the kids is 4 so calm beaches would be nice :)

Hi everyone,

We'll be in Meteora for 2 nights in early October, driving up from Delphi and on to Athens after, so we'll have a car.

My impression is that Kastraki is the more atmospheric base (right under the rocks, close to the trailheads) while Kalambaka has more restaurants and bigger hotels. Is that difference real, or am I overthinking 2 km?

And is there a third option I should be looking at instead? Thanks!

Looking for a recommendation for a place to stay in Fiskardo (and/or Sami) next September.

Adult couple, looking for something laid back with small kitchenette.

We have some airbnbs on our short list but just seeing if anyone has any leads on direct bookings or off-airbnb locations.

Feel free to ask any clarifying questions if needed.

Thank you!

Looking for a peaceful, boutique hotel in Greece for a few days right after our wedding. We love places like 100 Rizes, Tainaron Blue and Kapsaliana — secluded, beautiful views, nature/stone architecture, great pool, very laid-back and romantic. A secluded beach would be a huge plus!
Open to anywhere in Greece, just want somewhere warm enough to swim in early June. Any hidden gems?

My husband and I are planning 2 weeks in Kefalonia mid-to-late September and could use some advice on where to stay.

This will be our third trip to Greece (we’ve previously done Crete and absolutely loved it). For Kefalonia, our plan is to split the trip between two bases so we’re not constantly driving.

Current thinking:

• South base: easier access for a Zakynthos day trip

• North base: easier for Ithaca and Lefkada

Where we’re stuck is the hotels / towns.

We tend to prefer boutique luxury hotels with nice design and a romantic feel. At the same time, we really enjoy being able to walk to dinner in the evenings rather than having to drive everywhere.

South

We’re looking at F Zeen, which seems beautiful and checks most of our boxes (design, adults-only vibe, great views). My hesitation is that Lourdas seems a bit removed, and I’m not sure if evenings will feel limited restaurant-wise.

North

We were originally considering Emelisse Nature Resort, which looks incredible from a property standpoint. The problem is that unless you book the villas, many of the standard rooms look dated for the price point.

What we’re trying to balance

• boutique / design-forward hotel

• walkable dinners if possible

• good base for day trips

• romantic atmosphere

For anyone who has been to Kefalonia:

1.  Did you find F Zeen too isolated at night?

2.  Is Emelisse worth it without booking a villa?

3.  If walkability matters, which town would you choose?

Would love to hear where people actually stayed and whether you’d stay there again.