Despina Studios Raxes Ikaria # 1

Everything was neat and clean.

We wanted to cook, but there weren't any utensils, not even a spoon or knife. The room itself was unacceptable, with spiders dangling everywhere like chandeliers. The TV looked a decade old, and its decoder never worked. I can't recommend this place at all. And then, just seven days after we got back to Athens, my partner passed away. 😢😢😢

It survives on its fantastic location and the fact that rooms in Ikaria are hard to find in August. The rooms feel like they came from an '80s time capsule, with only minimal updates from the 2000s, yet the price is at 2023 levels. We paid 60 euros a night, all in, for an unacceptable double room.

We were left searching for another room in August with our suitcases in hand. Despina had shown us a room that bore no resemblance to the double room we had booked by phone through the website, then paid a deposit for. Instead of a double, she gave us two single beds. The booked room had a balcony door, but this one only had a window, with holes in the screen and rotten leaves. It was full of spiders, unclean, and had rubbish left by previous guests. The walls were blackened and smelled awful. The room was in the sun all day, so it got extremely hot. There was only a ceiling fan, and it ran only when the lights were on, which meant we couldn't have even a little cooling at night without keeping the lights on. Those problems were only part of the shock of what we found. They had the nerve to charge 50 euros a night for this mess, though it wasn't even worth 25 euros. This was the worst room or hotel experience we've ever had.