Olympia Paxos Apartment

We had booked the whole property for six people and paid the deposit. Then, 11 days before the holiday, the host told us the Government had required them to give our already-booked place to local Greek guests, and we had to look for separate accommodation. When the replacement guests arrived, it seemed clear they knew the owner. The whole thing felt like a favor for relatives. On top of that, we couldn’t find any information about a Government “obligation” to give an already-booked property to local Greek people. I wouldn’t recommend this place if you’re not a Greek citizen.

We booked accommodation for 16 people from July 13. On July 2, just 11 days before we were due to arrive, the host told us a Greek Tourism Organisation (GTO) regulation meant certain units had to be made unavailable, including Olympia Apartment II and the studio we’d booked. Our group had to split between two different accommodations, which caused a lot of stress and inconvenience. During the stay, we noticed that some people at the original property seemed to know the hosts personally. That made us wonder if the GTO explanation was genuine or an excuse to give priority to other guests. We also searched online for an official GTO announcement or circular about this kind of restriction, but couldn’t find anything supporting what the host claimed.

We stayed in Olympia’s countryside apartments near Vellianitatika, about 2 km uphill from Gaios, rather than the town apartments, so check which one you book. Ioanna was a wonderful host, spoke excellent English, and even arranged a taxi from the port. The complex is lovely, with a magnificent pool and a bar for drinks and snacks. She also brought us pool towels when we asked, which we really appreciated. Getting to Gaios, Avlaki beach, or the local buses means a lot of walking downhill and back up, unless you have transport or take taxis.

The villas were clean and really comfortable, and we had a great stay. Such a lovely host, too!