Captain Ikaros

I regret not reading the reviews before booking. We stayed in early October for a week on Ikaria and chose this place because we thought we'd be able to cook. That was a letdown. Our treehouse had an infected tree growing in the middle of the room, and there was no way to make coffee, tea, or food. The first room's bathroom was stained and dated, so we asked to switch. The young man helped us, and the bathroom in the new hut was better, but the shower sits in a sloping corner where you have to bend or squat. The grounds weren't well kept, and the pool, which they said was under construction, looked abandoned. A poor dog was chained up the whole time we were there. At these prices, I expected a hotel. This is an overpriced glamping hut.

I stayed at Captain Ikaros in early October 2024 and left disappointed. The website said guests could use a kitchen to cook, but when I asked there, I was told that wasn't allowed. The pool was dry, separated from the accommodation, and poorly maintained, so it wasn't somewhere you'd want to spend time. We had booked the tree Hut, but fortunately were moved because there was fungus on its tree. The hut we ended up in was okay, but this is glamping at best, priced like a rented apartment. The owner came across as unfriendly and disengaged while staff worked on his garden. He seemed uninterested in guests. Seeing his large dog chained up 24/7 was sad. A young man handled guest questions and was helpful, which is why I gave the place a star. I wish I'd read the other reviews instead of trusting the website. Please choose somewhere else.

In my opinion, this place wasn't ready for guests. We got no directions, so GPS took us through a maze. There were tools lying around outside. Our two-bedroom apartment was clean and spacious, but dark and dingy, with blackout curtains and too little light. It didn't feel like a sunny Greek island in midsummer. There was no housekeeping. On day two, ants covered the kitchen counter and bathroom sink, even though we hadn't left food out. We're a family of four, but the outdoor table had just one chair, unlike the larger picnic table shown in the photos. It was very expensive for what we got, and poor value overall.

Avoid this place. I can't even tell whether it's supposed to be a hotel or a holiday home. Nobody comes to tidy the room, so it doesn't feel like a hotel, and there isn't a fork, plate, or knife. There's an island with a sink but no hob, so I'm not sure what you're meant to wash. The third bed sits on a brick shelf much higher than normal, making a fall a risk if you need the bathroom at night. The internet only works sometimes, and even in the middle of the night you may have to switch the garden Wi-Fi extender off and on. The porous stone floors and walls are like the island's pavements and roads, so they don't feel clean. The bathroom has no towel around the shower, and it floods every time you shower. It feels like a camping bungalow. We paid €200 a night without breakfast or assistance. Nobody answered the phone. On the second day I saw a man who seemed to be local staff, greeted him, and got no reply. There's no reception or help on site, just WhatsApp messages and a wait. The private road to get there is badly damaged and full of big potholes, so you could damage your car. One star because I can't give a cross. They won't see me again.