The Orange Garden Apartments

We were really disappointed after our stay and sadly won't return to the orange garden. A new accommodation next door takes large groups, and its pool is right outside our window. The noise kept us awake during the first week. We understand this isn't the orange garden's fault, but people should know how much sound carries when they're sleeping or resting in the afternoon. Our balcony was only wide enough for a stool, and looked directly onto the other accommodation's pool.

The maid was incredibly kind and friendly to our six-month-old daughter, which was a highlight for us. The apartment was neat, tidy, well equipped in the kitchen and nicely air conditioned. Its outdoor area is at the back, where neighbouring air conditioning units made it noisy. The place is right in the heart of Kassiopi and good value compared with other properties nearby.

We were sorry not to get a chance to say goodbye to Sylvia, who is fantastic and really runs the show. The Orange Garden is charming, basic and clean, and the apartments are very central. But if you're a light sleeper, consider the cockerel that starts crowing at 6am and goes all day. We were there for a week and our bed linen wasn't changed once, which felt very unusual. Small things usually provided, like soap and tissue paper, were missing too. The kitchen is tiny, with just a one-ring plug-in stove, so cooking for a family isn't really an option. There's no sofa, leaving the bedrooms as the only place to relax. The shower looks impressive but is hard to regulate.

The person handling reservations wasn't good at all. We were put in the wrong room, and they kept insisting all the rooms were the same, but they weren't: the beds and kitchen equipment differed a bit. The central location is very convenient for getting around Kassiopi, and the place is clean, with a nice garden where you can sit. There was only one cooker, so cooking for a group could be difficult if you plan to make much food. Cleaning was inconsistent, and I had to ask someone to take out the rubbish, especially the toilet bin, which can fill up in two days because loo paper can't be flushed. We also had to ask for extra toilet paper. The bathroom floor stayed wet after showers, perhaps because the shower leaked or the curtain wasn't enough. Most of all, as a light sleeper, I wouldn't recommend staying here: the walls and windows block no sound, and even with earplugs I could hear everything. A chicken crowed nonstop from 4:30am every morning, so I slept badly throughout my stay.