The Club Med Experience
Flying from Heathrow, I stayed the night prior at the Arora Hotel which is 4*, very handy for the Hoppa bus transfer to the airport and adequate for my requirements. The 3.5 hour flight to Athens was trouble free with the Aegean Airways staff polite and helpful.
Upon arrival into Athens, we were greeted by a coach transfer which took us north east for two hours to our boat transfer. Another 45 minutes and we were docking at our destination on the island of Evia.
The Gregolimano Resort is quite sprawling, a 1960’s built hotel, renovated in 2008 to a high standard not often seen in Greek hotels. The Club Room (standard) has everything you need, super comfy bed, flat screen TV, balcony and a modern bathroom. Towel art is also a nice touch from the ever diligent housekeeping staff whose standards are very high with the whole resort being very clean. I would definitely recommend paying a little extra for a sea view room as that view is incredible!
The hotel is an unusual layout with Reception being on the 6th floor and rooms above and below. There are quite a lot of steps (there is a lift, but not all levels) so be warned if you have walking difficulties.
‘Le Panorama’ Restaurant with its breakfast terrace has simply stunning views over the Aegean Sea towards the mountains and a good selection of hot food (bacon, sausages, scrambled egg, omelettes cooked to order) and cold meats, croissants, bread, cereals. ‘Les Pleiades’ restaurant is where lunch and dinner are served with its international cuisine served buffet style and freshly cooked a la carte dishes created in front of your eyes. The evenings were themed with an optional dress code and we sampled delicious meats, fresh fish, pasta and salads, as well as traditional Grecian specialities. An amazing array of food is available here complimented by a superb choice of wine and fantastic views over the beach from the terrace.
The Bar Aphrodite sits in the heart of the resort, with spacious terraces overlooking the bay. In the evening, its new open air dance floor is a great place to enjoy the Greek climate and sip cocktails in a relaxed atmosphere. There's also an outdoor lounge with huge sofas with a spectacular view over the swimming pool and sea.
We toured this huge resort and saw a selection of rooms from Club, to Deluxe, to Suites and Bungalows which are small buildings with one upper floor, dotted along the headland in the shade of the pine forest. This family resort welcomes children from two years upwards with kids clubs from 4-17 years old. As this is a French company, the majority of guests are French even though all the reps are multi-lingual you may find if the resort is quieter that French is predominantly spoken in the kids clubs. The heated main swimming pool is a good size with a children’s area sectioned off. Aqua aerobics happens here in the mornings and then the whole animation team have a song and dance around the pool – but you don’t have to join in!
The sporting activities are one main reason why Club Med have so many repeat clients…where else can you learn to trapeze (I did!), water ski, wakeboard, sail, play tennis and do archery for no extra charge? All these and more are included in your Club Med package.
When evening comes and you are feeling full after your splendid 5* dinner, make your way over to the amphitheatre and be entertained by the resort reps – we saw Mama Mia one night and then an amazing circus show on the second night, the staff are very talented and you won’t be disappointed! Then back to the bar for a nightcap and a boogie on the outdoor dance floor, or even walk over to the hotel’s nightclub which is open until 2am and dance the night away.
Be warned….bring your wasp repellent – even though they are non-aggressive and you do get used to them, they are quite prevalent due to the nature of the location of the resort.
To summarize, I would highly recommend Club Med – after all they are in their 50th year and are experts at what they do. Please contact me for more information on this, or any other Club Med resort.