Pepi Studios
Value For Money
Pepi Studios
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
User Reviews
Value For Money
We Booked A Last Minute Holiday To Crete, Where We
We booked a last minute holiday to Crete, where we've been before in 2000, but this time staying in Rhethymnon at the Pepi apartments and it was a wonderful surprise. Old Town Rhethymnon is fabulous. Far better in my view than the beachside hotels/new town.
We arrived at Pepi apts around 10.30pm, it's approx 1 hr from Heraklion, to find the key in the door. (We had transfered from the coach at the Golden Sands hotel to a taxi as the streets are too narrow for a coach in the old town). The apartments are off a side street, right in the centre but there was hardly any nightlife 'noise'. Nearby, there are lots of quality shops selling designer labels, and local craft shops mixed quite subtly with a very small amount of the touristy 'tat' shops. Lots of really cool bars too - with ultra modern decor / good music - all with reasonably priced cocktails/imported beers. The bars & restaurants are literally on your doorstep. HOWEVER, it is not at all in the Malia / Falaraki way. It felt quite upmarket and cosmopolitan really.
The Pepi apts are very basic but nicely appointed - good, very clean but very sparse. There's no kettle or toaster but then, there's lots of really good restaurants nearby, so why would you need them?! Though I must confess, I would have liked to have the kettle...!
The rooms and 'complex' are small and intimate, there are always some guests around but it's not at all intrusive. The management speak very little English (which makes it difficult to secure the Air Conditioning remote control!) but they are friendly and genuine. There's no reception desk, but there's a hotel rep in the haberdashery store on the front, which is open for a few hours a day (where you get the Air Con remote). The pool is tiny, and the beach is approx 1km away, so not ideal if you have young children but perfect if want to walk home from a nice evening meal / drinks as the bars & restaurants are literally on your doorstep. HOWEVER, I must stress as I've said above, it is not at ALL like Malia / Falaraki.
Pepi is twinned with Hotel Ideon, which has a bigger pool but I thought the pool was green and uninviting, so try it but be warned!
We met two groups who stayed at Pepi for the past 4 years and I can see why and verify, it's probably the best location in Old Town Rhethymnon.
The Harbour area is lovely, good quality, fresh fish restaurants. In the centre are the more traditional restaurants, many of those in the little side streets are set in courtyards of old houses, which adds to the charm.
Insects? In August - there are NO mosquitoes, but there's a few hornets and of course, lots of noisy crickets! But it's really not a problem.
Rhethymnon is a great base for sightseeing on the West of the Island, but Crete is quite large. Try to see Chania which is another charming town or if you can, go to Elafonisi beach - the Caribbean of the Med!!
Overall, it really was a delight to be there and I would definitely go back (which I rarely do!). And I would definitely stay in the Pepi apts again.
Value For Money
Having Been We Might Return Another Year. Once Loc
Having been we might return another year. Once located, very central for shops and eating out. Clean apartments. Ours had air -con and balcony. Very friendly and helpful rep.
Might be helpful to future guests at the Pepi Apartments if the reps at the airport make it clearer regarding the location of your room and also the magnetic key fob to operate the electricity. All very frustrating when just off flight and searching in the dark.
Value For Money
I Have Stayed At There Three Times Before, And I A
I have stayed at there three times before, and I am booked there again next year. The pool is advertised as a 'plunge' pool and not a swimming pool. As for the heating, it is much more convenient to get hot water by immersion heater (within 15 minuets for a good long shower) than to race back from the beach to the Pepi Studios in Rethymnon, so you get the last hot supply from the solar system tanks!
Miss C Hubbard
(single traveller)
Having Arrived The The Pepi Studios In The Middle
Having arrived the the Pepi Studios in the middle of the night, no tour rep greeted us at the apartments. We had to find our own way around to locate our room.
Our room, located on ground floor (We did ask for a first floor balcony) was located in a very dark location, and received no natural light in the day at all.
Our bed linen was clean, but the pillowcases were stained.
We had no air conditioning which we were not informed about whilst booking.
The location however was very good as all amenities including restaurants, shops and beach were all very close. The best part of the beach was at least a ten minute walk though.
The size of the Pool here was tiny. At least 2 metres by 4 metres. More like a jacuzzi. This was very disappointing as on the photo shown in all brochures the pool is stretched to make it look bigger.
There is no poolside bar. Just numerous cats.
The 'drip' of a shower that we had emanated a rather bad smell from the drain once used. The hot water could only be controlled by switching it on at the mains on the wall. (A health and safety issue by all means).
On our last day we were due to leave at 2250, and had to leave our room by Midday. These apartments however had no secure place to store our luggage. We asked to keep our existing room for the day (at a cost of 15 Euros), but were told we couldn't as new people were expected in the afternoon.
This meant we were left stranded with insecure luggage at Pepi all day, taking the risk of leaving it there, or taking it to a 'Sister' hotel in a location 10 minutes walk away.
This was shocking, unreasonable and badly planned on their part.
Again we were not informed this would be the case upon booking.
Overall these apartments were not what was explained in the brochures. My partner and I felt very decieved. Having spent a large amount of money we thought we had been ripped off.
We will never return to Rethymnon, Pepi Apartments, and FIRST CHOICE, will in future always remain a LAST CHOICE.
Everyone has expectations of holidays and I can understand Elizabeth was disappointed however, in my view, it's probably more to do with the Tour Operator descriptions and previous experience than the apartments / location itself.
In comparison to many hotels in Greece, Pepi have used good quality tiles, furnishings etc. It was very clean. It was a great location - so many bars and restaurants nearby, it would not have been good business for Pepi to have their own bar.
Instead of being concrete and faceless, I thought the building was charming and quaint, lots of greenery, and set off a small side street - to the left, 1 mins walk to courtyard restaurants and a great Italian Gelateria (ice cream parlour) and to the right, 3-4 mins walk to good quality shops and then the harbour. All within easy reach yet peaceful and secluded.
I've travelled a lot, seen much, much worse usually for a lot more money, but 'better' is usually more expensive, modern and without charm. Not better therefore, in my books. I have high standards and like my creature comforts, but on holiday, I want to see / feel more of the country I'm in.
Albeit a little sparse, Pepi is a little Greek paradise!
Not sure what Elizabeth expected of a Greek island. Generally unless you are going to pay top dollar, any accommodation in the Greek islands will be basic. As to the hot water, all you needed to do was trip the two switches up that controlled the hot water and leave them that way for the duration of your stay. Voila. Hot water at all times. Think yourself lucky it wasn't solar heated water as is the norm - that takes a really long time to heat up. I assume this lady doesn't read as I stayed at Pepi last year (Sept) and I never saw air con mentioned in the brochure so I can't think why she was expecting to get air con. I never saw a bar or food mentioned either. Why would you need either when there are easily 80 bars & restaurants in Rethymnon? And to be fair, the pool is described as a "plunge pool". Which is what it is. Small & deep. I for one wouldn't want a poolside bar. I might be unfortunate enough to have to socialise with moany people who write reviews on holiday accommodation where they've paid Butlins prices but expect Claridges standards. The Ritz Pepi ain't. It's basic but serviceable. My only comments about the accommodation are it would have been nice to have:
An electric kettle
A mirror in the bedroom
A decent shower head & riser rail
Bigger towels
It must have been OK. We are going back again this Sept. And Liz, we live in a 7 bedroomed house with our own pool, so we do have reasonably high standards. Yamas.
Value For Money
From The Pictures The Pepi Studios Look Beautiful
From the pictures the Pepi Studios look beautiful and ideal. There not! We had a bottom floor terrace, which meant the beds where on a Mezzaine floor. To access the beds you have to use the stairs within the apartment. These are made from cast steel which overhang above the cooking area. If your small its ok but if your an average human you will bang you head when cooking. There are only single beds so if you are a couple you will have to place them together which means if you want to cool the room down you can't open the windows. The stairs are made of laminate so if wet you could slip. They say 4 people can fit into these apartments - do not beleive them. There is a pull out bed down stairs but you will have to remove the table somewhere. The pool is about 2 meters wide and about 3 meters long. If you look at the picture on the holiday websites it looks at lot bigger and it isn't. THERE is no reception area and no BAR there is also no safety deposit boxes on site and no where to lock up your cases when you leave on the last day. The reps will say that you can use the hotel Ideon, great if you don't mind a 10 minute walk up hill on cobble streets. The other point is if you want hot showers then you have to turn the boil on to do this you have to go to the FUSE box on the wall and flick the switch. So don't do it with wet fingers! The transfer from the airport is about 1hrs 45mins.
Value For Money
I Had A Great Time On This Holiday At Pepi Studios
I had a great time on this holiday at Pepi Studios and I am going back to Crete again this year. my family came here with another family and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. if we wanted to party we went out into the town at night, and if we fancied a quiet night in we could lounge around the pool at night with a few drinks. everyone knew each other at the apartments and we all had a laugh. I recommend this holiday to anybody, it is suitable for all tastes!!! rethymnon is a lovely town with a friendly atmosphere and some great shops, bars and restaurants. a great choice if you're thinking about Crete. definitely 10 out of 10!!! :)
My teenage son and I stayed on the ground floor apartment (did feel like we were in a stable!) in 2004. I tend to keep an open mind and take things as they come. However, I did expressedly say to First Choice that we needed 2 beds - twin accommodation. What was in the apartment was 1 double bed! Not a good start after a tiring journey from Edinburgh via Glasgow to Crete. I was too tired to reorganise the sleeping arrangements....but I paid the price, as my son ended up with the top sheet wound round him like an Egyptian mummy, and I was hanging onto the edge of the bed...he also is a very restless sleeper, plus he was not so little, even at 13 years old!
The next day I went in search of a) air conditioning, and b) a single bed.......Air conditioning was easy, went to the dressmaking shop round the corner...they must own the apartments, I paid 30 euros (part of this was a deposit which was refundable upon departure), so that was sorted.
However, when I asked the little maid for a bed...she said "no problem" and went off......I was soon to discover that this was her stock sentence, and meant nothing, as she could not speak any English!!
By this time, I had been chatting to some of the other guests within Pepi Apartments, and a chap called Joe, said they had a spare bed in their apartment, and he very kindly brought it down.....eventually I managed to get some bedding for the bed, virtually hijacked the maid, directed her to the extra bed (fold up ...my son slept in this!), explained with sign language....pointing at existing pillows and adding on my fingers.......ahhh.....no problem..... but this time I followed her to make sure I was going to get what I asked for.
There was no rep around...they just seemed to have evaporated!
Anyhow, being an independent sort (dad in the RAF), just got on with the business of enjoying ourselves....and apart from the awkward start, had a fantastic time....ideally located. The evenings were great, lovely group of people, we sat round the pool with glasses of wine, laughed and joked. During the day, my son and I explored Rethymnon...a delightful little town....even went up to the old fort and the harbour. Booked a couple of trips, one of these was the Waterworld....fantastic....even I was screaming with delight when going down the slides!
However, beware of the trip which takes you to the Hippy Caves and the Gypsy Market....absolute rubbish! The market seemed to be a very dodgy place, I have seen better car boot sales....did not feel safe there, and the goods were garbage, there was not even a decent place to eat. The Hippy Caves were just holes in the side of a cliff, and the beach was filthy, I have never seen so many cigarette butts - it was just one big ash tray! And the toilet facilities were so disgusting that, desperate as I was after being on the coach, I ran across the sand to a local hotel and said, even if I had to pay, could I use their toilet...they were very nice about it!
So there you are, a mixed bag, but overall, still very happy memories.....still with me in 2007.
Q&A
There are no questions yet.