Interview with Mrs. Nandia Tamiolaki, Hotel Owner

Mrs. Nandia Tamiolaki, Owner of Albatros Hotel

Hello Nandia, What is your favorite place in Crete?

Mrs. Tamiolaki: Lassithi Plateau is my favorite place as my father’s family comes from there and I have spent many summer holidays there. I have so many nice memories of this place.

What are the places in Crete that your clients seem to like most?

Mrs. Tamiolaki: Crete is the island of adventure. The best way to see Crete is to rent a car and explore the unknown inlands of Crete. Many of our clients like Vai palm beach and the Toplou Monastery in eastern Crete. They also like Lassithi Plateau but they will have to get out of their car and walk around. I would suggest that they visit the Kera Monastery, they can taste the omelet or the roasts of Mrs. Marazaki at the tavern by the entrance of the Kera village, they can enter the Diktaion Antron cave and they try an apple from the many apple trees growing in Lassithi.

For the more “adventurous” visitors I would advise them to take a nap under the trees in lassithi and enjoy the peace and calmness of the place. If they find some fresh goat’s milk in some kafeneio in the area then they shouldn’t miss tasting it. It is so delicious! Another suggestion is a mountain bike tour from Lassithi plateau towards Hersonissos. There are agencies in Hersonissos that offer this kind of tour. They are safe and easy as the road is downhill to Hersonissos and there is always a guide in every tour. The clients are transferred by car to Lassithi Plateau and then they ride their bikes and drive down to Hersonissos together with their guide.

Are there any dinner suggestion in Hersonissos area?

Mrs. Tamiolaki: Go to Milatos for fresh fish, Potamies for snails, the “Petrina” tavern in Ano Hersonissos for delicious roasts, the “Cretan tavern” in Malia for “mezedes” (explore Crete: mezedes are various dishes shared by the whole company) or the “Kalesma” tavern in the narrow streets of the old town of Malia.

Is there something that you want to say about Hersonissos?

Mrs. Tamiolaki: Hersonissos is an ideal place for young people. There are many one-day tours available, water sports, bungee jumping, intense nightlife and nice beaches. Hersonissos is close to the Archaeological sites of Knossos and Malia and there are buses available to the above places and Iraklion very regularly (every 15 -30 minutes, depending on the month of the year).

Do you want to add something about the Albatros Hotel?

Mrs. Tamiolaki: My family takes care so that our clients’ wishes and needs are satisfied in every possible way. If there are special requests then we will try to fulfill them as long as we are informed prior to the guests’ arrival.

Yannis: Nandia, thank you for the valuable information and we wish you a nice summer season.

Mrs. Tamiolaki: I also wish a nice summer to “Explore Crete” and its visitors.

PS. This interview is from the summer of 2000.

Albatros Hotel in Hersonissos, Crete

The Albatros Hotel is located very close to the center of Hersonissos yet only a few meters from the beach. There are 106 rooms available and the hotel is open from May to October. The interior decor of the Albatros hotel is attractive and the public areas of the hotel are furnished with a fine selection of antiques, many of which belong to the owner’s family. Keep an eye open in the lounge for the bronze lamp, which is over 200 years old, and a mirror that is 150 years old.

The rooms are simply decorated and in each there is a small refrigerator is available for the use of guests. The rooms overlook either the swimming pool and the sea, or the road in front of the hotel. During the high season in Hersonissos (July and August) you might wish to ask for a room in the back as the road in front can be busy and noisy. Whilst the swimming pool offers the chance for a quick and refreshing swim, the beach is so close to the hotel that there is no reason why you shouldn’t prefer the “real thing” than the pool. It is also pleasant and relaxing to have a cup of coffee or a drink by the pool, especially in late afternoon before your tour in the crazy nightlife of Hersonissos will begin.

Breakfast is served in the big and luminous dining room of the hotel. Our advice: if you really want to taste all that is served at breakfast, do not eat the previous night! There so many different dishes served that you may get anxious just looking at them (or reading about them): coffee, tea, milk, chocolate, 2 different kinds of juice, 5 kinds of marmalade, 4 kinds of cheese, 3 kinds of pork meat, a different hot dish ever day, pickles, compote, cake, boiled eggs, 2 kinds of yogurt (reviewer recommends the one with the fresh strawberries), cereals and 3 kinds of bread plus toasts and Cretan barley rusk.

If you are hungry by noon, or if you are a later riser, and have missed breakfast then you may ask for something fast but delicious from the hotel’s snack bar. You may choose from spaghetti, omelet, hamburger, saganaki (fried cheese), souvlaki, grilled chicken, and the like.

The Albatros hotel pays great attention to the service of it’s clients, especially parents with young children or babies. There are nursing bottles, cradles or even baby carriages available. Family rooms, apartments with 2 rooms and 4 beds, are also available.

For the technologically “advanced” clients there is an “Internet corner”, a room where you may send or receive your emails or even spend some time surfing or chatting.

Check Albatros Hotel for availability