Our Itinerary:
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Club Med, Gregolimano, Greece
Skiathos to Club Med Gregolimano via Agios
Constantinos
Having used our day at the beach to adjust
to the new time zone, we departed the next
morning for the second half of the relaxation
portion of our trip. Our destination was
Club Med in the small town of Gregolimano
on the island of Evia.
We took a taxi (€8 plus tip) that we
had the hotel arrange the afternoon before
from the Emy Hotel to the port to catch an
8:30 a.m. ferry (again, the Flying Cat, €26)
back to Agios Constantinos. This trip was
30 minutes longer than the trip out and the
seas were a bit rougher. We arrived with
about two hours until the ferry to Agios
Georgious (Saint George), so we had lunch
in the square as well as made side trips
to the travel agent next door to Bilalis
Travel to buy a ferry ticket and to the bus
station to confirm the bus schedule back
to Athens for our return later in the week..
 The ferry (€ 1.75) departed on schedule
and deposited us across the way at Agios
Georgios. Enroute we inquired of the captain
about transportation to Club Med in Gregolimano,
and he told us that a taxi was the only way,
would cost about €25, and they kindly
called ahead by cellphone for one to meet
us at the dock. Once on our way in the taxi,
the driver said the fare would be €30,
so we were quite surprised to find the trip
lasted only about five minutes. Once at Club
Med, we asked the driver for a written receipt
before we paid, a process that involved a
lot of fumbling around on his part while
we ever-so-patiently waited, and were pleasantly
surprised to find the price dropped to a
more acceptable €10. (The reception
staff later told us the fare was €12.50).
Club Med Gregolimano
 The Club Med facility is visually stunning.
Located at the foot of a mountain and bordered
by water on two sides, the complex is architecturally
beautiful and well blended with the terrain.
The rooms are clean and spacious although
not luxurious. There is no clock, TV, or
telephone, but this is keeping with the historic
"escape from civilization" theme.
Water skiing, sailing, and tennis are the
major activities, but there are other activities
such as volleyball and archery as well as
both sandy and rocky beaches.
Our stay was for three nights (mid season
rate of $376 per person, double occupancy
for the stay). On seeing that our room was
on the ground floor, we requested a change,
which was accomplished the next day, to a
room with a balcony and a delightful water
view toward the mainland.
 The facility caters to families, most of
whom are French or Italian. Larger rooms
(bungalows) are available. A children's program
provides activities and oversight of the
children to enable the parents to enjoy time
to themselves. Washing machines and dryers
are also available (€4 per wash or
dry).
The food was tasty but lacked variety --
served buffet style, most choices were the
same (and prepared the same way) each day
except for a featured entree. The bread selection
consisted of just sesame bread, and the deserts
were always the same three types of pastries
and ice cream.
The outdoor dining would be truly heavenly
because of the view and weather if not for
the inundation by birds and bees. Ham or
bacon left unguarded for a moment attracts
a swarm of bees, whereas the bread and pancakes
will attract a small flock of birds. And
while both can generally be shooed away before
they land, we did witness one bee sting during
our stay. Based on the routine handling of
it by the staff, it appeared to be a common
occurrence.
As has been our experience with Club Med,
anything that is not routine creates confusion
among the staff and results in incomplete
and wrong answers or is simply ignored. Since
ground transportation is usually part of
the package, the reception staff (and the
1-800-CLUB-MED call center) knew little about
transportation to and from the club, mandatory
check out times (we were told 9 a.m.  and then 11 a.m., and the room information
said "midday"), and luggage storage
(we were told it could be left behind the
front desk but at checkout that was modified
to only our backpack, with our luggage having
to be left unattended curbside by the front
door of the facility. When the clothes dryer
failed to dry our clothes the overnight receptionist
told us to see the morning staff because
he was out of tokens, but it was incomprehensible
to the morning staff that one of the dryers
could break, and after much ado, we were
given a new (and now useless) token but told
that we could not get a refund (we had already
air dried the clothes on the balcony overnight).
Nonetheless, the stay was invigorating and,
fully adjusted to the time zone, we were
ready to start the next phase of our trip,
with a trip to the Cycladic island of Santorini.
A cab ordered by Club Med's reception desk
arrived on time for a €15 trip back
to Agios Georgious and the ferry (€1.6)
back to Agios Constantinos. We hurried the
short walk to the bus station, bought tickets
on the hourly bus to Athens (€10.30),
which arrived moments later. The bus made
a rest break an hour outside of Athens and
(unknown to us) a stop at the Kato Patissia
station on the Red Line to Piraeus before
proceeding to the bus station. |
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