Is it better to suffer the scratches and dints of outrageously low Olive Tree
branches or to take a chainsaw to produce a working campsite?
The following correspondence between Margaret and Iliana, Manager of
Gythion Bay Camping, follows from the campsite's request for feedback after our
brief stay in May 2014. Margaret wrote three times, Iliana replied twice, and another
former long-term user of the campsite adds some comments.
Please Contact Us if you have any comment or any experience of Gythion Bay to Share.
This is the correspondence:
From Iliana of Gythion Bay Camping,
29 May 2014
Dear Family WILLIAMSON!
We would like to thank you once again for staying at our campsite and
hope that you have had a safe journey home.
Were you happy with everything on our site? If not, please let us know.
We are always willing to listen and will try to find a solution. You can
contact us on tel. no. +302733022522 or at
If our campsite came up to your expectations, we would really appreciate
it if you could provide a rating for us on the well known campsite ratings
platform ACSI. You can get directly to the right page for our campsite with the
following link:
Simply click on “Submit a rating” there. It is very quick and easy. We
hope that we will soon have the opportunity of welcoming you back on our site.
Best regards
Iliana & the camping Gythion Bay team
From
Margaret to Gythion Bay Camping, 30 May 2014
Dear
Iliana
Thank
you for inviting feedback - very few campsite owners undertake market research,
especially in Greece.
I
met you 2 years ago, when we came to see a motorhoming friend. You and I
talked a lot about the improvements you planned. During our recent visit (11-14
May) I was both impressed and disappointed. We had intended to stay longer.
On
the positive side, the refurbished toilets and showers are much better and are
kept very clean, though the hot water sometimes ran out.
The
new pool looks great in your publicity photos but is not the right shape or
depth for swimming. I saw nobody using it, just one or two people sitting round
it on the grass. To build the pool you have sacrificed the games area, and also
the space along the sea front where larger motorhomes could park.
But the biggest problem is still the trees, with low olive branches that
even overhang the driveway around the site. Entering the site, finding a clear
space for our caravan, and leaving again was like an obstacle course. On
arrival, I asked the woman in Reception why the trees were not pruned and she
said 'The boss will not hear of it, this is an olive grove' and 'campers need
the shade'. I'm afraid your father needs to consider whether campers want to dent
their expensive vehicles on his trees, and whether they want to feel so nervous
when driving round the narrow access road. If you want to attract more people
with anything bigger than a tent and car you must clear some space and think of
head-room.
When we came, a French convoy occupied the easier pitches, making it
almost impossible for us to find a clear pitch. Disappointingly, the restaurant
only opened on one evening, when it was crowded out with the French campers and
there was little choice of menu.
I overheard one French camper complaining in Reception about the
"grass" in the camping area. He was told that it is cut every week,
but it had certainly not been cut recently. It was simply a mess of weeds under
the trees and the only soft green grass is laid round the ornamental pool, not
for camping on!
Finally, free WiFi is always welcome if it works, especially on all
pitches. Your WiFi (only available round the pool and common room) was so
unreliable and slow that it just became another frustration.
I know your wish was to make Gythion Bay the best campsite in Greece,
but you have forgotten that campers need (and are paying for) SPACE!
I will put a review on the ACSI site, as you suggest.
From Iliana of Gythion Bay Camping,
30 May2014
Dear Mrs. Margaret,
Thank you for your comments. It is always nice and useful to hear the
complaints of our visitors. I would have appreciated more if you would have
found me and told me all those complaints when you were here.
Nevertheless everything has its own explanation. First of all, my daddy
died last year from cancer and at the same time I was all alone to do this
rennovation with the swimming pool and the grass.
For this reason now I am the only boss here and you know from our past
conversation that I care very much for the campers and all day the only thing
that I am thinking is how to make you more and more happy.
The trees is the only way to give shadow to this big area and in south
Peloponnese we have a lot of low trees such as olive trees. If I take them away
and I replace them with higher trees it will take ages to grow. So some parts
of the camping are suitable for tents and some are suitable for campers.
Also the places at the beach front still exist and they are 6. Six
places are enough to cover the needs of the people that want to stay on the sea
front.
Moreover, in Mani region there is a law for the swimming pools and they
are not permitted from the government. For this reason the only way to build
something with water in this region is to make something that has the depth of
a lake and for this reason it is only 1,40 meters height. But you can always
swim at the sea that it is right in front of us.
Now that the weather is better people really enjoy the swimmming pool.
When you came the weather was not so warm as it is now and for this reason
noone was there.
Finally, the dinner was planned initially for the group of french
people. Some other visitors heard that we are going to open the restaurant just
for one day and they asked if they can join us. Then we thought that maybe is a
nice idea to inform all the visitors that we are going to open the resaurant
and reserve if they want a table.
In our website it is written that the restaurant is not open on May, so
it wasn't supposed to be open.
For the internet I am also very frustrated with the greek company but
unfortunately in Greece we do not have as good telecommunications as in other
european countries. And the more distance you have from a big city the worst is
the signal of the Wi-Fi. I really hope that I could resolve this but it is not
in my hand. Just in case you visit us another time, there is also internet from
the 2nd group of toilets until the restaurant.
I am really sorry to have ruined your holidays. I am always willing to
hear your complaints and try to find a solution when you are still here.
I try to do my best but it is not always possible to satisfy everyone.
Thank you for your email.
Many regards,
Iliana
From
Margaret to Gythion Bay Camping, 1 June 2014
Dear
Iliana
Thank
you for your reply and explanations. I am truly sorry to hear that you lost your father last year and I am
sorry if I upset you by mentioning him. I can understand that this has made
things more difficult for you.
When the Receptionist told me that 'the boss' would not hear of pruning
the olives, I just assumed she meant your father, in view of what you had told
me two years ago when I said the trees were your biggest problem. They still
are. I cannot understand why you don't at least trim the trees which overhang
the access lanes, along which campers have to drive. I have camped in other
Greek olive and orange groves (we are in one now), but they are not such a
hazard as yours.
After we arrived on our recent visit, I did complain strongly to the
Receptionist, telling her how stressed and angry we were about the trees on the
site, the lack of clear pitches and thedangerousbranches overhanging the access
road. I was not prepared to waste time looking for you if this complaint was
not followed up. When I left and paid, I again complained and the Receptionist
said she would note my comments and tell 'the boss'. I don't know if that happened.
I did not expect the WiFi to work on our pitch, but took the laptop to
the pool area and into the common room: the WiFi Zone. It hardly worked at all.
This may not be your problem, but it's better not to offer what you can't
provide. I wonder how one of our favourite Greek sites, Camping Finikes at
Finikounda (a very long way from any city), manages to provide reliable free
WiFi throughout the site, on every pitch, all year round?
Thank you again for taking the trouble to seek feedback. I wish you well
for a busy summer season.
From Iliana of Gythion Bay Camping,
2 June 2014
Dear Margaret,
Thank you for your time and your reply. I really count your opinion
because you are professionals on the campings and your blog helps us a lot too.
The lady at the reception mentioned the problem with the trees, but she
thought that it was just the two trees near the reception which blocked the
passage of the big campers, so the next day we cut those specific branches.
Unfortunately she didn't understand that you meant the trees on the pitches
too. Now that I know, I hired a person to cut the olive trees so as a person of
1,70 meters can pass underneath and to create easier places for the campers.
Since I don't have a camper I cannot understand all the problems that may arise.
For this reason it is important for us to speak with people and listen to
opinions for improvement.
For the internet issue, we are going to make mass complaints, because
all the hotels and campings in Mavrovouni beach have the same problem. In
Finikounta maybe they have the telecommunication station near to the campings.
Here the nearest is 5 km away which makes the internet signal very weak. In
Gythion they have download speed 10 Mbps and here we have 1,5 Mbps. I called
the technicians last week and they counted it, but they told me that nothing
can be done unless they install a station closer to us.
I really want everyone to be happy during their holidays and I think
that talking the problems will always lead to a better result year by year.
Since I cannot be everywhere and sometimes people do not wish to
express their dissapointment, visitors' feedback is really important for me.
Thank you for your recommendations and your interest.
I hope to see you again another time and what made you unhappy to be
solved.
Many regards,
Iliana
From
Margaret to Gythion Bay Camping, 4 June 2014
Dear Iliana
Thank you for replying again and
for your interest in our feedback and our website.
However, you need to understand
that modern caravans and motorhomes (costing tens of thousands of Euros) are
not cars. Surely you do not need to drive a 'camper' yourself to observe that
the vehicles visiting your campsite are higher, wider and longer than a car.
They need space to drive along the access road and to manoeuvre onto a pitch that
is long enough, and high enough, and wide enough to put out an awning or park a
car alongside a caravan. A campsite is not merely a car park - the pitches need
much more headroom and space.
The access road round your site is
too narrow for vehicles to pass each other, yet you do not have a one-way
system, creating the need to reverse when two vehicles meet. This is difficult
enough with a large motorhome, harder still with a caravan, and almost
impossible with bends and overhanging trees.
Cutting the trees for a person 1.7
m high, as you say you have done, is no help at all. We are not talking about
walking under the trees (and the average man is taller than 1.7 m). Our caravan
is 2.6 m high, the van with which we tow it is 2.7 m high, and typical motorhomes
are over 3 m high.
Two years ago you expressed the
desire to make Gythion Bay the best campsite in Greece. You have a long way to
go! At the moment it is an olive grove with nice toilets and an ornamental
pool. It cannot be described as a campsite, except for tents under the trees in
summer. You need to fundamentally replan the layout with organised accessible
pitches.Your six (and only six) large clear spaces at the beach end were, of
course, all taken when we came.
I do feel it was a mistake - and a
waste of your enormous EU grant - to sacrifice the only open area for a
decorative pool, when people can swim in the sea and sunbathe on the beach.
This correspondence is now closed,
as there is nothing more to say. I wish you, your mother and uncle well with
developing your business.
From
a former long-term user of Gythion Bay Camping to Margaret, 2 June 2014
Thank you for sending us this copy email. I am so
pleased that you made your complaints and comments known.
Iliana is telling you untruths though, as her Uncle
and Mother are in charge of the campsite and she manages it, although of course
it will be totally hers in due course.
We also thought the pool ridiculous, they got an EU
grant of half a million to build it we were told.
They do have an obsession with the trees and the
olive harvest to the detriment of campers we saw over and over again. We found
though that they were always cutting the trees to the point that it became
annoying every day - but they only cut off the tops leaving the bottoms to
spread!!!
The Germans and Swedish couples we know from
Gythion Camping will not return due to the attitude of Iliana who governs
attitude to customers on a daily basis. She has lost their custom forever, the
Germans having camped there for 14 years! They had a 'Man Phoenix' and liked to
park on the beach side but Iliana put the prices up so much. The Swedish also.
They now go to nearby Camping Meltemi and pay the justified higher prices, and
we know of two others.
We paid only €220 or so per month for the whole
year through. Now for Winter they want €290 plus electricity. From our
experience of paying for electricity over and above in Spain, and the fact that
Gythio is colder than Spain, we reckon about €10 plus per day!! In Spain this
last Winter we never needed heating and it cost €70 per month. In Gythio we
couldn't have managed without our two radiators.
This Winter we are going to Gythio again to meet up
with our yogi friends but we are having an apartment each - at € 200 per
month!! They say there is room to park the motorhome. We are just hoping it's
not Greek lies!! but have ideas of where to park it if there's a problem.
Please Contact Us if you have any comment or any experience of Gythion Bay Camping to Share.
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