Hara Studios & Apartments — Hotel in Argostoli Municipality

We have just spent a lovely two weeks at Hara’s (myself and my husband).||It’s a small set of apartments, no more than 12 rooms I believe, which makes it an absolute hidden jem. Ample room around the pool at any time of day with enough shades and sunbeds for everyone. Mostly couples stay here, and quite a few have returned year after year - something that we know we will begin doing if we travel over to Kefalonia again! It gave the place a really friendly atmosphere which is only heightened by the four resident cats and Luna the dog (all incredibly friendly but they’re more than happy to laze out in the sun and give you space to enjoy your holiday if you’re not an animal lover).||Not only is it a charming place with the gorgeous gardens and tranquil environment, but it’s a short walk from the beach front (approx 10mins and that’s at a pregnant lady’s speed!) with the main tavernas, shops and bars - we recommend Cozy and Maria’s. It’s also a short walk in the other direction to the bakery, more smaller tavernas and car hire (Venus, which we highly recommend). Car hire is not necessarily essential here if you are happy with a pool, beach and tavernas, however this is a perfect place for a base to search and enjoy other areas which Kefalonia has to offer. There is also a bus stop within a 2 minute walk.||In terms of Hara’s place, each room is equipped with basic cooking facilities (the same as other 2 and 3 star accommodation that we have stayed in), toilet paper for the first few nights (of which then you can purchase more of at the nearest mini market), air con (which was 9€ a night - a reasonable price and although kept to 24 degrees, was a perfect temperature for the room) and high-speed wifi which is obtainable from any part of the grounds. Hara has also given each room a unique artistic touch with her lovely paintings around the room - we enjoyed the ‘sea and boat’ theme in room 7! There was also a fridge freezer and space to place extra food if you wish to cook here.||Each room has a balcony / patio. We were on the ground floor so had a roomy patio with space to enjoy the sun with also the shade from the foliage and plenty of space to dry clothes from the rails. All of them seemed to be pretty private too.||Cleanliness was good - the cleaner came nearly every day, especially to clear out the bins. The pool was also cleaned and maintained very well. ||And also, need to say about how Hara was so hospitable and lovely across our visit. Even though she has had a very recent surgery, when speaking to her she was on...

Firstly let me say that the setting and grounds of these apartments are beautiful. However there were several issues with our stay and they were:||Air con - paid over 200 euro for air con in the 3 rooms we had. It was woefully inadequate, set at 24 degrees and not possible to change which given the temperature outside was too high and Hara was not available to resolve ||Shower - hot water plentiful but shower curtain not long enough and bathroom flooded easily ||Cleaning - Toilet bins only emptied twice during our weeks stay. As a minimum I would expect these to be emptied daily with the exception of Sundays for hygiene reasons Rooms only cleaned twice . Also only one toilet roll provided for whole week!||Pool - wasn't cleaned regularly enough to the point several guests reported to Olympic rep as hara was not available. Sunbeds need updating.||I understand that Hara was not available as she needed surgery. However arrangements should have been made for someone to be available to help guests and to clean regularly.||On our last day we were not leaving until about 5pm. We were not able to keep a room on which we fully understood but when we asked the olympic rep where our party of 6 ladies could go to the toilet at least he was not interested and just kept repeating "it's a 2 star property what do you expect"!||Eventually with the help of a lady who came to clean some rooms we managed to get access to a room with just a shower and a toilet in it. Why on earth the olympic rep didn't suggest this I have no idea ||We met others there who were repeat visitors but who had decided next year they would book alternative accomodation in the resort ||There are just a few things that could be done that would really help Hara to retain her visitors:||Ensure someone is available to help guests with any issues they experience.||Ensure rooms are cleaned daily (apart from Sundays) and toilet bins emptied at the same time. This has been the norm at all other greek properties I have stayed at ||Ensure pool is maintained more frequently.||Update sunbeds or invest in mattresses to put on top ||Provide toilet roll sufficient for the stay .||Update bathrooms to prevent flooding.||I don't think any of the above suggestions are unreasonable or costly to do.||So I'm afraid I cannot recommend these apartments or...

Nice, basic typically Greek apartments. Comfy beds. Lovely balcony overlooking the great landscaped gardens with side view of the mountains. Chilled pool area where the other guests make it friendly and welcoming. Really peaceful place. The aircon was lacking - 21 degrees. Lukewarm, 18 is cool so useless during the day. Made sleeping a little easier but not cool aircon at all. From reviews was expecting great hospitality from Hara but was just met with rudeness throughout, very unhelpful and unwelcoming. We asked to pay to keep the room for late checkout and got a flat no. She told me I could have a shower in the shower room so accepted that and prepared accordingly. She was ushering us out bang on checkout and then revealed there is no shower! Our room then stood empty with no-one cleaning it or attending to it for the whole time we waited for our transfer. I found her really mean and inhospitable. She didn't seem to want us there and others...