Plaka Studios — Hotel in Chios Municipality

We visited Plaka studios in August as a four member family, during the high season. Plaka studios is a beautiful property with stonework facade and excellently furnished and decorated rooms. We had a family room with a double bed and two single sofa beds in separate spaces. The room also had a fully furnished kitchen and a dining table at a higher level, plus a balcony overlooking the sea. It was like a real beach house, with plenty of space (including two closets for cloths). Everything was in excellent condition and immaculately clean (full cleaning took place every three days, a minor cleaning daily). There were also enough materials to prepare breakfast for a couple of days, which considering the time boats arrive in Chios, was extremely convenient. Many restaurants and bakeries will also deliver to Plaka studios if you feel like eating in.||||The hotel is around 300 meters from the beach at Karfas, a very long sandy beach, which is surrounded by vacation homes and hotels. There are multiple restaurants, breakfast joints, coffee spots and mini markets within walking distance, and some of them are (justifiably) rated as among the best in Chios. If you don't feel like driving around, you can spend a few days there without repeating anything. There is bus service to Chios town and adjoining villages, but we did not try it. ||||If you do bring (or rent a car), you have many more options. You can park outside the hotel, but they also have a parking space a few meters away for the guests. The town of Chios is around 8 km, and very easy to reach (there is a free parking area as you enter town coming from Karfas). You can reach very quickly Kampos village and with some more driving the multiple villages known as Mastichochoria. There are numerous beaches easily accessible by car on your way. So, if you feel like driving, you can see something different every day, and trust me, there are many things in Chios that you will not find on any other island in the Aegean (do visit the Masticha museum and at least one of the fortified masticha villages).||||Finally, the people owning Plaka studios will make you feel at home and will help you with everything you need (where to go, what to eat, which beach will have the right weather depending on the wind). As I said, you will feel like you have your own beach house in Karfas, and a great...

We had read so many positive reviews prior to our trip that it really seemed like an ideal place to spend 8 days in Chios. Unfortunately, we were shocked with how dirty our room was as soon as we entered. It had been very poorly cleaned, if at all... (not to mention sanitizing it due to the current pandemic).||||(photos attached)||- Towels and sheets had hair from previous customers. We ended up using our own.||- Take a look at the mattress we were sleeping on. Mould? I don't know what it was...||- A/C was rusty and had mould inside. As soon as we turned it on, the air coming out smelled horribly bad. So, we only turned it on for a few minutes during our last days there with the horrible heat wave that hit the island.||- Dead cockroach in one of the kitchen cabinets. Mould around the sink. The sponge for the dishes wasn't new (they probably kept the same one from the previous customers). You could smell the mould as soon as you opened the bottom cabinets. Of course, we never used the kitchen.||||We're talking about basic hygiene rules here, regardless of COVID, and not if we liked the room or the view. The photos attached show clearly what I'm talking about. So, my wife and I ended up using our own sheets and towels. We cleaned and sanitized various surfaces that we had to use (night stand, table, chairs, closet). We asked not to have anyone enter our room during our stay there. We cleaned after ourselves, took care of the garbage etc.||||I should have given 1 star, but the owner was friendly and she agreed not to let anyone enter our room. She would leave garbage bags, shampoo etc....

I rarely write reviews, but this experience was too frustrating not to share. This studio apartment was a complete letdown.

First of all, the bathroom was in horrible condition — the fixtures were rusted, outdated, and honestly felt unsanitary. It looked like they hadn’t been touched or upgraded in decades. Stepping into the shower felt like stepping into a time capsule of neglect.

To make matters worse, there was no internet connection whatsoever. Despite the listing claiming Wi-Fi was available, I had zero access the entire stay. This wasn’t just inconvenient — it completely disrupted my ability to work, communicate, and plan anything while abroad.

The apartment had potential but was clearly not maintained or cared for. I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere unless you’re okay with rust and digital isolation. Total...