PENSION MARIA — Hotel in Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra Municipality

Our stay at the Paradisiakos Maria was purely by accident. We found it by simply walking along the main street of Arachova. It was recommended by our guide book, and we were not disappointed. We had been booked at the Arachova Inn (see review) but had found the hotel was teeming with teenagers on holiday||The Maria (our host told us) was a family-run 200 year old stone and wood hotel up a stone staircase right off the main street. It is small and cozy with many old Greek decorations (rugs, pottery, etc.) and photos of people in traditional costume on the walls. We assumed they were ancestors. Our hosts spoke little English but we managed to communicate OK.||The room was large, carpeted (actually a triple) with a single twin bed on the lower level. The place had a ski lodge feel to it, appropriate since Arachova is populated by skiers in the winter, skiing Mt. Parnassos. Wooden furnishings (armoire, beds) were older; the walls were decorated with sketches of scenes from Greek history, such as the Revolution. On the beds were patchwork quilts. The whole effect was charming, to say the least.||Breakfast was continental -- breads, cake, juice, coffee. ||Just a small warning about the Maria: they do not accept credit cards (cash only). Maybe this was posted at the desk but we didn't notice. We had to quickly get cash at an ATM.||We ate at two restaurants near the hotel -- One, Taverna Karathanassi, down the stone stairs and right across the street, overlooking the main square, and Taverna Dasaryiris, about 100 yards up the main street. We had delicious lamb dishes at both places. ||Note: there is no parking at this hotel. We hauled our bags up the stairs and then parked down on the...

This place could be so much more. Nice little room for 4 but there has NEVER been a renovation since it probably was made into a hotel. The bathroom is like out of the old Eastern Europe, the beds are extremely uncomfortable (hard, squeaky and old mattresses), the comforters and pillows flimsy. We stayed 2 nights and there was no tidying up during our stay. The hot water was limited, so after one person took a shower there was no more water. There was a very weak wifi. No water in the fridge so we needed to drink tap water. We paid 250 euros which is NOT CHEAP especially for a very basic hotel. Hopefully the very friendly owners can realize they need to update/upgrade instead of pocketing...

We stayed in this hotel only one night and we felt like we would not choose this hotel for longer stay. If you are looking for a bargain, yes, this hotel is good, but not as to leave some beautiful memories about it.||||There is no parking, breakfast is poor, the juice was not fresh or at least out of carton box, it was made out of juice powder, the bread was not fresh...we didn't enjoy breakfast much....||||One think we really did not like was, that after our check out, we had to ask for receipt; it was not automatically given to us...||||One good thing about this hotel is that it is...