If you are anything like me, when you hear 'hotel' you probably think of large soft beds that are perfectly made, a large t.v., carpet floors, a dresser with a bible in it, a coffee and tea station, a clean bathroom with plenty of soft towels and those fun tiny bottles of shampoo. As for the actual building you probably expect it to be at least several floors and likely has a pool, though not always. You most likely get a card for room entry, not an actual key. It probably has complimentary breakfast and you can usually get room service. There should be a lobby and receptionist, housekeepers and managers. There is also most likely a large sign to mark the hotel and to make it easier to find. On top of all this, you can expect that it won't be overly cheap.
I'd like to now share a few things about the hotels I've experienced in Greece. Take all the things I just said, and now throw them out the window. It's a totally other world over here and with hotels it's really no exception.
Firstly, as of yet, I have seen no receptionists, or phones for them to answer if there was one. There are no cleaners. Just managers/owners and probably their families. They cook if there is a connected restaurant, clean the rooms, take payment and do pretty much everything else.
Next, the bathrooms are... interesting. They work fine, it's just that they are not at all like anything I've ever seen. Anywhere. Not to say they aren't anywhere else, they may be and I just haven't seen them. With toilets, you can't flush toilet paper or anything else in the toilet (depending on the place), this has been one of the hardest adjustments since leaving home. Showers are handheld. You know the ones with the shower head attached to a hose? Like that, except that you can't clip it onto the wall and stand under it. You have to hold it. The whole time. Another hard adjustment. Lastly, if you get towels at all, you only get 1.
After bathrooms is beds. The beds are generally small and hard. They come with only the fitted sheet on and everything else (sheet and thin blanket) folded at the end. The mattress and pillows are quite hard in my experience.
There is no room service or in room coffee station. If you do get breakfast, it will probably be on a delightful terrace or roof, not likely inside the building. And as I have mentioned before, breakfast in Europe is not like breakfast in Canada/USA. It's usually bread, butter, preserves, meat, cheese, yogurt, coffee/tea and orange juice. Sometimes you might get an egg or cereal but it doesn't seem common.
A few other major differences are that the hotels on islands are very hard to find if you want a specific one. I have found its best to just show up on the island and wander until you find something. Signs are small, Greek or nonexistent. You will also get a key for your room, not a key card. Especially since key cards usually have your credit card info embedded in them and here you can't usually use credit cards to pay.
However, having said all of what I just said, which all seems kind of negative, I must say that I have had great experiences at these hotels so far. The owners have been pleasant, the food is good, the rooms are clean and best of all it's very cheap!
A private room, not a dorm or anything like that, is between €25-€35 per night. In some cases that includes a kitchenette or breakfast and usually free maps to the town.
Also, on a huge plus side, most hotels have some kind of spectacular view from either a great window or a private balcony. Balconies are very common here unlike in Canada.
All-in-all, as much of an adjustment as its been, I have really enjoyed my stays and I'm looking forward to more!
xoxo
