And you'll love Skala itself. There's a lack of buses to take you to other parts of the island but there are coach tours and many car hire places around (my tip: hire a car for three days or more because you pay extra when you drive for more than 100km with a one-day deal). I also advise you drink bottled water and hire a couple of bikes (€6/day each) because the scenery is breathtaking and you can take it in and get some exercise at the same time. 

 

The apartments themselves are spacious. We had three rooms: a living room/kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. All were clean to begin with. The toilet doesn't let you flush paper (not untypical in Greece and so not a problem). But it was easy to get water from the shower all over the bathroom floor. There's a mop for that. There's a shelf above the sink. I banged my head on that when washing my face.  You'll get fresh towels at the beginning of your stay. But they were changed just once. You'll get one toilet roll. That ran out after four days and wasn't replaced at all - I'd brought my own, thankfully.

 

The bedroom was basic but clean with its own sizeable balcony. It had a double bed, a bedside cabinet and dressing table with stool. The living room/kitchen had an uncomfortable sofa, a harsh light, a fridge with a rusty handle, sink and microwave. The wardrobe was in the living room/kitchen area. The living room also had a balcony - a larger one with chairs and table - and ours was a brilliant sun trap.

 

The rooms became hot at night. The first night was quite unbearable. There is no air conditioning or even a fan as standard: the former is charged separately at €30 and the latter at €15 per week.

 

The rooms did not get cleaned over the weekend, which also meant the bucket in the toilet was not emptied on Saturday or Sunday. It was a bit annoying. And on the last day we were slightly late leaving the room and the lady owner of the apartment block was very rude indeed, telling us to go.

 

But I would stay there again. It was extremely convenient for town and was a stand-alone apartment accessible from the street without having to go via a reception. Other than being told to leave, we weren't bothered by the owners once. And besides, you won't spend much time in the apartment anyway because Skala is so nice. Take some towels and toilet rolls and maybe your own fan. And above all, enjoy.