My girlfriend and I stayed here August of this year and absolutely loved it. Never before had I been on a package holiday where I thought, I will definitely be back there one day until our 2 week stay at Dias Studios in Kalamaki.

From the moment we stepped off the bus, we were greeted by co-manager and ex-pat Howard who helped us into the hotel with our luggage. He quickly checked us in and then helped us up in the small lift with our bags. He gave us a quick tour of our studio and left us to it.

Dias is a small, family run hotel which is made up of around 30 self-catering studios. It is situated about a 5 minute bus or taxi journey from the airport and is set just off the main strip in Kalamaki. It was started by a Greek family, who still run the restaurant which is attached to the hotel. The hotel is now managed by husband and wife, Howard and Linzi who are British ex-pats and have been living in Kalamaki for a number of years. There are very helpful and friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them. They were always willing to offer advice on where to eat out or what trips to go on.

The hotel has its own pool, which was never over crowed and it had plenty of sun beds for all its guests. The hotel was fully occupied the whole 2 weeks that we stayed and not once did we struggle to get a sun lounger.

The studio was clean, as was the rest of the hotel (pool area, pool bar and stair ways), it has a two ring hob and a couple of pots for cooking with if you so desired. We cooked on a couple of occasions and what was supplied was ample for cooking with. There were a few bowls, plates and some cutlery also supplied in the room. There was also a a fridge with a freezer shelf too.

The rooms were well maintained, with maybe the bathroom being the only exception. It was clean, but basic. There was no shower curtain and the hook that hold the shower up had some tape wrapped round it. Having said this, I wasn't too surprised and I had anticipated the bathroom to be very basic. From previous trips to Greece, I have never had a shower curtain and often had to hold the shower head. There is also no bath, but we knew this from the research we had done.

Air Conditioning was available to guests. There was a weekly charge of 50 euro for this. Having researched a lot of Greek hotels before booking Dias, this seems to be common practice in a lot of places. The rooms also come with a safety deposit box, which is 10 euro a week.

The hotel seemed as popular with Greeks as it did us Brits. The 2nd week of my stay was the beginning of the Greek equivalent of the trades and when there are locals staying, I think that is normally a good sign.

The restaurant attached served excellent food. We tried a number of the eateries that Kalamaki had to order and it would definitely be in my top 3. The restaurant source most of their produce from a small farm where the owners grow their own vegetables and keep chickens.

I would definitely recommend Dias to friends or family and would be surprised if we don't return on day. The accommodation is best suited to young families or couples. Groups of young males or females are welcome, but would be more suited to the neighboring resort of Laganas.