I booked the Constantinos Studios just to use as a base for a weekend while visiting friends who lived locally. Chania itself is something of a nightmare for parking, but the studios are located in a fairly quiet residential area just outside of the centre of town and I had no difficulty in finding somewhere to park on the road right by the studios. Although my stay was out of season (Feb), I suspect parking would still be ok during the summer months.
As the title of my review states, the studio was pretty basic, but this is reflected by the price. I believe the studios vary in size/layout, and being on my own I may have been allocated a small room. The bedroom area has an air-con/heater unit – as it was cold and raining for my stay, I only used the heater which very quickly and quietly made the room nice and cosy!
Furnishings wise - a standard double bed (actually very comfortable by Crete standards - not the rock-solid hard mattresses you usually find!), a tiny wardrobe (approx 18 inches wide) which contained several hangers and with a full length mirror on the door, 2 bedside tables and a small dressing table with mirror - all of these tables had an additional open shef under them for storage. There were no chests of drawers or cupboards, so you would probably struggle for storage space with a week or more worth of holiday clothes etc..
The bathroom – shower only - is compact. The shower has a shower curtain (not always found in Cretan accommodation!). One slight negative, the toilet cistern/ballcock (?) was broken, so the top of the cistern had been removed and the toilet had to be flushed by pulling on a small pipe – that worked perfectly well, but not ideal! I suspect this will be fixed fairly soon though! Also note that there is no storage or any shelves to store toiletries other than the corners of the sink.
The ‘kitchen’ is very basic – a 2-ring electric counter-top stove, and a full size under-counter fridge with small freezer compartment. Along the same wall is the sink (no drainer – just the sink) and about 18 inches of work top. There were 5 cupboards, sufficient for a holiday stay. However, the cooking/food prep utensils and crockery etc. are VERY limited – 1 saucepan, 1 small milk/water pan (typically for Crete, no kettle) 1 fry pan (definitely seen better days and I didn’t therefore use), a plastic (well worn) colander, 2 plates, 2 bowls, 3 assorted (and chipped!) mugs and an old, much used small chopping board. Cutlery wise – an odd assortment of 2 knives, 2 forks and 2 dessert spoons only! And that was it! Don’t expect to be easily able to knock up a full meal, but it’s adequate for breakfast and snacks.
The kitchen opens out on to a fair sized balcony via triple sliding doors and has 2 plastic chairs and table, plus a clothes-airer. The table and chairs easily fit in the kitchen for indoor dining.
Overall, the studio size was just enough to accommodate and walk round the furniture, but as I said, I think I may have had the smallest one as I was on my own. There are also plenty of well placed power points for using/charging gadgets/hairdryer (no hairdryer supplied) etc.
The ground floor of the studios houses the internet café – Approx 20 (?) computer stations and very quick internet connection (sufficient to watch a football match on live streaming!). The café also has a small bar offering coffee and alcoholic beverages.
There are several bars/restaurants within easy walking distance and there is a local beach (can’t comment on quality as I visited out of season). There are plenty of places to buy food/provisions within 20 mins walk or a 2 min walk, including a good size INKA supermarket.
Kostas was very helpful and accommodating. He speaks perfect English and was happy to help with all my questions.
Overall I would recommend the studios as a good budget-priced base.