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AKS Annabelle Beach Resort can be found once more among the elite of hotels worldwide, since it has been awarded with the Certificate of Excellence 2014 by one of the most illustrious travelers’ websites, Trip Advisor.

This award is very important for AKS Annabelle Beach Resort and its people because it is based exclusively on guests’ ratings and reviews. The hotel received the award for the unforgettable experiences, the amazing service, the wonderful location and the attention to detail that each visitor will find and who will, in turn, award it with excellent reviews.

This certificate is accompanied by a responsibility and a promise: to continue providing complete services that will make your stay at AKS Annabelle Beach Resort exceptional. Thousands of you, our guests, decided that this hotel is an ideal destination for your vacation. We would like to express our thanks and gratitude.

 Crete Hotels– AKS Annabelle Beach Resort

Porto Heli is an ideal vacation destination, since it combines unique beaches, untouched nature that includes, mountains, forests and seas, and wonderful ancient monuments that are quite close, like Epidaurus, Troizina and, of course, Mycenae. However, the summer might bring increased temperatures and that is when you need to know what to do in order to be able to continue to enjoy this wonderful place.

So here are some advice for you to stay safe.

• Avoid the outdoors during the hottest hours of the day, that is between noon and 4 o’ clock in the afternoon.
• Dress lightly, with clothes that allow perspiration to dry out, and also wear a light hat that lets the air flow freely.
• Drink plenty of water. You can even add just a tiny bit of sugar or salt in it; it will help you avoid dehydration.
• Your meals must also be light and include a lot of fruit and vegetables, that hydrate your body.
• When at the beach, seek the shade. Stay under an umbrella or a tree.
• Wear sunscreen, not just at the beach, but all day long. Apply it often.

If you follow this simple advice, rest assured that you will enjoy everything that Porto Heli and Argolida have to offer, even if the temperatures are really high.

 Peloponnese Hotels – AKS Porto Heli

Hinitsa Bay Beach was awarded for yet another year a blue flag, thus proving that it is one of the best beaches not only in Argolida, but in all of Greece, not just because it is idyllic, but because swimming in its waters is completely safe. But what does it mean for a beach to have a blue flag?

The blue flag doesn’t only indicate clean waters, as many people believe. If it were just that, almost all the Greek beaches would have one. A blue flag also means excellent care, service and information for the bathers. In order for a beach to be awarded a blue flag, the people that are responsible for it must be actively working on keeping it in ship shape. Let’s see a few of the criteria that can bring a blue flag to a beach:

• A committee must take care of all the issues that arise
• The beach has to have visible signs with environmental information
• Safety and comfort for the bathers take precedence (with lifeguards, cabins, garbage and recycling bins, first aid, drinkable water, clean sand etc.)
• And of course, the waters must be crystal clear, away from any sewage or even sea currents that might bring in garbage.

In conclusion, you can trust AKS Hinitsa  Bay for your vacation, knowing that it belongs in the elite of beaches. Just bring your good mood and AKS Hinitsa Bay, along with the people who maintain it, will take care of everything else.

Peloponnese Hotels – AKS Hinitsa Bay

If you find yourselves vacationing at Hersonissos of Crete, you should know that you are at Heraklion prefecture, a particularly varied region which you need days to explore. Be it for its beautiful beaches or its unique natural landscapes, the prefecture and the city of Heraklion ask you to get familiar with them. We have to admit that if you’re looking for intense nightlife, Hersonissos offers more options than the city of Heraklion. This doesn’t mean however that you won’t find good little taverns and nice cafes. Nonetheless, you’ll go to the capital of the region and the largest city in Crete in order to admire the wonderful architecture of buildings and castles such as Loggia and Koules, to see the Lion Fountain and visit the Heraklion Archeological Museum that hosts items found around the island, mainly at Knossos, Phaistos and Malia. The region also provides many options regarding beaches. Besides Hersonissos, you can go to Karteros, Matala and elsewhere. Finally, don’t hesitate to head to the mountains of Heraklion such as Psiloritis and Dikti, to admire the flora and fauna of the untouched areas of Crete. It is also interesting to see the plane of Messara that surrounds the archeological site at Phaistos.

One of the best beaches close to Porto Heli is Ververonta Lagoon. It is said that it was named after the Berber pirates that used it as a hideout, since it provided protection from the elements and their pursuers. Besides the pirates, however, tradition says that its waters are capable of healing rheumatism and other afflictions. Even if the waters aren’t medicinal, swimming in such beautiful seas can offer you complete peace, quiet and relaxation. Today you’ll go to Ververonta to swim, to practice your water sports skills and sit at nearby little taverns to drink some ouzo and eat fish and other delicious seafood. It is indeed one of the necessary elements when vacationing in the beautiful Greek land. A table near the breaking of the waves with an umbrella to protect you from the sun, the sea breeze to strengthen your appetite and taste, good food and fresh, straight from the fishing boat. It is moments like that that make not only Argolida, but the whole of Greece an ideal vacation destination; it is moments like these that create unique memories. So, come to Porto Heli and its beaches to have such an experience. Peloponnese Hotels – AKS Porto Heli

The illustrious Minoan civilization had spread throughout Crete and it had a central role in the then known world of the Mediterranean Sea. Knossos may have been its center, but Crete is full of ruins of cities that were once glorious. The palaces and the luxurious tombs show us the periods of their peak.

The second most important city of the Minoan civilization was Phaistos, whose ruins are in southern Crete, at the plain of Messara, not too far from the city of Heraklion. The archeological research shows that the first palace was built around the beginning of the second millennium BC. That’s where, according to myth, Rhadamanthus, Minos’ own brother, ruled. The city was destroyed twice by earthquake, in 1700 and 1450 BC, but it was built anew and it flourished once more, while it is almost certain that it was inhabited up to the first century BC.

The city is mostly known for the Phaistos Disc that has troubled hundreds of scientists even since it was discovered at the basement of the palace in the beginning of the twentieth century. The writing has not been deciphered yet, despite the fact that there are many conjectures on the language and the contents of the disc.

When you are in Crete, Phaistos should be among your options for a day trip, especially since you’ll be able to enjoy the magnificent beaches on the south of the island.

Hotels in Crete | AKS Minoa Palace

When you find yourselves at Argolida and Porto Heli on vacation, it would be a pity not to enjoy everything that one of the most beautiful prefectures in Greece has to offer with its wide variety in geographical characteristics. Sea or mountain, cosmopolitan beaches or quiet villages, you can find everything in Argolida.

Quite close to Porto Heli, Ermioni and Kranidi is the picturesque coastal village of Koilada (meaning Valley). The village prides itself as the place where wooden boats have been traditionally built and its shipyard still produces reliable and of good quality boats. There are numerous small beaches at Koilada where you can swim or simply enjoy the sun and the warm, healthy climate of the region. In addition, Koilada is really close to the Frahthi cave, which, as we have written in a previous post, is very important for the archeologists, especially for the prehistoric findings there, while there is also evidence that the most ancient prehistoric settlement of Europe can also be found at the cave.

If you have a car and you wish to explore the area around Porto Heli, then Koilada must be among your stops.

 Argolida Hotels | AKS Porto Heli

Some of the most interesting monuments in Greece can be found in Mycenae and truly only the hill of the Acropolis with the Parthenon and Delphi with the oracle can be compared to them. The visitor will spend a lot of time exploring tombs and arches, cisterns and palaces, while next to the monuments there is also an archeological museum that hosts Heinrich Schliemann’s findings, as well as archival documents and photos relevant to the excavations on the site.

The most famous monument is perhaps the Lion Gate that marks the entrance to the archeological site and it is indeed wondrous how such carved rocks can be put into place using techniques lost in time. It should be noted that while the rest of the site was excavated by Schliemann, the Lion Gate was restored by the Greek archeologist Kyriakos Pittakis in 1841.

You will want to see the palace that is up the hill. Few things remain there, however, so it might be more interesting to spend more time at the tombs, where most of the objects that you’ll see in the museum were found, like the renowned Agamemnon’s Mask. Those vaulted tombs belonged to royalty and this is obvious from their construction technique. Finally, you should see the underground cistern, which was part of an ancient water supply system.

 Hotels in Peloponnese – AKS Porto Heli

If you ever find yourselves at Argolida and Porto Heli, then it is necessary for you to take a day trip to one of the most impressive archeological sites in Greece, Mycenae. Today it can be found near the village of the same name in the interior of the region and mountain Tritos, away from the wonderful coast that attracts thousands of tourists every year. A visit there, however, will bring you close to the beginnings of Greek history, as it is apparently related to the Mycenaean civilization, when we first start having information on the people, their habits, their language. Mycenae is connected to the family of Atreides, among whom best known is Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks during the Trojan Wars. The epic poems of Homer and the ancient tragedies have placed the adventures of this family firmly within the Greek soul. One of the findings in the Mycenae, that was discovered by Heinrich Schliemann himself, a golden mask, was believed to belong to Agamemnon himself. The palace of Mycenae was erected, according to archeologists, around 1350 BC, even though the myth says that it was Perseus himself who founded it. During those times, they were probably the most important commercial center in Greece and their influence extended to the Mediterranean. It is definitely no accident that one of the first Greek civilizations flourished in Argolida. Peloponnese Hotels – AKS Porto Heli

Crete can pride itself in having a vacation destination, which the whole Europe will soon know, if it doesn’t already. That is Hersonissos, a small community with a big soul. It is located close to Heraklion, so you can have easy access to it either by boat or a plane. And once you get there, you’ll realize that you’ll never want to leave!

Whatever is connected in the human mind with holidays on Greek islands exists in Hersonissos and rest assured that you won’t miss a thing while there. For the younger folk, there are organized beaches full of vibrant crowds. Some have beach bars and coffee places, so you can warm up before the real party at night, in the various clubs of the region. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t some slightly quieter beaches, if you wish to relax, as long as you feel like discovering them.

If you find yourselves at Hersonissos along with your family, then you still have many activities to choose from. From the water parks where your children can play all day to the sights, like Knossos, that can be found quite close to Hersonissos, your options are so many that your only problem might be that you won’t have the time to do everything.