Fantastic location, apartments basic but clean. Can be a little noisy for young children at night if you are right next to the bar/pool area. The beach is perfect for young children. The family were really friendly but, as some other posters have said, extra charges were sprung upon us as we were leaving. We refused to pay the charge for the safe as it had not been explained to us as we checked in and we had not used the safe. Everyone else in our party also refused to pay. We felt a little cheated by the owners attitude over these hidden charges and would make me think twice about going back to Lena, which is shame because we had a great holiday.

Just returned from a week at the Lena Apartments which we thoroughly enjoyed. The Family are lovely people and take very good care of you. We had a studio apartment which was a good size and had everything that we needed. Greek apartments are basic as a rule, but that is part of the culture, we had no complaints. Thank you John, Maria and Family for making our holiday such a success, we will definately be back.

Read several reviews of these apts AFTER I had booked - and was apprehensive as to what I would find - however my overall impression was good (it is very overpriced by the travel company who advertised these apartments though). Some reviews suggest infrequent and inadequate cleaning - but this was not my experience, the apt was very clean, and had been relatively recently rennovated I would say, bedding (white, crisp, clean) and towel (white and fluffy, and changed mid-week) were well laundered (note: towel not towels - previous reviews say they only give you one per person which is true, I took extra with me). The family are friendly, helpful and welcoming, and work hard to keep the apartments, bar, and pool area looking great. Other reviewers comment on feeling pressured to drink at the pool bar, or risk being ostracised (prob not spelt that right!)...I certainly did not feel that (drinking on my own would look a bit tragic!), but enjoyed George's freshly made iced coffee's and iced tea. The atmosphere is good - locals and regulars (some families have been here 2/3 times before) mixing together. As I was leaving a family was arriving - greeted with hugs and kisses, and exclamations over how the children had grown. That is what this place is about - perhaps some other reviewers should have booked into the 'boutique-style' 'spa' resorts/hotels, with their manicured lawns and electric gates, which seem to surround elounda?

My family and I (travelling with children aged 4 and 5) have just returned from a week in Elounda staying at the Lena Apartments. Rather than feeling rested as one should after a weeks holiday in the Greek sunshine we are all absolutely exhausted! The two bedroom ‘family apartment’ (room 2) we were allocated was just metres away from the pool and bar area and we were bombarded with continuous noise all day every day. Each night we were disturbed well into the early hours by the sound of music, voices, people stomping about then followed by the clinking of glasses and bottles as the owner cleared away. The grandma (who I can only assume was quite deaf) would switch the TV on at full volume each night at 11:30pm, presumably to watch the Greek equivalent of Coronation Street. The TV was positioned inches from the bedroom window where our boys were trying to sleep, it was absolutely ridiculous! She would then go off to bed leaving it on. Even during the brief time between 3:00am and 7:30am when it was relatively quiet the flimsy glazing and wooden shutters did nothing to keep out the noise of the pool as it gurgled away. It sounded like there was a babbling brook at the end of our beds and this was in no way relaxing. As soon as it started getting light the sunshine streamed in through the windows as there was only a tatty piece of net masquerading as a curtain to keep it out. Call me cynical but I suspect this was a clever ruse by the proprietor to get everyone out of bed early and spending at the bar. In short, if we had pulled sun loungers onto the main strip in Malia we would have stood a better chance of getting a proper nights sleep.

I complained about the noise several times but they couldn’t care less. On the last night I was weeping with tears of frustration but was simply told by George (the son of the owner and barman) ‘ah well, you travel home tomorrow’.

On the Saturday night they held a BBQ and placed it inches from our terrace. It was so close that smoke was stinging our eyes and filling our rooms with cooking smells. I had no desire for my beach towels and swimwear that were hanging out to dry, to smell of barbequed fish, thank you very much. In a final insult George put the hot coals from the barbeque on the grate directly outside our door. We pointed out that this was extremely dangerous as our small children were playing close by and he agreed saying that we must watch them closely! The family showed a complete lack of regard and respect for our feelings. This place is not family friendly at all and unless you have lots of Euros to spend at the bar you are not met with a warm welcome. Avoid if you can!