Mousses, Lefkas, Greece

Great place,great bar,great holiday.

Wonderful staff and a perfect place for young children.The girls at the creche are fabulous!!!

Our first time there, last July

We had fun, my 3 kids loved the creche!

good value for money,

We will definitelly be going back to Mousses

Having been there for the last 2 years we couldn't recommend it highly enough. Eleni and her son Zois, the owners, and Rena (lady who runs the poolside café) are very friendly and helpful. Villas are child friendly, kitchen very well equipped. My 2, 4 and 6 year old kids talk about it from the moment we leave until the next holiday-lovely crèche- ww also tried the barbeque nights and really enjoy it. Overall, an Amazing holiday for parents too!

Mumsnetters' comments: Visitors were full of praise for this "beautiful grown up resort with seriously luxurious rooms" which nevertheless was "extremely child-friendly, even to the point of fixing up blackout curtains on demand". The rooms were "spacious even with a cot" and the service and food "excellent". There's a "fabulous spa" and "a kids' club with lots of activities". The beach is a bit "shingly" but "empty and peaceful". Everyone mentioned the five star price tag and everything there is seriously expensive but the conclusion seemed to be that it was "well worth it - we're saving up to go back!"

Following all of the rave reviews I had read on MN, we booked 2 weeks in Mousses, arriving early May (the first week of the season). On arrival, we were delighted - the gardens are lovely and Mousses is indeed in a very nice setting - lots of beautiful olive, lemon & fig trees surrounding the 10 houses. The pool is lovely (cold in May though!).

However, we soon became a little less enchanted with the place! To begin with, we had no hot water until Tuesday afternoon (we arrived Sunday pm), it was only after I said that we would have to be moved elsewhere if it wasn't sorted out immediately that something was actually done (I had to go to one of the 3 bed villas on one of the days to have a shower - it felt rather like being at a camping site, with me taking my washbag, clean clothes, etc., out across the complex!). The house (we really couldn't go so far as to call it a 'villa') was pretty basic - rustic is the fashionable term I believe! I never attempted anything more than scrambled eggs (for my daughter) in the kitchen, as the facilities were just so basic - 2 electric hobs, microwave & a very basic oven type thing. There was a kettle & toaster too, although the toaster kept tripping the fuse every time we used it.

Given that the appeal of Mousses is its family-friendliness, the house wasn't ideal for young children. The stairs & bannisters in particular were potentially very dangerous. Most of all though, the house lacked any type of comfort, of softness. The sofa was basically a concrete base with a hard cushion on top. And the bed was just horrible. Very hard matress which had no give at all. During our 2 weeks there, neither my husband nor I had a decent night's sleep. My daughter's cot was pretty poor too. Then there was the external noise - numerous dogs barking throughout the night and other noises - cat fights, etc., really did not help.

The creche was lovely, as were all the girls who worked there. I'm a SAHM, so my daughter does not attend nursery or anything in the UK, but she adored going to the creche (we just had her in for 3 half days each week). At the end of our 2 weeks, they gave us a folder with all of the paintings. etc., she had done during her time there, which was a really nice touch. However, they no longer offer evening baby sitting, which was a bit of a disappointment. There was no way we would have left our daughter alone in the house to go to the bar, even with a baby monitor (although I did see more than one family do this). Additionally there are no other real facilities to keep the children entertained. A play area would be a good idea. There isn't a DVD player in the house, so God help anyone if the weather is bad and you have to stay indoors with a bored child as there were no other toys or games for children to play with outside of the creche.

We really liked Lefkas, it is a small & friendly island. Mousses is nice, but please do not go expecting any level of comfort!