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Visitor reviews for Helmos Ski Resort

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• February 05, 2012
  trancewindsurfer from Greece
  

  This resort is getting more ridiculous by the second. The lifts reminded me of a resort in a third world eastern block country. Granted, it was a bit windy this weekend but the lifts they decided to operate stopped every other second, the lines were long too.
  Also, on non windy clear days you'd be lucky to find Styga open. I'm guessing 'cause they don't wanna spend money on electricity, cause skiers aren't that many.
  Pricing sucks too, instead of spending money on marketing (tons this year it seems) maybe it wouldbe better to reduce prices. I'll leave it up to the smart managers to prove me wrong...

• Helmos Ratings

  Based on 26 votes. Vote

  Access: 3.5 (1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Helmos.	Public Transport: 3.3 (1) There are no buses or taxis to Helmos, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
  Scenery: 4.3 (1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.	Accommodation: 4.0 (1) No places to stay in/near Helmos, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
  Cheap Rooms: 3.5 (1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.	Luxury Hotels: 3.9 (1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Helmos.
  Ski in/Ski out: 2.8 (1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.	Childcare: 2.9 (1) There are no child care facilities at Helmos, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
  Snowsure: 3.2 (1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Helmos is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.	Snowmaking: 1.8 (1) Helmos relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
  Snow Grooming: 3.9 (1) There are no snow groomers at Helmos, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Helmos are groomed daily.	Shelter: 3.0 (1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Helmos is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
  Nearby options: 2.6 (1) If snow conditions are poor at Helmos, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.	Regional rating: 3.9 (1) Helmos usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.
  Lift Staff: 3.5 (1) The staff at Helmos are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Helmos are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.	Crowds/Queues: 2.8 (1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.
  Ski Schools: 3.6 (1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.	Hire and Repairs: 3.5 (1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.
  Variety of pistes: 3.4 (1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Helmos has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.	Beginners: 4.0 (1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.
  Intermediates: 4.2 (1) No intermediate terrain at Helmos, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.	Advanced: 4.2 (1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.
  Snow Park: 3.6 (1) Not even a kicker at Helmos, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.	Off-piste: 3.8 (1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.
  Cross-country: 2.8 (1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Helmos, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.	Luge/Toboggan: 2.4 (1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Helmos has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
  Mountain Dining: 2.9 (1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.	Eating: 2.9 (1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.
  Apres-Ski: 3.3 (1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.	Other Sports: 2.3 (1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.
  Entertainment: 2.8 (1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.	Winter Walks: 3.0 (1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.
  Ski Pass Value: 2.7 (1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.	Value (National): 3.1 (1) Overall, Helmos is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
  Value (Global): 2.8 (1) Overall, Helmos is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

  Based on 26 votes. Vote

• January 08, 2012
  nicksar from Greece
  

  On January 6th, 2011 Helmos Ski Resort didn't open neither to skiers nor to visitors for security reasons due to stormy winds (the wind speed was more than 50 km/h) and fog. Relevant announcement has been issued and published previous evening.

• January 07, 2012
  Dimitrios Panagiotou Kosmopoulos from Greece
  

  Last week I visited the ski-center of Helmos with my cousin, Jimmy, for skiing. The weather was snowy and the pistes were full of snow.

  When we arrived there, we were skiing at the easier pistes where there weren't too many people. After almost two hours, we wanted something a bit more difficult and we decided to go to the most difficult piste of the center, Ino. At first it seemed to be a really hard piste for my cousin to go down with me because of the much powder but we had decided to do that. At a moment, my cousin fell down and hurt his leg. He couldn't stand up, crying with pain and my aunt was ringing me because we had to leave! I was very confused! After twenty minutes I lifted my cousin up and we went straight down to chalet where my aunt was waiting for us. When we finally got there my aunt started shouting angrily at me because we were too late. I tried to explain her what had happened but she was extremely angry.

  When we returned back to the town of Kalavryta, where we live, I understood that I did well that I helped Jimmy. I had never felt so nervous in my life, but I knew that I had to do that.

• January 06, 2012
  Kalavryta Visitor from Greece
  

  The only ski resort on earth that can be closed due to snow. Even the cafeteria.

  God help us!! (06/01/2012)

• January 04, 2012
  drew from Greece
  

  They have sorted it this year, the park is open, and being looked after for a change, the mountain has a good base down and it's going to snow again next week. Well done to the management apart from the slow lifts that can't handle weekends or holidays. Will be back on my next days off!

• December 28, 2011
  drew from Greece
  

  Am looking forward to the new season and I hope the staff attitude towards paying customers improves this season as well a reliability and speed of the lifts (I also got stuck on the 10th of March this year and got lousy attitude from staff) I also hope they update the pass system soon similar to Parnassos because several times my pass got tatty and they refused to let me on the lift and it took me an hour to sort out a solution.
  Swore last year I wouldn't come back but I'm going tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

• April 03, 2011
  Kalavrita Ski Center Management Team from Greece
  

  Τhe Kalavrita Ski Center is addressing all challenges with professional management and aims to maximise the satisfaction of all our guests. Safety of our guests and employees is the utter priority of the Kalavrita Ski Center and this will never been compromised for any reason. Enjoying the elements at really adverse weather conditions on the mountain gives us many challenges which we address with professionalism and often self denial of our staff.
  Please feel free to contact us and see the photos of how our staff operates to make sure that our guests enjoy the best possible skiing conditions.

  @ALEX thank you for your comments, we will try to improve the waiting area of the lifts. In fact we are preparing this area every morning, but till noon it deteriorates specifically the days with many skiers. The challenge is to find a way to smooth the lifts entrance during the course of the day.

  @Anestis: Indeed, a technical problem occurred in the electrical line of Styga on the 10th of March, which pushed us to stop the operation of the lift for less than 24 hours (this was the time necessary to locate and fix the issue). Worth to notice that we could continue the operation of the lift, but with slightly less safety assurance, which option we immediately dropped from our possible alternatives as the Safety of our guests and our staff is ultimately our first priority. On this particular day we had a problem with the electrical system of this machine and we decided to stop its operation as it was unsafe for us to operate. Our technical team identified the fault at the same day and we managed to source the necessary parts by the following morning (11th of March) and repair Styga we were able to open the facility back at 11 a.m. on March 11th, which in other words means in less than 24 hours. Like any machine it is inevitable that the machinery operating will have technical faults form time to time and we are doing everything humanly possible to repair and provide the facility back to our guests.
  On this particular case we had to address the technical fault and also to deal with a small minority of our guests that became aggressive towards our staff and spoiled the experience of all our other guests that were enjoying the day on the mountain.
  Due to the nature of our operations there are several technical problems that are inevitable. We appreciate that in that particular occasion we did not offer the service that we would have hoped and aim to but we are satisfied that everything possible was done on this occasion to ensure that repair work was done as early as possible.
  About your comments on the rude staff: thank you for your comments and we are sorry to hear that we did not meet your expectations on this occasion. All our staff is going through regular training to ensure that they deliver the staff experience we have identified. Having said that our staff is often working under very difficult conditions in sub zero temperatures with a great challenges from the machinery and the weather and often have to deal with unreasonable requests and attitude. We also monitor all specific complaints made and provide individualised training and appraisals to each individual staff. Please email us ( mail@kalavrita-ski.com) or call us on 26920 24451 to provide us more information on this occasion and we will take all essential measures to ensure that your future experience will be satisfactory. Rest assured that this is of major concern for us. On the other hand, we are glad to have received dozens of positive comments on the behavior, service and friendliness of our staff this year.

  @ Long time skier a) costs: Kalavrita ski center operates for about 100 days a year and it has to cover all costs needed to ensure the proper operation of the site with main focus on legal obligations and whatever is related to the safety of the customers and the staff. Our main income comes from the value of the ski-pass which marginally allows us to operate at the limits of profitability. We ask our friends to sympathize with us and understand that we are not a profit making company, neither we enjoy any subsidies from the state, but we only rely on our customers input and share holders capital. b) ski rental staff: point taken; let us investigate and take measures. Promise to be better in the next period.

  @Nickolas, thank you for your positive comments.

  Kalavrita ski center Management Team, is very much guest-oriented and does all the necessary actions for continuous improvement in our guest’s satisfaction. We thank all our friends and customers for their comments, which help us to spot problematic areas and take measures. We are always at your disposal for positive suggestions and ideas for improvement at mail@kalavrita-ski.com.

• March 22, 2011
  Aris from Greece
  

  I would like to comment on an area that needs improvement. This is the place where people are waiting to get the lift, especially at the waiting area of lifts for Styga and Thetis. The surface of the land is not straight and people are hitting each other. I believe that it is very easy to put somebody to dig the area and create a straight surface.

• March 13, 2011
  Anestis from Greece
  

  Indeed, the infrastructure in Helmos ski-resort did reach new heights. However, the human resources remained the same, disappointing. Not only are they indifferent when asked for help, but also they are offhand, rude and tend to scorn visitors at any given time. I would be very lenient if I considered them inadequate even to herd the goats of Helmos mountain range!

  Last Thursday (10/03/2011), my friends and I set off for Helmos ski resort. We paid the €15 ticket fee and board on the first lift at 11:00. Suddenly it broke down. We, and the rest of the skiers, stayed confined to the obsolete lift for 45 minutes!

  The lift was announced to be out of order and so the 50% of the mountain pistes. When we claimed for compensation, the staff was laughing at us and they said that no refunding was possible. When we asked to speak with the administrator of the resort, they were completely sarcastic and they all alleged to be the administrator themselves. It was a parody! As you can figure out, we couldn’t even communicate with such ignorant people.

  Shame on them, shame on the man who bears the title of resort manager, shame on these speculators, these filthy business cons who take advantage of their monopolistic character and eventually the naïve visitors.
  I wish I didn’t have my cottage in the area so I could avoid visiting this resort for the rest of my life!

• March 01, 2011
  Long time skier from Greece
  

  I visited Helmos a few days ago for the first time in a couple of years and I'd like to congratulate the resort operators for seriously improving the overall experience there. The pistes were wonderfully groomed and the equipment looks well maintained despite its age. Piste staff is courteous and helpful.

  However, having said that I'd like to point out two issues that negatively affected our visit.

  First of all the issue of cost. Though I realize the ski season in Greece is short and prices are high in order not to operate at a loss, the prices in the cafes are extortionate. 4,5 euro for a tiny cappuccino is disgraceful.

  Secondly, the staff at the ski rental building at the resort must have missed the customer service training because they were rude and arrogant. My girlfriend and I (both very good skiers) were each given a pair of skis in obviously terrible condition (for double the price compared to ski rental shops in the town of Kalavrita) and when I (politely) asked for a newer pair the staff member seemed very displeased that he had to go to the trouble of unmounting another pair. When I pointed out a specific pair, he said "what, you want me to take down all these skis so I can get you the one you want?" That is simply unacceptable. Also, when we returned the equipment, the same guy asked my girlfriend (who had dropped one of her batons on the floor while giving the equipment back): "Did we only give you one baton?" in a very sarcastic manner, even though he had seen the baton fall to the floor. Unfortunately, this is a frequent occurrence in tourist resorts in Greece, where staff somehow feel it is a privilege for you to be served by them instead of the other way round.

  I hope the resort managers are able to sort these issues out. Other than that, (not including the snowboarders who cut up the snow and take up half the pistes by sitting down wherever the feel like ) we had a great day :)

• February 13, 2011
  Nicholas Vembos from Greece
  

  A new season has started at Helmos ski resort. A little late, I'd say, but at least it did!
  Excellent powder off-piste and very well prepared pistes.
  I see a lot of good new things happening there and and once again, I keep my fingers crossed that this is the time and that good things will keep on happening there!
  The snow park is excellent with super neat kickers, a very nice thick rail that anyone can ride and a huge balloon that makes jumps and tricks easy even for noobies!
  Guys, grab your video cameras and run at the park. You can catch very professional videos and pictures of yourselves airborn!
  And the best is that the balloon if for free while last year it had a per day charge. At last a good playground for all has been formed.
  I am so happy about it, so happy.
  I can't wait for the weekend to come!
  Cheers to all guys and happy rides!
  Nick

• January 26, 2011
  Kalavrita Ski Center Management Team from Greece
  

  We would like to inform you that the ski season at the Kalavrita ski center(Helmos) started as of today! At first we want to introduce ourselves. Since this winter we are the new management and operating team at the Kalavrita ski resort (the company was recently restructured to an S.A.). We are very thankful for all your comments and we are committed to do our best to make your visit in our ski resort a memorable experience. We also want to inform you that we have changed a lot of things this year; let us give you a few examples:
  We put all our staff through a customer service training, starting from the cashier till the ski patrol.
  We invested around 100 k Euro in building a new fun park, improving the lifts, renewing the building, etc... but please understand that we are not able to build all lifts new in one season. We are talking about 3-4 million Euros for one new installation! Of course the installations are not new, but they are in a very safe and, for their age, good condition. All lifts have been checked by specialists, who have provided all necessary certifications!
  We hope we could be able to give you some more context in the future. We hope also that we will continue receiving your feedback, especially about your feelings after a visit on our mountain.
  
  Thanks and nice ski days.

• March 09, 2010
  DIMITRIS from Greece
  

  I have been skiing at Helmos mountain for the past 15 years. The only reason that I have been doing it is because it is the nearest resort to my home (only 45km). It is a very beautiful mountain and it has every potential to become the best ski resort in Greece.
  Unfortunately, it is the worst ski resort in Greece and that is because the lifts are very slow, old and probably dangerous. They brake down continuously and as an engineer, I can easily understand that as they have almost no maintenance.
  The most important disadvantage of this mountain is the people working for this resort, especially the people at the parking and at the lifts; they are very rude. They do not help at all and especially on weekends and holidays (don’t visit the resort that days!) they constantly delay to open the resort and hurry to close it and go home. The people operating the snow-ploughs work maximum 1 to 2 hour per day all together. I have never in my life experienced such bad services anywhere else.
  As for the web side…. don’t believe the web side! Paragliding, endurance skiing, snow tubes, snow park simply do not exist! There is, from time to time, something like a snow park but please don’t try it as you will probably harm your self and maybe end up at the hospital. As for the height of the snow, they don’t say it, they prefer the customer to go to the resort, pay a pas (25 euro at weekends!) and only then he can see if the snow is suitable.
  I really hope that things will change soon and until then I will try to visit other resorts even if they are far away from my home.

• March 03, 2010
  taliban from Greece
  

  A ski resort consists of three elements. The mountain, the infrastructure and the people. So, one at a time:

  1. The mountain:
  It is really beautiful at Helmos and quite high for Greek standards. The pistes are basic and with no specific difficulty. For example, the main blue resort run, begins with a steep part [red] which often frustrates beginners. A couple of red runs begin with really flat parts, where even well waxed boarders have to walk.
  The obvious off-piste options though, are quite interesting. A few mellow hills close to the resort, a big, steep open face under the Styga chairlift, a couple of small natural pipes, and a face with trees and wide gullies on the right side of the double drag lift give the boarder many options, depending on his ability, the snow quality, the weather and of course the lift operation status.
  If you are prepared for some easy walking, and possibly a bit of adventure, there are also some very interesting, not obvious off-piste routes, to discover.

  2. The infrastructure:
  It is bad, even for Greek standards. It would be very easy to start joking about the slowest lifts on the planet, but for me it is not funny any more. Would be nice to rebel against the cappuccino price [4.50€] but I do not care.
  My belief is, that the resort was designed by people who had nothing to do with mountain sports, and that is why the two base lifts are useless, offering 200m of vertical ascent in about 10 minutes, not counting the queue wait. Actual descent time for these two? From 45" if you "straight line" them to six minutes, if you walk down on one foot, carrying your mother in law.
  For the same reasons, the top of one lift is not high enough, for a boarder to reach the bottom of the next one without walking and on a weekend or holiday, the queues can be lifetime long [10-45min]. Anyway..
  Now, if you take a look at the resort's web site, you will find out about some very interesting extras like paragliding, endurance skiing, snow tubes, moguls ski, Snow Park and even an MX race track. Well, I have never seen any of these on the mountain [although there is a terribly maintained [dangerous] park, from time to time]. Probably the web designer made all these up..
  So, considering all these I would suggest a reasonable day-pass price of 7-10€. Reality though, makes me sound ridiculous, since lift passes cost 15-27€..

  3. The people:
  Oooh, the people. It is really embarrassing, since they are ireeks like myself, but I have never, ever met, worst -well paid- workers in my life. I don't care if they are rude, because I am 1,90m tall and weigh 90kg, so they aren't rude to me. But they are useless. They do nothing. They do not need to be there, they do not have to be paid, they do not need to exist as parts of the resort team. For sure trained monkeys, would have done a better job..

  As a conclusion: I would definitely suggest a visit to Helmos, under a few golden conditions.
  Never on a weekend or a holiday.
  Never when the wind blows faster than 25km/h.
  Always with lots of patience, a couple of sandwiches, and a bottle of water in your pack.
  The mountain is nice!

  PS
  What is mostly disappointing, is that in the last five years, no progress at all has been made. Things just keep getting worse.
  Would be really something, if us, riders could boycott the resort for a whole season, just to make things move a bit in the right direction of privatization..

• January 28, 2010
  Chris Georgantzos from Greece
  

  I don't know where to start. Maybe from the parking personnel who tell you to park the car so close to each other that at the end of the day it is very difficult to unpark and you have to unpark passing cars by centimeters in the snow or icy tarmac, why are they there? The snow center opens at 09.00 although the site mentions at 08.00. We waited from 08.45 to 09.00 in -4 celcius for the ticket person to roll her cigarette in the warmth of her shelter. Why can't they issue tickets or even open earlier than 09.00 - science fiction. Coffee or snack prices 5 euro each. In Austria prices in the snow center concerning snacks are much cheaper. Not to forget the outdated lifts that need 13 minutes to get you to the piste (that's for the faster Styga seated lift). You spend 13 min in the lift to ski for 10 minutes, each round perfect. I try not to use this ski center (Helmos) at all but because of its proximity I use it 3-4 times a year. I would like to use it more but the condition of the pistes means you need all-mountain skis most of the time. Shame, if nothing worse.

• January 26, 2010
  Pantelis from Greece
  

  A pleasant surprise indeed. The lifts at Helmos are all modern and function well. Great place for families. The Green run at the bottom of the mounain was free to use so it was perfect for children just starting out. The ski school was also located there so it was extremely convenient. Organisation wise, not easy to judge as we were there on a Monday and we pretty much had the whole mountain to ourselves. It did appear that the lift staff preferred to be in the shelters so not sure if they would have come out if there were long queues. Will definitely go to Helmos again!

• December 27, 2009
  Fotis Lekatsas from Greece
  

  Helmos lead has been changed...

  It is going to be better. Example, first day opening with Styga totaly opened, great snow and track quality... that never happened before. But the main problems remains: Styga lift problems. It stuck and I was waiting in the middle approx. 20min Also high chalet prices. 4.5 euro for a coffee or 6 euro for a Red Bull.

  I think that this year will be the last one without updating the lifts at Helmos.

• December 15, 2009
  Drew leach from Greece
  

  Helmos is Great on powder days, and there's quite some scope for back country riding.
  But the parking attendants are the rudest bunch of idiots I've ever come across, telling you to move your car for no reason once they've watched you get your boots on, and considering you're a paying customer willing to pay nearly 30 euros a pass (usually I've got 4 to a car) and have driven 2 hours to get there someone in charge needs to address this problem or they're gonna end up with nose bleeds. The lifts at Helmos are slow and outdated, plus the attendants don't make people fill the chairs, so you're waiting ages for no reason. Have been coming here for the past 5 seasons and it's getting worse.

• March 20, 2009
  Ben Bland from United Kingdom
  

  This little mountain (Helmos) has so much potential, especially for the ‘free-rider’.
  I went there the other day and the off-piste conditions were not good, so I skied on piste for two hours. The piste skiing is pretty limited but the off-piste, on a day when we get snow, is really something. The mountain offers a variety of descents – through trees, on the open Styga front side, down gullies on the back side of Styga and then there is a lot more if you are prepared to look for it and walk a little. I am not going to tell all the secrets otherwise those peaceful times off-piste will be ruined but believe me, there are many challenging and enjoyable parts to this mountain (Helmos) for the fit and accomplished rider and if they invested in a few more lifts, Kalavryta might even attract foreigners just like me.
  Now, one very large grumble, ok yet another very large grumble. I bought a season ticket at Helmos which cost Euro 350. The idea was to avoid all the queuing and hassle that is recognised to occur. I like to park my car by the bottom button lift (Daphne) put my skis on and go. Now for some reason the staff don’t want me to do this and keep insisting for me to move the car even if the car park is empty and I have my ski boots on. They have obviously been given instructions. In my opinion there could be savings made here that will allow me to park my car at the bottom of the lift. After all I have paid 350 Euro not to be irritated by queues, crowds, parking attendants and lift operators.

• February 24, 2009
  des from Greece
  

  If Helmos was not the nearest ski field to me I don't think I would visit it. This is not because of the snow quality or the slopes, but because of the staff who watch people having problems with the lifts and, instead of helping them, they stare and laugh. The prices at Helmos are also are very high and from Monday to Thursday some of the lifts are out of order for silly reasons.

• February 10, 2009
  Chrstos Tsiv from Greece
  

  I have visited the Kalavrita Ski Center (Helmos) on the 1st of February. The weather was great, the snow also. Many people visited the mountain with the hope to have a great ski day. Unfortunately the people working at the ski lifts made sure that nobody would be pleased. Their attitude was outrageous. Instead of helping people getting on the lifts, they were just standing back enjoying the spectacle of people missing the lifts, fall down, getting hurt and creating a huge traffic. When people were telling them "why are you not helping the skiers" their reply was "it is not my job", "I don't care" and "if you don't like it never come in Kalavrita again".
  I have visited many ski centers in Greece and Europe, it was the first time to face such an outraging behaviour. The lift crew were a disgrace for the Ski Center at Helmos. I am going to think twice before I go skiing in Kalavrita again.

• January 22, 2009
  Ben Bland from United Kingdom
  

  I have been skiing on Helmos for 6 years now and, I have to say that the way in which the centre operates is getting better. It could, of course, get better still but that is not the reason for this report.
  I am amazed, shocked, outraged, appalled, horrified at the cost of hot drinks in both cafes on the mountain. What is it in Greece? Why should drinks cost so much money and why should they have increased the price by 30-50% since last season? There is an economic crisis going on all over the world and these two cafes increase their prices by so much.
  Please, all you riders, make a stand, say something and refuse to pay these ridiculous prices. Fill your thermos flasks and stop them charging so much.

• January 21, 2009
  marios from Greece
  

  Went to Helmos for what was expected to be a perfect ski day on Monday, 19th of January.
  On the contrary, the ski center was closed until 10:00. When finally opened, Styga + Artemis were closed (of course) due to strong winds (they said). At 12:30 they announced that Artemis will open as soon as they de-freeze it.
  I have not visited all the other Greek resorts, but I am pretty sure that Helmos is the worst by far, in terms of management, staff, and price/quality.
  The locals are furious with the resort-management and skiers too.

• January 08, 2009
  PHIL from United Kingdom
  

  Having posted a mixed review in Jan this year I have to update this after my latest visit to Helmos. Whilst the chalet is unchanged, there are increased prices: 4 euros for coffee and 5.50 for a sandwich - astounding. However the ski rental shop has turned around and service bordered on jovial. They had no boots my size and understandably I was annoyed as my family then had to wait for me or go with out me. But the shop staff apologised, ordered boots from Kalavrita and gave me cake while I waited. The lift staff have improved as well. 2 great days skiing.

• December 30, 2008
  orestis from Greece
  

  For those that are trying to find out why "Agyra" and "Styga" are closed is because they don't have enough stuff to work at the resort to open it. I know this from a very good source. The thing they said about a major part that missing to fix Agyra is total rubbish...
  Enjoy though but don't buy anything that they give you.

• December 29, 2008
  john from Greece
  

  Totally rubbish. Such a great waste of money and disappointing in every way (stuff,lifts,pricing).

• December 27, 2008
  orestis from Greece
  

  Hello there,
  Probably on top 3 resorts in Greece mountain wise in my opinion but for sure on the top of the worst lifts, food, value for money, workers, and of course, management.
  All these good news I reckon won't happen this year(2009)
  I remember this resort from when I was a little boy and nothing changed except prices.
  I've been there 2 days now and I realised some widenings on the terrain but there are many things that need to change.
  They even have problems printing the tickets on time and on below freezing temperature you can't wait for ever to buy a ticket.
  Simple changes will make this resort to breath.
  The mountain has everything we need to spend money for and of course enjoy everything without blessing for every penny we give there.
  Did you realise the smell inside the chalet??
  They even got foreign people to work for free there without thinking of getting young people from Kalavryta to fill the gaps.
  That's Greece.
  Happy new year everyone
  and have a great safe season.

• December 23, 2008
  nikos from Greece
  

  Only one question...
  Why they don't change the "Styga" lift with a three-four chair lift at Helmos (it's the only one that is worth taking).
  They make so much money every year and they'll make even more if they do that.

• December 19, 2008
  Nicholas Vembos from Greece
  

  December 19, 2008
  Nicholas Vembos from GREECE
  A new snow season seems to be ready to start in Kalavryta and I am anxiously expecting the weather to make us feel happy again.
  I would like to share a few really nice things I observed and heard about the Helmos ski center which verify that a new era has began for the ski center last winter.
  This summer/autumn was again a busy period and a lot of ground forming works were done to smooth the slopes.
  Achileas was widened and other pistes were worked.
  I heard that a snow park is been formed on the upper level (2020m) at Helmos where Hercules used to be. This is excellent news and I am looking forward to use it.
  Since the snow has already started to fall there, I believe that this will happen pretty soon.
  Unfortunately, this year, the prices did not remain the same as last year and have been increased to 25 euro per day (+14%).
  Helmos is not cheep. Lets hope that the service will be improved compared to previous years.
  I keep my fingers crossed (I do that since last year) and will observe closely to report again with good news I hope.
  I wish to all pleasant and safe rides and a happy new year.
  See you on the slopes
  Cheers
  Nick.

• January 30, 2008
  kostas from Greece
  

  Hello everyone. I read SNOWBLADES' comments and I have one argument to make about the lifts. You wrote that it is unacceptable for one person to hog a 3-person lift. Well,I've been there the previous weekend and the people you called stupid were almost screaming to us, so that we go by 3 on the lift Achilleas. Do you want to know what happened? Everyone wanted to go with his friend and refused to come front so that everyone would be served quicker. Therefore,I ask you this:how would you like it, if the lift attendants put a gun on our heads, so that we go by 3? I agree on all the rest you mentioned though...