Overall:
3.2.
Based on
120
votes
and
76
reviews.
Vote
Access: 3.3
(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 Kalavryta Ski Resort.
Public Transport: 3.3
(1) There are no buses or taxis to Kalavryta Ski Resort, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
Scenery: 4.4
(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: 3.9
(1) No places to stay in/near Kalavryta Ski Resort, (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: 3.7
(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Kalavryta Ski Resort.
Ski in/Ski out: 2.6
(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: 2.6
(1) There are no child care facilities at Kalavryta Ski Resort, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
Snowsure: 3.4
(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) Kalavryta Ski Resort is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.
Snowmaking: 1.7
(1) Kalavryta Ski Resort 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 Kalavryta Ski Resort, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Kalavryta Ski Resort 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) Kalavryta Ski Resort is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
Nearby options: 2.5
(1) If snow conditions are poor at Kalavryta Ski Resort, 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: 3.8
(1) Kalavryta Ski Resort 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: 3.4
(1) The staff at Kalavryta Ski Resort are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Kalavryta Ski Resort are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.
Crowds/Queues: 3.0
(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: 3.8
(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: 3.6
(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: 3.5
(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Kalavryta Ski Resort has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.
Beginners: 3.8
(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: 3.9
(1) No intermediate terrain at Kalavryta Ski Resort, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.
Advanced: 3.9
(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: 3.4
(1) Not even a kicker at Kalavryta Ski Resort, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.
Off-piste: 3.7
(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: 2.6
(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Kalavryta Ski Resort, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.
Luge/Toboggan: 2.7
(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Kalavryta Ski Resort has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
Mountain Dining: 3.1
(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: 3.0
(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: 3.2
(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: 2.0
(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: 3.0
(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: 2.9
(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, Kalavryta Ski Resort 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): 2.9
(1) Overall, Kalavryta Ski Resort 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.
I visited your resort with a group several years ago in February. You had a good snow base with recent new snow. After 3 days everything was ice, as nothing had been groomed, and the mountain staff were lazy and disrespectful. We were thinking of re-visiting next month. I understand you have new management, so all I will say is please look after all the snow that has just fallen. You are a small resort with limited runs, so you need to offer the best possible piste conditions within your very limited snow season. You have an excellent resort location with the town of Kalavryta and all the local scenery and history. Make the most of it!
My family and I visit for years this resort. We and especially our children (11 and 3 and a half years old) feel it like a second home. That's the reason we rent a house for the winter season every year. We always know the financial problems that a ski resort, here in Greece, has. Giving always good excuses for these problems, especially in the middle of a crisis, I was thinking that maybe it was a little bit an exaggeration because of my love for this mountain.
After a quite short conversation with the young and passionate manager, I give once again a good reason for this feeling. I realized again that we have to be proud for the resort that works even with these problems due to the lack of money and support, the old equipment and the difficult climate conditions.
We want you to know that we and I am sure a lot of other snow sport fun, are by your side for you efforts.
Thank you, Leonidas and staff
As a frequent skier in the center I feel the need to submit my disappointment about what is happening this year (2014/15) at Helmos.
It is probably the only center in the world where machines work at the time when the people are skiing. Even in Bulgaria the runs are prepared during the night or early in the morning. The days when all the runs were open: 1 or 2!
The ridiculous 'ski ticket' is still there. How difficult is it to issue plastic rechargeable cards?
Staff, at the lifts, are sitting there looking at the scenery instead of assisting those who need help (children).
Well done to the new management.
Parnassos is likely to be our preferred mountain really soon.
I went on the mountain the same period as Theodore and Dimitris K.
I have had a lot of experience, at this resort, for the last 4 years. Last year, I was skiing there for 37 days.
The new start was really not good, since the mayor of the city of Kalavryta, the Associated manager of the resort and a lot of the lifters have changed. It is the truth that the previous manager was great especially at the financial part. The new manager is a young guy that knows the resort as a skier and you can always find him there. I think he needs time because things were a little bit abandoned there. I really don't think that the leakage, for example, of the roof at Chalet is due to the new manager.
About the children's center, this didn't work at all and the company that was in charge didn't want to continue with this.
About what is in operation, we have to take advantage of the site.
I think that we have to be a little bit elastic with this ski resort since the budget is really low and it is working, even with big problems. You have to compare the operation of it with Parnassos and you will realise the difference in budgets and what they offer to us.
I personally will give for the first season a lot of excuses.
It is generally accepted that there have been gradual and marked improvements from the last administration of the Helmos ski center, in the last couple of years, plus notable initiatives (first children's center on the mountain in Greece!). Apparently, the administration changed this summer and this led to a horrible start of the 2015 season. 1. No children's center anymore. 2. On the first sunny day of operation this year 70% of the resort was off due to ice (difficult to plan for such an event on a ski resort!). 3. No warning from the ticket counters that 70% of the resort was not operational. 4. Charging the standard price; I paid 18 euros for a card after 1pm, same price as when the resort is in full operation. 5.There were not even hot dogs available on the canteens that my children were looking forward to. It appears that five days into January the Center is still not full operational. Great Job from the new manager!
I went skiing on the first day of the season. That resort actually worked and it was a really awful experience! Although it was a sunny and warm day, two basic lifts were out of order and as a result basic beautiful pistes were off (that forced even intermediate skiers to leave earlier) and the average waiting time for the rest was 20-25 minutes! The personnel who work at the lifts are really rude and slightly helpful! The resort needs a different more serious management for sure!
Our family is regular visitor in Kalavryta Ski Resort during the last decade, and it is obvious among us that a tremendous service upgrade has been achieved within the previous 4 years.
The ski slopes are well prepared daily, Chalet’s services are friendly and well organized, Ski schools are relocated and easily accessed, while the new kindergarden facility is an excellent facility for families with youngsters. To make a long story short, well done to the staff, keep on your good work guys! :)
Hi!
I'm a frequent visitor of both Helmos and Parnassos. Before I depart from Athens I visit the sites of the ski centers, to make sure that it worth's making the trip. Kalavrita have surprised me positively this year as they have established an early warning system, i.e. from 7:00 am they start giving reliable info either on their site or on the telephone (yes, there is a very polite lady answering the telephone early in the morning!!). Parnassos and Kalavrita are considered as supplementary ski areas. They are around the same distance from Athens and very rarely are both closed. Both are very close to the top of their mountain, so they are strongly affected by the winds, however, I appreciate their dedication to our safety.
