Unique Greek Resort Complex Ideal for the Physically Challenged

At least one Greek tourism enterprise seems to have taken to heart the potential gains as described in last year’s edition of the Hellenic Tourism Organization‘s manual entitled “Making Europe Accessible for Tourists with Disabilities.” The publication fully describes all the necessary steps required to host tourists that want to visit Greece but require special needs.

The Eria Resort in the historic village of Maleme, just 17 kilometers from the town center of Chania and 30 kilometers from the airport, is doing that and more. It is being constructed especially for the physically challenged.

The hotel provides a reception area, lounge, restaurant, main bar, roof garden bar and lift, all of which are designed specifically to make life easier for the challenged. It also provides a gym with a separate physiotherapy area, Hammam and Jacuzzi. Furthermore, guests can enjoy the pleasures of the big swimming pool and hydromassage with a ramp for easy descent and ascent. There are mini golf and basketball courses and a specially designed area for other sports.

The outside area is ideal for pleasant promenade and the sea is only 100 meters from the hotel. The fine architecture of the resort, apart from functionalism, allows abundant natural light. The rooms, built at ground level and first floor encircle the pool and the communal areas while the balconies have a beautiful view of the vast blue Mediterranean Sea.

The grounds, surrounded by beautiful olive groves and greenery, are luxurious and specially designed to guarantee comfortable and pleasant accommodation for physically challenged people, their escorts or their families. All rooms have a private balcony with a fine view.

The 12 spacious rooms and two suites of the resort are fully equipped with electrically adjustable beds, air-conditioning, emergency call system and all the amenities found in an up-market hotel.

Extra special facilities, such as electric or manual wheel chairs, electric hoists, oxygen compressors, scooters and rollators, are available on request. All bathrooms are spacious with shower, shower chair and toilet hoist.

But as commendable as this is, there is much that must be done to assist handicapped travelers. According to Christos Papoutsis, the former European Union Commissioner responsible for tourism, there are about 37 million Europeans with special needs. World wide, he said, the number of potential travelers with special needs reaches about 650 million.

During a special inter-ministerial meeting on the Olympic Games last year, which was “The Year for Entrance of People with Special Needs,” government reiterated promises to render Athens more compatible with the needs of physically disabled people ahead of this September’s Paralympics.

But a year after the government first announced plans to make the Acropolis accessible to handicapped visitors, ministers were unable to announce anything more specific than that “a study is being conducted” on the matter.
However, we have promises that accessibility would extend to “museums, archaeological sites and areas of general cultural interest,” as well as to the new tram and urban rail networks, which are scheduled for delivery in April and June, respectively. The metro is already fully accessible, while work is under progress on the Kifissia-Piraeus electric railway.

We were also promised that a new fleet of taxis exclusively catering to the needs of handicapped people will be in operation, along with some 400 new buses and minibuses allowing access to the disabled. And the government promised it would urge most Athenian hotels to install facilities for the disabled.