Bekas can best be summed up in one word: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!! (Ok, that’s three, but it’s worth repeating.) The pension is about as high up as you can go in Old Town and has stupendous views of town. The fact that the side view is of the Palamidi and the ruins of Akronafplia are just behind the pension is even more of a bonus. If the location has a down side, it is the fact that getting here entails a climb of over 100 uneven stone steps. Those
with mobility problems or even lots of luggage might not find this manageable.
I arrived at Bekas without a reservation and wanted to stay for three nights. Dimitris said he could offer me one room for two nights and then another one in a different building for the last night because the original room was reserved. Considering that I’d already fallen in love with the location, I would have agreed to almost anything.
My first room was only 16 euro per night. It was small with a double bed and desk taking up most of the space. There was no closet, just hooks on the wall for clothes, but it did have a small TV with remote control, ceiling fan for hot days and wooden shutters that opened to a Palamidi view. The shared bathroom looked like it had been recently remodeled and was stocked with soap and shampoo and hot water was available 24 hours.
There were two fridges for communal use as well as some tourist information on Nafplio. Just a few steps below the pension was the flat roof top of another Bekas building. It was furnished with tables and chairs to act as a patio and was a great place to relax and take advantage of the panoramic views of town.
My second room was located in the building whose roof I’d been sitting on. Luckily none of the noise from the roof top filtered downstairs. This building was older and had a slightly musty smell, probably because it hadn’t been used much throughout the winter. The room was much larger than the first and the cost was 22 euro. This would have been a good family room with a double bed and a single as well as a large kitchen table and chairs. Again, no closet, just clothes hooks and this time, no TV, but I didn’t need that when I had a private balcony overlooking town. Like the other building, there was a communal fridge and an old but clean shared bathroom.
The easiest way to get to the pension is to locate the Catholic church and then climb the steps behind it -- you’ll see the sign for the pension. The area is extremely quiet at night because the traffic noise from town doesn’t carry this far. I would definitely recommend advance reservations because Bekas is listed in a number of guide books and is very popular with budget travelers.