Dknees

Has anyone stayed at either of these hotels recently? The Delfini is offering room on "office level" "first floor" & "second floor" for incrementally increasing rates.

Also considering Windmill Bella Vista.

Would your appreciate input.

travelerjan

I have stayed at neither in my 2 visits to Sifnos, since I'm a budget traveler and am very happy with small family pensions/rooms. However, I do have an opinion regarding location. Delfini, tho luxurious, is in Kamares the port city, which has a really mediocre beach, brown sand, not appealing. Petali, on the other hand, is up in the hills in Appolonia, which has wonderful vistas of sea and valley etc. You DO have to walk up & down some stairstep streets to get to restaurants etc, and your "screenname" makes me wonder if you have "knee issues." I think you can drive up to Petali via a back road, and given your apparent budget level, you probably will rent a car, right?

Appolonia is a wonderful place to stay, and you can drive/bus to beautiful beaches like Vathy, and Plata Gialos (Sp?). Each apparently has a pool if you do not want to bestir yourselves to reach a beach.

Do you like walking/hiking? This island is wonderful for this, criss-crossed with flagstoned paths between villages -- these paths, used by donkeys were almost the only transport routes until the 1950s, and are more direct than the roads are.

If you DO go, a lovelly tavern to visit is an easy stroll up the path from Appolonia to Artemonas, on the square -- called To Liotrivi (OR Manganas by locals) ... super stews, ragouts etc. Sifnians eat here.

You don't say when you are going... Sifnos tends to "close down" quite a bit after high season, so keep that in mind.

Dknees

Travelerjan,

Thank you for replying. No knee issues here: just another way to express my name, Denise. My friend & I ARE hikers which is one of the reasons we are interested in coming to Sifnos. Those paths sound wonderful!

We like to eat even more than we like to hike so I appreciate your taverna recommendation & would love to hear more. We will be in Sifnos from September 16 to 20. Will we find many things closed then?

I am also interested in hearing your ideas for small pensions or rooms that you like on Sifnos. Didn't realize that Delfini & Petali were luxury accommodations which is not what we normally choose.

I enjoy and appreciate your posts on a variety of subjects on this site. Hope to hear from you again.

travelerjan

HOpe I'm not too late with recommends for you on Sifnos lodgings. Surprised that you had no idea that your 2 choices were high-end... In off-season or"shoulder season" many rooms in less-visited islands are 30E for a double or thereabouts ... have you consulted any guidebooks or just going with internet or agencies (remember agencies only deal with certain hotels, usually high-end).

I still recommend looking at a place in Appollonia. Several options:

(1) Petali, uphill on a lane from App. bus stop, is a high-walled place on ones left. Directly across lane is sign that says "Geronti pension". Mme GEronti has lovely rooms, upstairs w balcony,or one a sort of "cottage" with vine-covered patio; I'd request the latter. Here's a URL, with an e-mail for reservations; its too long to put here, but you can get it by putting into Google "Geronti Pension"Sifnos...When you click on "book" there is a form to fill out, with a "comment" blank where you can give your specific want.


(2) Right next door is Mme Geronti's lovely daughter Nicoletta, who speaks gorgeous English, works in a travel agcy and has 2 gorgeous children and a lovely 2-apt unit at back of home....These are for singles, or a "couple" because they have double bed.Also lovely bath, coffee-maker, vine-covered patio with view of valley & sea. No e-mail, but a phone (22840-31473) -- say English pleae when someone answers. Shoulder season about 30E in 2004, when I stayed here. If you want this, you might try to reserve thru above application -- saying you want Nicoletta's Rooms in Appolonia, in the blank for "comment."

(3) Hotel Anthoussa, right by the Crossroads, has cafe on first floor -- ask for BACK rooms on 2nd floor (facing on flower-decked atrium, open to sky). I stayed here my first visit to Sifnos.

(4) Down another lane, Hotel Sifnos, a favorite of many, has pretty-good taverna dining in patio.

Both of these will have rooms available in Sept... they also I believe can be accessed thru internet tho haven't done so myself.

Dknees

Thank-you, Travelerjan. Will let you know where we land in Sifnos. Nicoletta's won't work for us because we need separate beds. However, Geronti Pension sounds delightful.