Naxos's best hotels? Athens districts? Santorini?
 

We are taking a holiday to greece summer 2007. This will be a family trip. We are not into "family places" with kids programs etc... Price is not an issue, comfort and location are. Good town nearby, charm, scenery and beach. Is there anything that fits that on Naxos? Or another island?

What about a place for three nights on Santorini? Kids are 7,10,12 years old. Astra Apartments?

Where to stay in Athens? Boutique hotels with pool and cool neighborhood would be perfect!

Any help would be great!

Santorini: The Meltemi Hotel at Perissa Beach has a water park that's free for guests. But if you want a view of the caldera you won't be staying at the beach since they're on the other side of the island. Check out the Volcano's View Hotel in the most beautiful and timeless village of Oia.

On santorini we definitely want an upscale place with a view not the beach. Naxos is where we would like to be within 200m of the beach. I will checkout Volcan's View Hotel. Thank you! I haven't heard of that one.

I always defer to brotherlee on hotels in Santorini, esp. upscale. On Naxos, you have wide choice of beach hotels...
Naxos has a 15-mile stretch of white sand with scores of beach hotels.

Thus the questions to ask are:
(1) do you want kitchenette facilities so you can fix breakfast, snacks etc?

(2) how close do you want to be to Naxos Town? Ag. Giorgios (St George) beach is directly adjacent -- a 10 minute walk -- so you don't have to climb in the car or wait for a bus to go to a harborside taverna for dinner or for shopping or entertainment.

This beach is shallower than the rest, but great for kids unless you're going in August; too crowded then. Offers water sports too.

(3)Do you want your beach area to offer a variety of cafes/tavernas, and beach umbrellas & sun-beds? Prokopios beach does, and to a lesser extent Ag. Anna -- Plaka beach is less-populated but accordingly fewer such amenities. All are beautiful.

I think the best online preview is noncommercial -- provided by Naxos itself. you can view almost all hotels' exterior/interiors, map location, rates etc and contact info. the url is http://www.naxos-island-greece.com/n...os-hotels.html

YOu will have a wide choice, from the fancy with pools, to the friendly small family hotels we Naxos "regulars" choose. There is sure to be something you'll enjoy.

Good questions. We like small boutique hotels in more quaint vs hustle bustle areas. We are not the massively crowded beaches with tons of touristy restaurants types. No kitchenette if possible, it is my holiday as well!

No kids type hotels, just hotels that will accept well behaved children. We like small luxury hotels of the world, when actually small and in a good location. A really nice hotel in a busy area or out in the middle of nowhere are not for us. Near a village or town instead of a city. Any recommendations?

Wherenext, I apologize. I gave you the wrong name for the hotel I mentioned. It's the Volcano's Villas Hotel in Oia.

http://www.volcanosvillas.com/

Here's a great website for reading about Greece, with lots of photos! igogreece.com There's a detailed description of Naxos, including beaches. It's not a 'Book this hotel' type site, it's different people describing favourite places. I think you'd like it!

You are repeatedly asking for advice, but fail to say what you mean by "summer". In Greece it makes a BIG difference.

You say you do not favor "massively crowded beaches" but you do not tell us if you are planning a trip in June or August. In August EVERYTHING is crowded on the islands.

And how do you define "a busy area"?

Help us to help you.

Sorry I didn't notice being asked for dates. The earliest we can go is the first week in July. I am very familiar with the July and August crowds all over Europe. In the past, I have always gone to Greece in mid September, before children and school.

Busy all depends on where you have been. Corfu beachs near Corfu town in August...busy. Pelekas Town on Corfu in August...fine. Waikiki, Oahu...crazy busy, Kapalua, Maui...fine.

Hi

For a hotel suggestion in Athens try the Fresh Hotel - http://www.freshhotel.gr. This joint looks funky!

Thanks for the link, worldinabag! I've often passed this hotel and admired its exterior. Now I've checked out the interior and it is truly amazing! I hadn't realised it has 9 floors and a rooftop pool. The view over the city must be really something! I looked at the prices for November – 120 Euro for a double room seems very reasonable, in a hotel like this, but I can see why! This is a brilliant example of what hotel websites DON'T tell you!! Cool neighbourhood, wherenext? I don't think it's what you're looking for! I don't want to be too negative - actually, I love this part of the city – it IS 'the heart of Athens', close to all the main attractions, like Plaka and the Psyrri area, where there are really good restaurants and cafés, and there are some interesting shops on Sophokleous street, where the hotel is. This is where I come to buy fresh chillies and ginger, and spices from big open barrels. There are general stores selling unfamiliar fruit and veg in tins with Arabic labels, and sticky pastries at a fraction of the price in the patisseries in the main streets. Personally, I've never felt frightened in this area, even at night, when the shops are boarded up and the narrow streets are dark, and I've never seen any drug dealing, although I've sometimes read warnings about it on travel forums. However, I have seen the scantily clad ladies standing chatting outside some rather dubious looking 'hotels' in Sophokleous Street and others nearby – yes, this is a 'red light' district of Athens! (It's interesting that the website places the hotel 'next to the beautiful town hall', which must be intended to give it a certain grandeur, but it is actually at least a block away!)
I thought the newly renovated hotel Hera, close to the Acropolis, might appeal to you: when I read the reviews in Tripadvisor.com I found it has become a 'Boutique' hotel. We always used to stay here, several times every year. (We don't need a hotel now, as we live here!) It's in a quiet location, which seems important to a lot of people. There's also the Magna Grecia Boutique hotel, near the cathedral, which has mixed reviews, but most rave about it. No pool at either hotel though – I think in Athens they're more likely to be at the bigger hotels.

You had asked about Naxos. Naxos has many family visitors because of it's laid back nature, safety and things for families to do.
Most of the hotels there are quite small and family run. This summer we checked out a few hotels on St George beach so we could answer questions such as yours.
First of all I would recommend that you stay on St George beach. It is shallow and shelterd and thus perfect for families. It is right in Naxos town so there are antiquities, shopping and dining only a 10 minute walk from your hotel. This is important at night as in town things can get noisy, whereas on the beach it is quiet at night.
The best hotel on St George beach is Naxos Royal. It has no kitchenettes but is very well appointed and perfect for people with price not being an issue.
In May it was 80 euros and it went up to 120 euros on June. 15 I am not sure about the price in July. It is a 30 second walk to St George beach and has a pool if beaching is not your cup of tea. There is the Porto Naxos which seems to be in the same class as Naxos Royal but Porto Naxos is a 10 minute walk to the beach and is on the main road to the airport. Both spoil it for me.

If you rent a car, Naxos villages, Demeters Temple and the Kouros make a great day trip for the family.

Thanks Stanbr and Nikoletta...you killed two birds with one stone. worldinabag, I really enjoy hotels like Fresh. It reminds me of places in South Beach FL and trendy hotels in London. Fun. Redlightish with kids probably not but otherwise, it would have been ideal.
I will check out Hera Hotel and the other one.

Naxos...I was interested in Naxos Royal, Villa Maranda and Lagos Mare. I thought that St. George Beach was too busy in July and not as pretty as other beaches? Naxos Royal looks great...at first I was scared off by being in town. We do like to walk into town at night but don't care for noisy nights so that was good as well. What is the beach like there? How far away are nice less crowded beaches? I also read that Porto Naxos was on too busy of a road. Thanks for verifying that.

Brotherleelove, the VolcanoVillas looked lovely. Do they have private balconies facing the view? Esperas looked nice as well. I just don't know if they allow children though. What is the most spectacular place to stay that would allow children? We usually get two rooms, if we can't fit into a suite.

Hey, wherenext! This is Greece! If any hotel here DIDN'T allow children, it would be avoided like the plague!

Nikoletta, I have found at least 5 hotels in Santorini that will not allow children under 13-14 years old "due to the construction of the property". Chromata is an example of that. I have not found that in Naxos or Athens though.

Wow, I'm surprised! Do they also prohibit the elderly for the same reason, I wonder?

Nikoletta, you are funny! The elderly had no restictions, although some have warned about the steps for them.

Naxos Royal is on St George beach. The beach is about a kilometer from end to end and about 30 meters deep. It has fine sand ( a rarity in Greece.) We tend to spend a couple of hours a day in the late afternoon at the beach. By that time most of the crowds have left. St George is a pretty good beach and has the advantage of being quite sheltered from the summer winds.
On those days where we dedicate the whole day to beaching we catch a local bus ( fare is about 1.20 euros each) and head out to the more beautiful beaches on the west coast.
Aggia Procopius is the first one and is about the same size as St George. Then there is Aggia Anna and then Plaka Beach. These three beaches in total are probably about 10 km long. The farther one goes the less services (and bathing suits)there are. Plaka is by far my favorite beach and it is less populated than the others. The trip to the beaches are about 10 minutes by car or taxi.
I would not choose to stay at the west coast beaches. There are some hotels there, but the freedom to wander in the maze of streets of Naxos town, shop and dine and then walk back to the hotel after a bottle of wine and a glass of ouzo (generally provided on the house by the taverna) is an important consideration. By the way while on Naxos if the taverna offers you Raki keep in mind it is the island home distilled drink. Naxions think it is wonderful but I believe it is just another form of rocket fuel. Better to stick to Citron or ouzo.

Stan,

Your description of the area and beaches have sold us on the Naxos Royal Hotel. It sounds perfect for our family. My parents might join us and live in Laguna Beach, CA so wandering around town is more their speed than going to the beach. At the Naxos Royal, they won't be have to wait for us to take them into town.

Thank you all so much for your advice. As always, Fodorites are a big help! Any more info on Santorini and maybe yacht rentals from Santorini daily or overnight for one family would be nice. I just keep coming back for more info, huh?!

Stan, when you stayed at the Naxos Royal, did you have a seaview room? I read one post on tripadvisor that commented that the seaview room wasn't worth the extra money because the distance the sea made the view not all that great. It is 15 Euros more for the seaview. What do you think?