Tag: swimming pool (page 2 of 2)

Cool pools: The curvaceous chilly swimming pool at the Rodos Palladium on Kallithea beach, Rhodes

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Rodos Palladium swimming pool

A late afternoon view of the huge free-form swimming pool at the Rodos Palladium. The pool is just steps from Kallithea beach, 8 km from Rhodes Town.

 

Hot and cold: The biggest hotel swimming pool we’ve seen in the Greek Islands — so far — was the large free-form pool at the five-star Rodos Palladium hotel, just a stone’s throw from Kallithea beach on Rhodes.

We stayed at the Rodos Palladium on an island-hopping package tour during our first-ever trip to Greece back in 2004. The swimming pool and its spacious deck looked quite impressive from our hotel room balcony, and reminded us of some of the huge free-form pools we’ve enjoyed at resorts in the Caribbean and Central America. The big difference was the water temperature. Whereas we spent hours in the pool on our holidays to the southern destinations, we couldn’t even get in the pool at the Rodos Palladium because the water was so incredibly cold! Even after laying in the sun for a couple of hours, the water was too cold to bear. We weren’t the only ones who couldn’t get in — very few other guests could tolerate the cold temperature, either. Only a couple of people braved the chilly water, and didn’t stay in it for long.

The hotel also has an indoor heated pool, but the water temperature there was at the other extreme — way too hot! It felt like swimming in a giant hot tub, and the hot water wasn’t the least bit refreshing.  We didn’t get any photos of the indoor pool — the pool room was so steamy, it fogged up my camera lens — but we did take several pics of the outdoor pool, which appear below:

 

Rodos Palladium Hotel swimming pool

Looking across part of the outdoor swimming pool toward two of the Rodos Palladium hotel buildings … 

 

Rodos Palladium hotel swimming pool

… and looking to the right, from the same position, at another hotel wing

 

Rodos Palladium hotel swimming pool

Our hotel room balcony view of the Rodos Palladium swimming pool. Note the rows of dozens of lounge chairs and umbrellas at the far end of the pool. 

 

Rodos Palladium hotel swimming pool bar

The circular bar in the middle of the Rodos Palladium pool

 

Rodos Palladium hotel swimming pool at dusk

A view of the Rodos Palladium swimming pool and beach at dusk

 

Rodos Palladium swimming pool

An afternoon view of the pool. Three people are visible in the pool, probably the most we saw in the bone-chilling-cold water at any one time — even though the air temperature was rather toasty, hitting the high 20s Celsius.

 

 

Chill out! Truly cool Greek Island pools

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Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool

The gorgeous swimming pool at the Honeymoon Petra Villas in Imerovigli is positioned on the Santorini caldera cliffside hundreds of feet above the Aegean Sea …

 

Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool

… with spectacular views of Nea Kameni, the volcano island

 

Deep freeze: There are two great ways to beat the extreme summer heat in the Greek Islands: go for a swim in the sea, or take a plunge in a really cool hotel pool. But depending on the time of season you travel, there’s a good chance the pool could be cooler, if not downright frigid. There’s also a chance the water in both the sea and the pools could be too cold for swimming altogether. At least, that’s been our experience.

We typically travel to Greece in May, and have always encountered hot weather — including brief but brutal heat waves on Naxos and Santorini that sent afternoon temperatures soaring to nearly 40 Celsius. But regardless of how hot the air temperature got, the Aegean Sea has always been too cold for us to swim. In fact, there have been times I couldn’t even wade in the water during visits to Mykonos, Naxos, Paros and Santorini because it felt like my feet started to freeze only seconds after stepping in. Even just dipping my toes in the water at Super Paradise beach on Mykonos one May was too painful because the water was so bitterly cold.

Surprisingly, our hotel swimming pools haven’t been much warmer. And sometimes they’ve actually been colder! I could count on one hand the number of times we were able to spend more than five minutes in a pool, and on just one finger the number where we lasted longer than 10 minutes.

Even when we travelled to the islands during the second half of September one year, we got to swim only twice — once in the sea (which was blissfully warm) and once in a pool (which was shockingly cold) — even though Greece had experienced blistering heat waves throughout the summer.

Are we disappointed that we haven’t been able to do more swimming in Greece? Maybe just a bit. We’ve had good times at plenty of island beaches, and we’ve enjoyed spectacular views from most of our hotel swimming pool terraces. Cooling off with an ice cold bottle of Mythos instead of a swim hasn’t been so bad!

I’ll tell you more about our pool and sea swimming experiences in upcoming “Chill Out!” posts. For today, however, here are pics of some of the cool swimming pools we’ve seen during our visits to Santorini.

 

Dana Villas in Firostefani Santorini

The cliffside swimming pool and whirlpool at Dana Villas in Firostefani

 

Dana Villas swimming pool

Another view of the Dana Villas swimming pool and terrace

 

Pegasus Suites Hotel Imerovigli Santorini

The cliffside swimming pool at Pegasus Suites hotel in Imerovigli …

 

Pegasus Suites Santorini swimming pool terrace

… has a terrace that juts over the island’s rugged volcanic cliffs

 

swimming pool in Firostefani on Santorini

Swimmers can watch ferry and cruise ships come and go from this sea view swimming pool atop the caldera in Firostefani

 

swimming pool at Firostefani on Santorini

 Another clifftop hotel swimming pool in Firostefani

 

swimming pool in Firostefani on Santorini

Yet another Firostefani pool terrace with views of cruise ships

 

a swimming pool in Firostefani on Santorini

A closer look at the Firostefani pool pictured above

 

a swimming pool in Fira on Santorini

A small caldera-view swimming pool on the cliffside in Fira

 

swimming pool in Imerovigli on Santorini

An air mattress floats in a cliffside swimming pool in Imerovigli …

 

Santorini swimming pool terrace

… while lounge chairs on the adjacent terrace overlook Skaros Rock

 

Kafieris Blue Apartments swimming pool in Santorini

The caldera-view swimming pool at the Kafieris Apartments in Firostefani

 

Kafieris Blue Apartments Firostefani Santorini

Another view of the pool at the Kafieris Apartments

 

Kafieris Apartments Firostefani swimming pool

The Kafieris Apartments swimming pool at night

 

swimming pool in Firostefani on Santorini

I’ve always loved the look of this pool and terrace at what appears to be a private villa on the cliffside in Firostefani …

 

swimming pool in Firostefani Santorini

… from above, the pool’s shape reminds me of an apple …

 

private swimming pool in Firostefani on Santorini

… there’s comfy cushions for lounging in the sun beside the pool …

 

Swimming pool terrace in Firostefani Santorini

… as well as lounge chairs and a shady nook nearby

 

private swimming pool in Firostefani on Santorini

The big palm tree next to the pool draws some attention away from the villa’s unique Cycladic architecture

 

private swimming pool in Firostefani on Santorini

Here’s another view of the palm tree and the pool …

 

private swimming pool in Firostefani on Santorini

… which has an infinity edge offering great views of the sea far below

 

Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool

The uniquely shaped and situated pool at the Honeymoon Petra Villas in Imerovigli offers some of the most stunning views in all of Santorini

 

Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool on Santorini

The swimming pool and terrace offer incredible views in several directions

 

Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool on Santorini

The pool is built into the cliffside hundreds of feet above the sea …

 

Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool on Santorini

… and has a shallow wading pool on the hotel level below

 

Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool on Santorini

A side view of the Honeymoon Petra Villas pool …

 

Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool on Santorini

… and some of the apartments built of volcanic rock from the island

 

Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool on Santorini

One final view of the Honeymoon Petra Villas swimming pool, this time from the clifftop footpath that leads to Oia in one direction, and to Fira in the other

 

Things I love about Greece: Waking up to gorgeous views at hotels in the Greek Islands (Part 4)

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Fildisi Hotel Astipalea view

Enjoying the view from our private terrace at Fildisi Boutique Hotel on Astipalea

 

Return visits: Our 2009 Greece holiday took us to four islands, and on two of those we made return visits to hotels we had stayed at once before. That’s something we rarely do, since we generally prefer to experience new hotel surroundings whenever we return to a destination we’ve already seen. But we had particularly liked both of these hotels, so we were anxious to stay there again.

Astipalea was our first stop on this particular island hopping holiday, and we stayed at Fildisi Boutique Hotel near Livadi, a peaceful farming valley below the island’s main town, Chora. It was early in the season and the Fildisi had only a handful of guests; in fact, the owner, Elias, was still getting the swimming pool, terrace and some of the other rooms ready for the summer. When Elias picked us up at the Astipalea airport to drive us to the hotel, he said he was upgrading us to the “VIP Suite.” We had no idea what that meant until we arrived and discovered it was a large studio-size room with an enormous two-level private terrace. The spacious room was great, but the jaw-dropping views from the huge deck stole the show. (To be honest, I don’t think there is a bad view from anywhere on the Fildisi property.)

Amorgos was island destination number two, and we chose Yperia Hotel in Egali, one of two port towns on the island. We were embarrassed when the Yperia’s owner, Antonis, picked us up at the port when we arrived shortly before 7 in the morning on a gargantuan Blue Star Ferry that had left Astiplea at 5.30 with fewer than two dozen passengers. The drive to the Yperia took less than one minute — we could easily have walked there with our suitcases, which we were barely able to squeeze beside us into Antonis’s tiny sedan. (Mind you, there is no sign on the hotel, so we could just as easily have walked right past the place and missed it.) Antonis assigned us a second-floor room right above the hotel reception and breakfast area. It had two balconies that overlooked the hotel swimming pool and gave us views of the Egali ferry pier as well as sunsets over Naxos island. The room also had a window facing the mountainside behind the hotel; it gave us views of Potamos, a picturesque village where had three memorable sunset dinners at the wonderful Kamara Cafe (which, we later learned, is owned and operated by Antonis’s cousin, Christoforos).

Naxos was our third island, and we returned to the Lianos Village hotel which we had enjoyed in 2006.

Mykonos was our final stop, and Hotel Tagoo was our hotel choice there for the second year in a row.

Below are photos of our views at Fildisi Boutique Hotel, Yperia Hotel, Lianos Village and Hotel Tagoo.

 

Fildisi Boutique Hotel view

Every room at the Fildisi has this view of Astipalea’s Chora and Kastro (castle)

 

Fildisi Boutique Hotel

The private terrace for our “VIP Suite” at the Fildisi Hotel was unbelievably bigger than the hotel room itself.


Fildisi Hotel terrace

The top level of the terrace was furnished with this giant canopy shading a teak dining table and chairs, while the lower level had two lounge chairs for sunbathing.

 

Fildisi Boutique Hotel view

The enormous terrace offered an incredible panoramic view of the Livadi farming valley, Chora, the Aegean Sea, and a small beach below the hotel

 

Fildisi hotel Astipalea

Part of the Livadi valley viewed from our terrace at the Fildisi hotel

 

Fildisi Hotel Astipalea

Chora, the coastline and a small beach viewed from our private terrace

 

Fildisi Hotel Astipalea view

I never got tired of the view of Chora and the sea

 

Yperia Hotel Amorgos

At the Yperia Hotel in Amorgos, our second-floor room had two balconies. One of them can be seen here, above the hotel entrance and pool terrace

 

Yperia Hotel Amorgos

We could see Egali bay through the door to our balcony

 

Yperia Hotel Amorgos balcony view

This photo, taken from one of our room’s two balconies, shows part of the sea view that we enjoyed from the second balcony

 

Yperia Hotel Amorgos

I enjoyed relaxing on the balcony with an ice cold bottle of Mythos beer or glass of wine after a long day of hiking on Amorgos

 

Yperia Hotel balcony views

The balcony was a great spot to watch fishing boats return with their catch …

 

Yperia hotel balcony view

… and to watch Greek ferry ships come and go from the pier at Egali port. This was the same big Blue Star ferry that brought us to Amorgos from Astipalea

 

Yperia hotel room view

This was our balcony view of the Express Skopelitis ferry arriving at Egali one evening. We rode the Skopelitis to Naxos a few days later; this online album has photos of our journey through the Small Cyclades en route to Naxos.

 

Yperia hotel swimming pool view

Our balcony also had this view toward the mouth of Egali Bay

 

Yperia Hotel Amorgos

A window in our room faced homes and hotels on the hillside behind the Yperia …

 

Yperia Hotel view

… but also gave us views of Potamos village higher up the mountain

 

Yperia Hotel Amorgos balcony view

Best of all were the views from our balcony of sunsets over Naxos

 

Lianos Village hotel Naxos

On Naxos, we could view the sea from inside our hotel room at Lianos Village

 

Lianos Village hotel room balcony

Our balcony was a nice spot to relax with a glass of wine while enjoying extensive views down the southwest coast of Naxos

 

Lianos Village Naxos balcony view

From our balcony we could see Agios Prokopios beach, Agia Anna, beach, Plaka beach, and mountains in the distance behind them

 

Lianos Village Hotel Naxos

Palm fronds and colourful flowering plants beside our balcony

 

Lianos Village balcony view

Balcony view toward Agios Prokopios beach at the bottom of the hillside

 

Lianos Village Naxos balcony view

Another balcony view toward Agios Prokopios beach

 

Lianos Village hotel swimming pool

The Lianos Village swimming pool terrace had terrific views of the  southwest Naxos coast and other nearby islands

 

Lianos Village swimming pool terrace view

Swimming pool terrace view of the Agios Prokopios resort area of Naxos

 

Lianos Village swimming pool terrace views

Another view from the hotel swimming pool terrace

 

Lianos Village Naxos view

Another pool terrace view of the island’s southwest coast

 

Hotel Tagoo balcony view

This was our balcony view during our second stay at Hotel Tagoo on Mykonos

 

Hotel Tagoo balcony view

Another view from our balcony, looking toward the left

 

Hotel Tagoo Mykonos

The Hotel Tagoo pool terrace is a great place to relax in the afternoon sun…

 

Hotel Tagoo pool deck view

… or watch cruise ships and ferries come and go from nearby Tourlos port

 

Hotel Tagoo swimming pool views

Hotel Tagoo pool deck views in the morning, looking toward the left …

 

Hotel Tagoo swimming pool views

… and looking toward the right

 

Hotel Tagoo at sunset

A gorgeous Mykonos sunset reflects in Hotel Tagoo’s reception room windows

 

 

 

Things I love about Greece: Waking up to gorgeous views at hotels in the Greek Islands (Part 2)

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Donny B in Santorini

I loved the views of Thirassia island (left) and Skaros Rock (right)…

 

Santorini sunset

… as well as the sunsets we could watch from our private balcony at Grotto Villas/Cliffside Suites in Firostefani village on Santorini

 

Musical rooms: I could describe our 2006 holiday as “Goldilocks goes to Greece,” because that was the vacation during which we kept switching hotel rooms — or even hotels, in one instance — to find one that felt just right.

On Mykonos, we stayed at the Petasos Beach Resort & Spa at Platis Gialos beach — the same area where we had stayed two years earlier. The Petasos sits on a peninsula between Platis Gialos Bay and Psarou Bay, so its property boasts a wide variety of views of two separate beaches and bays. Our first room at the Petasos had a small ground-level terrace facing Psarou Bay and the Aegean Sea, but we didn’t like the room itself. It was one of the hotel’s older units (the Petasos had been undergoing a major room renovation program, but had not yet overhauled the one we were in), and appeared comfortable enough, but felt very dark and depressing. We couldn’t determine exactly what we didn’t like, but since the room put both of us in a gloomy mood, we asked if we could move.

The hotel manager obligingly relocated us to a bright and cheery room on the second floor. Newly-renovated and upgraded, it looked and felt 100 times better than the first room, and had a much bigger terrace with twin sun loungers as well as a bistro table and two chairs. The trade-off was considerably less privacy and a much less impressive view. The balcony overlooked the back of several Petasos Resort buildings plus a row of terraces for all the other rooms on our floor, but also gave us views of Platis Gialos beach and bay, as well as other hotels and buildings on the surrounding hillside. It suited us just fine. And whenever we wanted a change of scenery, all we had to do was take a walk around the resort. The swimming pool bar and deck looked toward Nammos, the trendy upscale restaurant on posh Psarou beach; the dining room faced Psarou Bay and the Aegean Sea; and the hotel’s smaller second swimming pool overlooked Platis Gialos beach and bay.

On Naxos, we were supposed to spend a week at the top-ranked Hotel Kavos above Agios Prokopios beach, but stayed only three nights. The hotel had been getting consistent rave reviews on TripAdvisor.com, and still does to this day, but it wasn’t our cup of tea. The manager, Barbara, was terrific and so were the two young women who worked in the poolside restaurant and bar. And the views were good: the terrace outside our room faced Agios Prokopios Bay on the southwest coast of Naxos, and we could see similar views as well as nearby Paros island from the swimming pool deck. But many aspects of the room irked us, including the thick insect-infested vines above our terrace, and we didn’t enjoy the 30-minute one-way trek to a reasonably-priced breakfast spot at Agios Prokopios each morning (breakfast was not included in the room rate, and we thought Kavos’s menu prices were steep; I would have gone broke getting my daily caffeine fix at €3.50 per small cup of coffee).

While walking to breakfast one morning we passed the Lianos Village hotel, which we could see from our terrace at the Kavos, and stopped in to inquire about room rates. When the receptionist showed us a nice, bright sea-view room costing half as much as we were paying at the Kavos, and told us that the rate included a light buffet-style breakfast (with coffee), we decided to switch hotels. In a bid to convince us to stay at the Kavos, Barbara insisted on showing us some other rooms, including suites, that had better views and more space, but they were all significantly more expensive and, in one case, nearly twice the price. So we declined. Amazingly, Barbara insisted on driving us to Lianos Village, even though it was only a short walk down the hill (didn’t I say she was terrific?). It turned out the coffee at Lianos Village was dreadfully weak, but the breakfast spread was satisfying, the room was comfortable, the views were wonderful, and the price was excellent.

On Santorini, our final island-hopping destination that year, we stayed in the village of Firostefani at Grotto Villas, a caldera-view hotel that was in the process of changing its name to Cliff Side Suites.  We were initially assigned Room 119, a windowless Flintstones- style cave room which initially struck us as novel and fun but soon became incredibly frustrating (not to mention a huge pain in the head for me). After two nights we had to change rooms, and totally lucked out by getting switched to Room 110, a small kitchenette-equipped studio boasting a private balcony with million-dollar views — including Santorini’s fabled sunsets. (For detailed descriptions of both rooms and the hotel in general, see my comments in post #3 of this July 2006 thread in the TripAdvisor.com Santorini forum.) Room 110 was wonderful, for a lot of reasons, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in it. I only wish I could say the same thing about our 2006 Santorini experience as a whole, but that’s a topic I’ll deal with some other time.

Below are photos of our various views at the Petasos Beach Resort, Hotel Kavos, Lianos Village and Grotto Villas/Cliff Side Suites.

 

Petasos Beach Resort Mykonos Room P208 terrace

Room P208, our first room at the Petasos Beach Resort & Spa on Mykonos, had a stone terrace with views of Psarou Bay and the Aegean Sea

 

Petasos Beach Resort Room P208

Our terrace overlooked the landscaped hotel grounds as well an upscale residential area on the steep mountainside directly across Psarou Bay

 

Petasos Beach Resort Room P208 view

To the left we could see part of Platis Gialos Bay and the rocky peninsula that juts into the Aegean Sea between Platis Gialos and Paraga Bay

 

Petasos Beach Resort Room 183 balcony

The terrace for Room 183, our second room at the Petasos Beach Resort, overlooks Platis Gialos, one of the most popular beaches on Mykonos

 

Petasos Beach Resort Room 183 terrace

If we didn’t feel like lounging beside one of the hotel’s two swimming pools, we could lay in the sun on our terrace instead

 

Petasos Beach Resort view from Room 183

To the far left we could see another hotel across the street (actually, it’s the main road that links Platis Gialis to Mykonos Town) …

 

Petasos Beach Resort Room 183 view

… as well as a semi-constructed resort building and more hotels lining the steep hillside above Platis Gialos…

 

Petasos Beach Resort Room 183 terrace view

…while straight ahead we looked onto Platis Gialos beach, another wing of the Petasos Beach Resort, and the Hotel Petinos Beach next door

 

Petasos Beach Resort Room 183 terrace view

To the right are terraces for the other hotel rooms on our floor

 

Petasos Beach Resort Mykonos

The main swimming pool terrace had views of Psarou beach and bay…

 

Nammos restaurant and bar at Psarou beach Mykonos

… including the trendy, private beach club-style Nammos restaurant and bar

 

Petasos Beach Resort dining room view

The hotel’s poolside bar and dining room had similar views

 

Petasos Beach Resort breakfast terrace

Some of the breakfast tables sat on an open air dining terrace …

 

Petasos Beach Resort pool deck view

… with completely unobstructed views of the beautiful blue Aegean Sea

 

Petasos Beach Resort swimming pool

The Petasos has another (smaller) swimming pool …

 

Petasos Beach Resort swimming pool terrace

… with great views of Platis Gialos beach and bay …

 

Shuttle boat pier at Platis Gialos beach

… plus the Platis Gialos pier where people can catch caiques — traditional Greek boats that shuttle passengers to popular beaches along the south coast of Mykonos

 

Hotel Kavos Naxos room 1 view

From our terrace outside Room 1 of the Hotel Kavos on Naxos …

 

Hotel Kavos Naxos Room 1 view

… we could view the Aegean Sea off Agios Prokopios beach, a 15-minute walk away

 

Hotel Kavos Naxos Room 1 terrace view

To the left of our terrace were private homes and villas in the Stelida area of Naxos

 

Hotel Kavos Naxos swimming pool

The Hotel Kavos Naxos swimming pool had a view of the sea…

 

Hotel Kavos Naxos view

… while the pool terrace had views of the coastline on the southwest side of Naxos

 

Hotel Kavos Naxos sunset view

From the pool deck, we could watch the sun set behind Paros island

 

Lianos Village hotel room view

The balcony for our room at the Lianos Village hotel offered a partial sea view toward the Agios Prokopios resort area of Naxos

 

Lianos Village pool terrace views

The lovely swimming pool terrace at Lianos Village had views not just of Agios Prokopios beach, but also nearby Paros island, visible at the rear right of this photo

 

Lianos Village Naxos view

This was one of the pool terrace views of the Agios Prokopios area

 

Lianos Village Naxos swimming pool terrace view

This is a wider swimming pool view of the southwest coast of Naxos; the long, wide strip of sand in the foreground is Agios Prokopios beach

 

Lianos Village Naxos view

Here’s another view of the sea and Agios Prokopios beach

 

Grotto Villas/Cliffside Suites

On Santorini, the shared public terrace outside Room 119 at Grotto Villas/Cliffside Suites had views of Thirassia island, Skaros Rock and Imerovigli village

 

Grotto Villas Room 110 private balcony

We were happier when we moved to Room 110, which had a private balcony

 

Grotto Villas Room 110 balcony view

The Room 110 balcony offered spectacular views. Visible in this photo are Nea Kameni (the Santorini volcano island, left) and Thirassia island

 

volcano view from Grotto Villas Room 110

Here’s another view of the volcano island from our balcony

 

Grotto Villas Room 110 view

The view to our right included Skaros Rock (left) and Imerovigli village

 

Grotto Villas Room 110 balcony view

This was our caldera view, looking to the left from our balcony

 

Grotto Villas Room 110 view of Kafieris apartments

Our balcony overlooked the large swimming pool and breakfast terrace for the aptly named Kafieris Blue Apartments

 

cruise ships at Santorini

We had a great view of cruise ships and ferry boats near the volcano island…

 

Grotto Villas Room 110 sunset view

… and enjoyed watching the sun set in the distance, centered almost perfectly between Thirassia island and Skaros Rock

 

a terrace at Grotto Villas/Cliffside Suites

Most of the rooms and public areas at Grotto Villas had superb views. As an example, here’s a sitting area outside the hotel’s reception room

 

Grotto Villas reception terrace view

This is the view in the opposite direction from the same sitting area

 

Grotto Villas hotel room terrace view

This was the view for one of the larger Grotto Villas hotel rooms

 

Grotto Villas hotel room terrace view

This was the view for yet another Grotto Villas terrace

 

Grotto Villas swimming pool

The swimming pool, situated on one of the lower levels of the hotel, had a great view towards Thirassia island

 

Grotto Villas poolside breakfast tables

Breakfast was served on the swimming pool terrace. Some of the tables at the cliff side of the pool had wonderful views of the volcano island

 

Dana Villas swimming pool

Some of the hotel’s terraces overlooked the swimming pool for Dana Villas, a separate hotel situated even farther down the cliff face below Grotto Villas

 

Grotto Villas terrace view

And some of the terraces had this view of Skaros Rock (left), Imerovigli village (center rear) and Firostefani village (right)

 

 

Things I love about Greece: Waking up to gorgeous views at hotels in the Greek Islands (Part 1)

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Platis Gialos bay beach and resort area on Mykonos

On our very first morning in the Greek Islands back in 2004, we were awestruck by this view from our balcony at the Myconian Ambassador Hotel on Mykonos

 

Va-va-va-view: On our first-ever trip to Greece, we arrived at Mykonos after nightfall and didn’t have a clue what kind of view we would get from our balcony at the Myconian Ambassador Hotel. The hotel employee who showed us to our room opened the balcony doors and assured us we would have beautiful sightlines of the sea and Platis Gialos beach, but most of the area was pitch black  and we couldn’t see much more than lights from nearby hotels and houses. It also was surprisingly quiet, though whenever the light breeze blew in our direction, we could faintly hear Greek music being played in the tavernas lining the beach a few hundred meters below us.

When we woke up the next morning and pulled open the balcony doors, our jaws dropped as we got our first glimpse of Platis Gialos in daylight. The view was absolutely gorgeous! Spread out below were dozens of the island’s signature white cube buildings, the golden-brown sandy beach, and the vivid deep blues and tempting turquoise waters of the legendary Aegean Sea.

On all of our Greek Island holidays since then, we’ve always tried to get a hotel room with a good sea view. If the room itself doesn’t offer one, we’re content if there is at least a decent sea view from a public area somewhere else on the hotel property — be it a breakfast room, swimming pool terrace, or other place where we can sit, relax and gaze at the scenery. At home, all we see from our windows and balcony are highrise glass, steel and concrete towers. When we travel on holidays, we cherish views of the sea. It’s even better if we can see some islands and mountains, too. Bonus points if we can watch a spectacular sunset. But a Greek holiday just wouldn’t feel the same if we couldn’t see the Aegean.

I posted additional photos of the views from the Myconian Ambassador Hotel in my June 3 2011 post. Below are photos showing the various different views we have had from some of the other hotels we stayed at during Greek Island holidays since. Some of the views are terrific, and others considerably less so, but with only one or two exceptions, we always got to see the sea without having to leave our hotels.

 

Rodos Palladium sea view

The view from our balcony at the Rodos Palladium at Kallithea beach on Rhodes

 

Rodos Palladium sea and pool views

Evening view from our balcony at the Rodos Palladium in 2004

 

full moon above Kallithea beach Rhodes in 2004

Our Rodos Palladium balcony view of a full moon above Kallithea Bay in 2004

 

Candia Maris Resort & Spa Crete hotel room view

The balcony to our room at the Candia Maris Resort & Spa in Amoudara, Crete gave us this view of sea and mountains in 2004…

 

Candia Maris Resort & Spa Crete

… as well as this view of the resort’s indoor swimming pool…

 

a row of balconies at the Candia Maris Resort & Spa Crete

… plus this view of other balconies on our side of this particular hotel building

 

Santorini Palace Fira Santorini

That’s me on our sea-view terrace at the Santorini Palace Hotel on Santorini in 2004. This isn’t the breathtaking caldera view for which Santorini is renowned (this is the less scenic east side of the island), but it looked great to us. And if we did want to see the spectacular caldera view, all we had to do was exit the hotel’s main entrance and walk 100 meters up a short slope — and there it was.

 

Imerovigli village on Santorini at sunset

We couldn’t see a famous Santorini sunset from our terrace at the Santorini Palace Hotel, but we could see the sunset glowing on clouds above Imerovigli village

 

Myconian Imperial Hotel view of Elia Bay

A view of Elia Bay on Mykonos from the Myconian Imperial Resort & Villas in 2005

 

Myconian Imperial Resort & Villas hotel room view of Elia Bay

Part of the sea view from our balcony at the Myconian Imperial Resort & Villas

 

Myconian Imperial Resort balcony view

More of the sea view from our balcony at the Myconian Imperial Resort & Villas

 

Myconian Imperial Resort & Villas balcony view

Houses and rental accommodation on the steep hillside rising to the left of our balcony at the Myconian Imperial Resort & Villas

 

Myconian Imperial Resort & Villas Mykonos

Our bathroom window gave us a view of more hotel rooms higher up the hillside

 

Naxos Beach Hotel II view of Naxos Town

In 2005, we enjoyed views of Naxos Town and Agios Georgios Bay from the Naxos Beach II hotel in the Stelida district of Naxos

 

Naxos Beach II hotel views of Naxos

Another view toward Naxos Town from the Naxos Beach II hotel

 

Naxos Beach II hotel room view

Our bedroom at Naxos Beach II had doors that opened onto a stone-paved terrace offering this view toward Naxos Town

 

Naxos Beach II view of Naxos Town

Another view from the terrace outside our bedroom at the Naxos Beach II

 

Yria Hotel room terrace

At the Yria Hotel on Paros in 2005, our room had a large ground-level terrace


Yria Hotel Paros hotel room view

This was the view if we looked to the left while sitting on the terrace…

 

Yria Hotel Paros hotel room view

…while, unfortunately, this was the view to the right — overlooking an unattractive overflow parking area

 

Yria Hotel Paros views

We could catch a slight glimpse of the sea from the Yria’s swimming pool terrace…

 

Yria Hotel sea view

…and also see a small section of Paraspora beach, which was just a five-minute walk down the road…

 

Yria Hotel Paros swimming pool

… but the Yria Hotel’s main attraction was its enormous swimming pool. It looked fantastic, but the chilly water was murky from suntan oil

 

Phenix apartments and cliff houses on Santorini

In 2005, we loved this marvellous caldera view from our private terrace at the Phenix Hotel in the cliffside village of Imerovigli on Santorini

 

Phenix Hotel Santorini

We didn’t even have to leave our hotel room to enjoy the amazing view…

 

Phenix Hotel on Santorini

…but we preferred to savour the stunning scenery from our sun-bathed terrace

 

Phenix Hotel view of nearby hotels in Imerovigli

Looking to the left, we had this view of other hotels perched perilously on the steep cliffside high above the sea in Imerovigli

 

Phenix Hotel Santorini views

Looking down, we could see the caldera and cruise ships below the town of Fira

 

Phenix Hotel Santorini views

And from an upper level of the hotel, we enjoyed this view of the volcano island (Nea Kameni) and the gorgeous swimming pool at the Honeymoon Petra Villas, a beautiful multi-level hotel clinging to the cliffside next door to the Phenix

 


Greece holiday May 2011: More Mykonos photos

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Ornos beach

Ornos Beach on May 17 2011

 

Mykonos in May: We started our 2011 holiday with a three-night visit to one of our favourite  Greek islands, Mykonos. Here are more photos from one of our island walkabouts.

 

Hotel Tagoo Mykonos

The view from Hotel Tagoo in the Tagoo district of Mykonos

 

Hotel Tagoo swimming pool

The Hotel Tagoo swimming pool in late afternoon sunshine

 

Mykonos goats

Some goats in a field in the Tagoo district of Mykonos

 

Cycladic architecture on Mykonos

An example of typical Cycladic architecture on Mykonos: a white cube building with rounded corners

 

Mykonos Town harbour

A cruise ship and a private yacht at Mykonos Town’s Old Port

 

Mykonos Town

White cube buildings on the hillside above Mykonos Town

 

Mykonos Town

A view towards the heart of Mykonos Town

 

Mykonos Town and harbour

A view of Mykonos Town’s harbour and the famous windmills at Little Venice

 

Mykonos archaeological museum

A red-domed church sits next to the Mykonos Archaeological Museum

 

Mykonos Town

The main harbourside street in Mykonos Town

 

Paraportiani church Mykonos

Paraportiani church at Little Venice

 

Little Venice area of Mykonos

Taking pics on the seaside at Little Venice

 

seaside cocktail bars at Little Venice

Enjoying the sea view from the cocktail bars at Little Venice

 

hotels in Mykonos Town

Hotels on the Tagoo district hillside above the Old Port

 

luxury yachts at Mykonos

Private luxury yachts docked at the Old Port at Mykonos Town

 

Agia Anna beach

Agia Anna beach between Platis Gialos and Paranga beaches

 

Nicholas taverna at Agia Anna beach

Nicholas taverna at Agia Anna beach

 

a church near Megali Ammos bay

A red-domed church overlooking Megali Ammos bay

 

a cove on Megali Ammos Bay

A cove below the church overlooking Megali Ammos bay

 

Megali Ammos bay

A cruise ship anchored off Mykonos Town viewed from Megali Ammos bay

 

Megali Ammos beach and bay

Megali Ammos beach and bay

 

Megali Ammos beach and bay

Hotels on the hill above Megali Ammos beach

 

Joanna's and Niko's Taverna

Joanna’s and Niko’s Taverna at Megali Ammos beach

 

Megali Ammos beach and bay

Megali Ammos beach

 

Megali Ammos beach

Megali Ammos beach

 

Mykonos Bay Hotel

The swimming pool at the Mykonos Bay Hotel

 

Mykonos coastline

The coast on the way to Ornos Beach

 

Ornos beach

Ornos beach

 

Ornos beach

Ornos beach

 

Ornos beach

Lounge chairs and umbrellas on Ornos beach

 

Ornos beach

Ornos beach

 

Ornos beach

Looking down on the Ornos beach area

 

a church at Ornos beach

A church on a hillside above Ornos beach

 

Ornos bay on Mykonos

Ornos bay on Mykonos

 

Ornos bay

Ornos bay

 

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