Right in front of the rooms
No road to cross, no path through someone else’s hotel, no shuttle bus.
Walk out and it is there
At seven in the morning there is nobody on it. Not fewer people. Nobody.
Every sunbed is free
All of them. Not the front row. Not a limited number.
If you are staying with us, a sunbed and an umbrella are yours, every day, at no cost. Nobody is out here at six in the morning putting a towel down, because there is no reason to.
You order from where you are lying. Every umbrella has a number and a code on the pole, and it comes out to you across the sand. The beach bar is on the sand too, and it is open to everyone, not only guests.
The river
A river comes down from the mountains, runs through the property, past the restaurant, and into the sea.
Where the two meet, the water is cold on one side and warm on the other. You can stand with a foot in each. Most people find it by accident on the first morning and bring everyone back to it on the second.
The river is also why the grass here stays green in August.
The beach is in front of the suites
You walk out and you are on it. No road to cross, no path through another hotel, no shuttle bus. Every sunbed and umbrella is yours if you are staying with us. All of them, not the front row.
A river comes down from the mountains, runs past the restaurant and into the sea. Where they meet, the water is cold on one side and warm on the other. Most people find it by accident on the first morning and bring everyone back to it on the second.
The palm trees
Stefanos’ father planted them about twenty years ago, before there was a hotel here for them to shade.
That is why there is shade on this beach at two in the afternoon in August, and why the grass underneath is green. A new place can build anything it likes. It cannot build twenty years.
Count the trees, win an ice cream
More than three hundred, because nobody has ever counted them properly.
So the children who stay with us go and count. Everyone who comes back with a number gets an ice cream, and the best guess of the week goes on the board at the beach bar.
It has never been the same number twice.
For families
The water is shallow a long way out. Parents sit down. That is the whole reason families come back here year after year.
The sunbeds are a few steps from the rooms, so nobody is carrying four bags across a car park before breakfast.
Questions
Where exactly is the beach?
Right in front of the property. You walk out of your room and you are on it.
Are the sunbeds really free?
Yes, for hotel guests. Every one of them, along with the umbrellas.
Can I swim in the river?
Yes. It is cold. That is rather the point.
Is there shade?
From the palms and from the umbrellas on the sand. In August the shade is the thing people are most grateful for.
Can I order a drink without getting up?
Yes. Scan the code on your umbrella and it is brought out to you.
Is the water safe for small children?
It is shallow a long way out and usually calm. As anywhere, children should be watched.