Our Greece season continues this weekend as Larry ventures out to the islands, beginning with perhaps the most well-known, the Queen of the Sporades, Skiathos…
It’s the archetypal fly-and-flop destination. Three and a half hours from the UK – short enough to be reached easily, far enough to feel like you’re getting away – Skiathos’s verdant hills and plentiful beaches have made it an institutional island break for a week in the sun. That, unfortunately, is its Achilles’ Heel. It is the preserve of the package holiday, the half-board, the ‘all inclusive’. There was hope, though, in the form of Santikos Resorts’ Skiathos Princess; a yoga retreat, a ‘bohemian bourgeois’ getaway promising unbridled luxury. But that’s the trouble; ‘luxury’ has lost its meaning these days.
As we settled in, I began to wonder what it was about Skiathos Princess that didn’t quite pass muster. The setting is attractive enough; gleaming white terraces and terracotta rooftops backing onto lush hillside and brushing up against a gently lapping shoreline. The rooms are spacious – certainly our suite was – and comfortable, if lacking finesse; the decor a dated mismatch of styles and furnishings. I was torn in the bathroom; on the one hand, it’s equipped with the finest contemporary Ativia toiletries, yet somehow I felt Proustian. I can’t remember the last time I used a box hairdryer attached to a wall, where I wasn’t inserting 20p coins. If this were one of the island’s top hotels, it was symbolic of what Skiathos represents; it’s trapped in the ‘90s.
And then, by the pool one afternoon, the penny dropped. We were part of a crowd. At the best resorts you feel like you have the place to yourself, they absorb people. Here, I saw them gather. They came while we were at breakfast; at first, a solitary gazelle to a watering hole, marking territory with a towel on a well-located sunlounger. Others soon had the same idea – I can appreciate why; these loungers were sleep-inducingly comfortable – and within an hour it was popular. Not crowded, by any means, but the poolside was close to capacity. And this was low season. I should have known as we checked in and I was issued with towel ‘vouchers’. When did that last happen? 1996?
It was, however, at dinner that the Princess really got going. I had learned by then that most guests I spoke to were on a package, not quite ‘AI’ but halfway there. When I looked up the hotel prior to coming, I was pleased to see a variety of dining options available. The reality, though, painted a different picture. We were halfway through enjoying an aperitif on the veranda to the lounge when, on the stroke of 7.30pm, something startled the herd; there was a stampede to the restaurant and a bunfight ensued at the buffet. The a la carte options were woefully desolate as queues formed from three sides around each service area and there seemed a mild sense of panic as favourites might run out. As if to aid the ambience, the lights were set on magnesium filaments and the music – easy listening covers of rock anthems – was piped out at a conversation-levelling minimum.
The meal itself had some nice touches – a grilled trout filleted before me – but I knew I couldn’t have managed it more than once, so we made plans for Skiathos town the next evening. Here are all the reasons you might venture to the island in the first instance; the old town has all the hallmarks of rustic charm and local appeal one might expect. It’s not wholly escaped the unstoppable march of consumerism befalling many quaint European seaside destinations; there are happy hours, tourist menus and touts, though, thankfully, not as bad as one might fear and these are easily escapable. Opposite the old port, on a promontory that feels like it should house a monastic hideaway is Bu, a delightful terrace bar offering views across the water, making for the definitive holiday sundowner. Later, a short walk round the marina we found Bakaliko; locally regarded as the finest restaurant in Skiathos, we weren’t disappointed, enjoying a plethora of meze over the water, with boats bobbing nearby, it restored my faith that there was opportunity on this island.
Returning to the Princess, I was concerned I was being too critical. After all, the guests we spoke to seemed to be enjoying themselves. Perhaps I’m just spoiled? Snobbish, even? After all, it’s not without its assets; PR Ammos, the beach restaurant, serves classic Greek among all-white, decking and raffia. If ever you wanted an image to tell you you’re on holiday in the Aegean, lunch there did it. And people flock there from around the island. Moreover, I cannot criticise the pool bar, the comfortable lounge, nor the setting; and the staff are courteous, friendly and helpful. The longer I stayed, however, the more I found grated rather than gratified.
From what I had heard about the hotel; its five star status, the awards and accolades for its Kids’ Club, the YogaFest that it was celebrated for, something didn’t sit right. Take the Kids’ Club, for example. Off-season it’s not geared towards children; an outdoor play area ticked the box from a distance but offered little more than a few sun-faded plastic playground rides, and while the creche seemed adequate (and was billed as an asset) it lacked an itinerary of activities (standard for ‘kids’ clubs’, surely?) and at 10€ an hour is off-putting when it could be complimentary – after all, they’re paying the supervisors a retainer anyway. And as for the yoga? It didn’t start until the week after we left.
And that was just it. It transpired it wasn’t the hotel – although it’s not without its shortcomings – it was our timing that was at fault. It wasn’t so much the wrong decade, but the wrong week, that we had come. Not only were we off-season but we visited the week before half-term. Notoriously off peak, budget deals had been offered to tour operators, package holidays by the bus load, and facilities and menus stripped down to cater for the crowd, not the individual. The welcome note said it all; typed, its salutation a token hand-written ‘Dear guest’.
As we left, I offered a brief reply, ’Dear Hotel, I wish to point out a few things…’
Skiathos Princess is part of the Santikos Hotel Group. Known for its award-winning Kids’ Club and its signature AquaYoga programme, ensure you travel at the optimum time. If, however, a quieter, child-free, more secluded break is your thing, the Aegean Suites, the group’s boutique adult-only hotel is the finest on the island. For more information, visit www.santikoshotels.com.
To help discover more about Skiathos and what it offers, visit www.discovergreece.com.
Larry’s island adventure continues tomorrow as he boards a yacht and skips across the waves to Evea, Greece’s second largest island…
