Armonia Hotel

“ An all round very clean, pleasant and well maintained hotel . Friendly and very helpful "family run" staff and an excellent base for whatever you chose to do.
Would certainly consider another stay for "value for money" holiday and recommend to friends / family.

“ Top Tip: The "ALMIRA Restaurant" on the beach front. Excellent service, and certainly value for money.

“ We have stayed in this hotel seven times and have found it excellent every time. It is small and not overly luxurious but provides a friendly welcoming atmosphere. It is run by a family who are usually on hand to see guests. They speak English - one of the daughters speaks it to a high standard. Each of the rooms we have stayed in has had a 'fridge. The showers can be a bit quirky but you get used to them! The pool is excellent and is open from 0730 to 2200. If tea or coffee is required in a room take a travelling kettle and tea bags etc.

Kamari Beach is under the airport flight path and plane spotters can enjoy themselves watching the 737s and A320s of various nationalities coming in. However, noise is not a problem because the planes are quiet and there is no late night flying except when the Greek Airforce comes out to play and lands C130s at midnight. This is fairly rare.

The hotel is on a narrow street and parking right outside, if a car is hired, can be a slight problem. However, parking can always be found nearby. The street is, in theory, once way but no-one takes any notice of that!

The beach is about 70m from the front door and, whilst good for swimming, is stoney and it is best to have beach shoes to get down to the water in comfort. Pairs of sun beds with umbrellas can be hired for €5 or €6 per day from the bars and restaurants which line the back of the beach.

The rooms have televisions but the only English language station is Euronews! A number of the bars have big screens and show football, rugby etc.

If there is any criticism of the hotel it is the breakfast. It is fine as far as it goes - a standard continental breakfast - but never varies. If Greek yoghurt is your thing you will enjoy breakfast!

“ Top Tip: Monolithos about 5kms from Kamari has a good sandy beach and a couple of good bar/restaurants. A car is needed to get to it. A car is also worthwhile for a trip along the coast road on the eastern side of the island from Fira to Oia. There are a number of small secluded beaches and a couple of little harbours with a bar/restaurant.

Ancient history buffs will want to visit the ruins of the City of Thira on top of the hill you can see from the front of the hotel. The site is open from 1000 to 1430 Tuesday to Saturday and entrance costs €2.

Don't miss the evening boat cruise out into the Caldera to see the sunset. It is expensive at €38 each but a buffet dinner is included and the sunsets are spectacular. There are a number of other boat trips all organised by Kamari tours.

Some final points; this is Greece and things are very casual. Drive on the right (or, on rural roads, whichever side has less potholes) but don't expect local drivers to observe the double white lines. If you visit in the season the airport will be chaotic and you just have to be patient! When leaving check in early to avoid huge queues and then go to the bar in the airport entrance road until boarding time approaches!

“ could not find fault with the hotel facilities it was always very clean, hotel staff were very helpful & friendly. If wanted to be picky the breakfast was very basic, but overall very pleased & would certainly return

“ Top Tip: the Liverbird Pub just down the road was excellent

“ We have just returned from the Armonia Hotel and had a lovely time. The room was quite basic and the beds were very hard but spotlessly clean. They change your towels and sheets every other day! We had a room at the back - so the view from our balcony wasn't that great. The breakfast was very limited and it would have been nice if they could have served the tea and coffee to you instead of trying to make a cup of tea at the counter. It is very close to the beach and all the bars and restaurants along the front. We had some really lovely meals there and of course the Greek people were as friendly as ever and very entertaining. The pool is really lovely and very clean.

“ Top Tip: Have a drink at the Liverbird virtually next door to the Hotel. The couple who run it are really nice and friendly and gave us lots of tips about what to do on the island. The breakfasts are really lovely!!