Elivi Skiathos

Style

Swan the up

Setting

Radical Sporades

We don’t blame the resident black swan at Elivi Skiathos: this is a fine spot to strut about on local beaches or the nearby wetland. An eminently likeable father-and-daughter team has restored the shell of this former Sixties hotel to its past glory (and then some), when the likes of Jackie Onassis were regulars. Contemporary artwork, neutral hues and a showpiece sea-view lobby impress on arrival, before an Elemis spa, pool-toting beachfront villas and an authentic Japanese restaurant confirm this as an inspired (and wallet-friendly) alternative to Mykonos and Santorini.

Facilities

Quartos

161, including 67 suites.

Checkout

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.

Mais detalhes

Rates usually include breakfast.

Also

There are four disabled-access rooms, reached via a lift or pathways, with bathrooms adapted for wheelchair users.

Hotel Closed

11 October until 30 April

Academia de ginástica

Acesso gratuito à Internet

Lavanderia

Aceitamos animais de estimação

Piscina

Restaurante no local

Serviço de quarto

Spa

At the Hotel

Beach, gym, boutique, children's play area. In rooms: TV, air-conditioning, minibar (on request at extra charge), tea, coffee and espresso machine.

Our Favourite Rooms

Grace suites are built into the lower hillside so the views from the rooms above are unimpeded. This keeps them nice and cool, and mere steps from Ambelakia beach, whose butter-soft sand is just beyond your private plunge pool. If you’re with the family, the Nest villas across the peninsula offer a spacious, self-catered alternative and are close to the beach and pool. All are minimally dressed with the hotel’s emblematic black swan as a recurring motif.

Poolside

The main pool – flanked by a curved bar – is tucked into the hillside, with an infinity edge that pours water to the level below. Shared lap pools face the opposite direction, towards the flawless crescent of Koukounaries beach. Over the hillside at the Nest there's a second 'main' pool neatly set beside the Nest Greek Fish Restaurant. Several rooms and most suites and villas have their own private plunge pools, too.

Spa

Elivi’s spa operates with Ariadne, promising first-class service and treatments packed with trademark minerals and micronutrients. There are three treatment rooms; a beauty salon offering hairdressing, manicures and pedicures; and an indoor pool backed by a sauna and hammam.

Packing Tips

If photography’s your bag, bring a long-focus lens for spying wildlife across at the protected wetland’s Strofilia Lake.

Also

The original hotel was one of many built in the Sixties as part of a nation-wide tourism initiative. These government-owned hotels invariably presided over the area’s most exceptional views. Those Aegean views are still breath-takers to this day.

Crianças

All ages are welcome in the hotel; those four and over are welcome in the kids club. Extra beds and cots can be added to some rooms for a fee, and babysitting can be arranged.

Galeria

Food & Drink

Top Table

The far-corner table of the stone-built terrace outside Leda & Swan offers almost 240 degrees of turquoise-streaked sea views.

Dress code

For ladies, a tie-front dress with some primary-colour punch (to offset the resort’s softer hues); for gents, a loosely buttoned collarless shirt, shorts and a pair of espadrilles.

Hotel Restaurant

You’d be right to predict that fish features heavily at Elivi’s four restaurants; what you won’t be expecting are the culinary leaps made by its adventurous chefs. Leda & Swan is the hotel’s culinary canvas, where traditional Greek recipes are zhuzhed by exciting, modern flavours. Full marks goes to Hagoromo, too, the hotel’s bold recreation of a Japanese restaurant, where fish is served in its sashimi and nigiri form (though the soft-shell crab and sake selection steal the show). And, just to prove their mastery of the Aegean’s bounty, the Nest Fish Restaurant grills fresh-from-the-sea shrimp, sea bream, red mullet and more, served with locally produced tsipouro and ouzo. Even the beach-bar cooks have foodie impulses: the chef at Grace Restaurant has an obsession with pizza dough (tending to his batches nightly and referring to them as his ‘babies’). His TLC, we can confirm, is teased out in the taste. At the extensive breakfast spread you’ll find freshly baked bread, delicious traditional pies, home-made jams and local honey.

Hotel Bar

The well-stocked Elevate bar – in the original main building to the left of the lobby – is helmed by an adventurous mixologist and flanked by two long glass-partitioned terraces. These are dotted with elegant seating overlooking all the action on Koukounaries beach, the perfect spot for sipping the hotel’s signature cocktails.

Last Orders

Leda & Swan and Hagoromo are open for dinner between 7pm and 11pm, whereas the more laid-back Nest Greek Fish Restaurant and Grace Restaurant are open for lunch and dinner (1pm–11pm). Breakfast at Xenia Restaurant is served from 7:30am to 11am.

Room Service

A selection of dishes from each of the hotel’s restaurants features on the room-service menu, available 7am–1am.

Planes

Skiathos International Airport (JSI), also known as Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport, is to the east of the island, 30 minutes by car from the hotel. One-way transfers, which skirt the scenic coastal roads, can be arranged for free and limo transfers are available for €50 per way.

Automobiles

You can organise car rental from the airport, which will be useful if you plan on spending lots of time in Skiathos town or striking out to explore some of the island’s more secluded beaches.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

There’s enough to entertain you on either side of this rugged peninsula that you’ll barely feel the pull of leaving the resort. Most prominently, there are four beaches to explore: the public Koukounaries beach, served by the hotel’s Xenia beach bar; the smaller, private Ambelakia beach, a fine spot for a light lunch by your day-bed; the family-friendly Banana beach on the opposite side of the peninsula, home to watersports and other activities; and, finally, the cheekily titled Little Banana beach, popular (be warned) with the naturist crowd. You’ll find tennis courts and other sports facilities on site, too, but we fully recommend an early-morning or late-evening stroll around the perimeter of Lake Strofilia, the centrepiece of a neighbouring protected wetland (of which Koukounaries beach forms a golden perimeter), for the chance to spot cormorants, egrets, ducks and the hotel’s famous black swan.

If you do decide to venture out, Skiathos town is a 25-minute drive away. Avoid the tackier end of the souvenir circuit by keeping to the wonderfully winding Byzantine streets to the south. In this quieter neighbourhood you’ll find the Monastery of the Annunciation, where Greece’s iconic blue and white flag was designed in 1807, and a handful of charming arts and crafts boutiques. From here, follow the sloping streets down to the colourful harbour and its protruding Bourtzi, a tiny peninsula that hides a small church and a laid-back bar and restaurant with glass lanterns hung from the enveloping pines.

To the very north is clifftop Kastro, the island’s first settlement: it was built on this windswept, rocky crag to repel pirates before being abandoned in the 19th century. Its ruined cannons, churches and Turkish-era mosque have been restored for visitors, and a trip here makes for an atmospheric afternoon. For the more adventurous, the Aegean’s turquoise waters afford Scuba diving opportunities – to a shipwreck for more advanced divers – bookable from outlets in Skiathos town or through the hotel.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .