Kamari

Kamari Beach Hotel

★★★★★

Kamari Beach Hotel has been welcoming guests since 1972, which by its own account makes it Santorini's first resort hotel, and the same family has run it for more than five decades. It sits right on the beach at Kamari, the island's best-organised family beach, so you walk from your room across the garden and onto the black sand, where sunbeds and umbrellas on the hotel's stretch of beach are free for guests. That alone sets it apart from most hotels in the village, which are a street or two back from the sea. The hotel is a friendly three-star with 106 rooms, a scale that gives it proper facilities without feeling anonymous. Rooms range from singles, rare on Santorini and welcome for solo travellers, through doubles and three-bed rooms to suites, all with private verandas looking over the sea or the gardens, air conditioning, ceiling fans, a fridge, safe and satellite TV. A large swimming pool near the beach has a lifeguard, a reassuring detail for parents, and a pool bar serves drinks there or brings cocktails to your sunbed on the sand. Kordas restaurant serves contemporary Greek and Mediterranean dishes for lunch and dinner, with local wines, and a buffet breakfast is laid out daily, with early breakfasts and packed breakfast or lunch boxes available for guests leaving on early ferries or boat trips. Reception and concierge are open around the clock, with luggage service. The hotel belongs to a small local group that also runs other properties on the island. The trade-off is the usual one for Kamari: there is no caldera view and the beach faces east, so sunsets mean a bus or taxi to Fira or Oia. Rooms are comfortable rather than designer, and the atmosphere is relaxed and family-oriented rather than glamorous.

Who it suits: families who want a lifeguarded pool and a beach on the doorstep, solo travellers who appreciate a genuine single room, and couples who prefer value and convenience to a cliff-top suite. Ask for a sea-view room for morning light over the Aegean; garden-view rooms are quieter and usually cheaper. Three-bed rooms and suites are the best choices for families.

Getting around: buses to Fira leave from Kamari frequently in season and take around twenty minutes, and the airport is just a few minutes away, which is handy for early flights, though you may hear occasional aircraft. Ancient Thera is directly above the village, reached by the hairpin road or the footpath, and the Wine Museum in Vothonas and Pyrgos are short drives inland.

Season and practicalities: the official site does not publish opening dates, and like most Kamari beach hotels it runs a seasonal calendar, so treat it as closed in deep winter and check dates for spring and late autumn. The climate resilience fee is charged per room per night according to category. Book directly through the official site for current rates and offers.