We stayed at the Anemi last year but found it closed on our return last week so switched to the Blue Sand. The hotel is beautifully located above the bay at Aveli and is so easy to access the boat to Livadaki which must surely rate as one of the most beautiful places to swim in the world. Contrary to recent reviews we found the service excellent, breakfast was very good and whilst we did not eat in the evenings what we saw would have warranted our staying in on a longer visit. The owner was much in evidence and was charming and informative about the island. This is however not a cheap option and so not unreasonable to expect the best - we stayed in a second floor room but would have happily settled for one of the cheaper rooms and the Suites (in a sperate building beside the main hotel) are on our list for another visit. We will return - we had enjoyed the Amemi but it was more impersonal than the Blue Sand.…
We had the suite overlooking agali beach which had an absolutely beautiful view although not private. We chose to have our breakfast each morning on our terrace which was such a treat and always delicious and served by a lovely young lady. All food was good and my favourite was the prawn orzo which I had a few times as the fish menu was limited, wine was good. Special mention to Maria who always looked after us so well. This is a very stylish well run hotel with a gorgeous boutique. I think there are a couple of areas for improvement as our shower was very weak and a welcome gift would have been a nice touch. All in all we loved it so much we decided to stay a couple more nights and would definitely return.
Unfortunately our Blue Sands experience was overshadowed by an unpleasant experience at breakfast on our second morning. After waiting 40 mins to order our breakfast, we simply had to walk away. The waitress on service that morning deliberately ignored us and we were given the impression that the she had an issue with us and did not wish to serve us, as evidenced by: - the removal of our menus and giving to another table who then had their order taken immediately. We have never seen this anywhere, without an order being taken. - after that table was served, and allowing for the chance that the waitress had forgotten we had not ordered, I asked the waitress clearly for 'some milk for the coffee and to finally order our breakfast' , which the waitress appeared to acknowledge, though quite abruptly and without eye contact. This was after about 20 mins. - subsequently, one small milk was then dropped off, in a hurry and again without any eye contact, where we did not have the chance to order. - in a sign of a lack of prioritisation, a table was cleaned by the waitress when none was waiting for it and two tables, arriving after us, were served and one table arriving after 5 minutes of them arriving placed their order. We then left after 40mins, in total. This was unacceptable and not down to chance - it is, in our view, a lack of trained staff and the absence of a management system made worse by a complicated menu. The breakfast experience ruined our morning as, while hungry, we then had to find an alternative, which wasn't so nice in Chora. On Sunday/Monday we didn't then wish to repeat the experience and thankfully we found beautiful Pounta in Chora. You don't want to go back to something if you can avoid it when it had been so bad, in the hope that it may be OK. Am sure there was a misunderstanding somewhere during the Saturday service, Friday's has been fine, though for the price we paid we feel that this level of service is far below what should be expected and there appeared to be other guests experiencing the same issue of being delayed in getting served. We are not normally 'complainers' and so we share our observations with the intent to help Blue Sands put things right. We see that Pastiche (another TripAdvisor reviewer) has complained about related issues. After offering the the owner/manager Katerina, the opportunity to review our feedback she didn’t reply therefore we are uploading our positive and negative experiences of the hotel. In terms of the style of the hotel, it is obviously situated in a stunning part of the island and the view from our room was outstanding. The room was spacious with a comfortable bed although the style of the room reminded me of a IKEA showroom and there were aspects of the room that were pretty tired and in need of a bit of TLC (the scuff marks on the shower wall in room 201). Also the one bottle of water per stay policy penalises those of us who stay longer. Water should in my view be replenished at least once every 2 days. How is it fair that people who stay longer get treated less well than those who stay shorter? Yes we can go to the bar or shop to get a bottle for just 1 euro but often what happens is that you don't realise you need the water until you need it and it is not possible to get one. In summary, with one bad issue along with these and other smaller points, our stay gave the impression that we were being squeezed for money and were not getting value for what we were paying. When you pay €300+ I am afraid that if you're not delivering average or better service then you have to expect people to give very honest opinions where things are not right.…
I just returned from staying at this hotel for 2 weeks, and cannot say enough good things about it. I was only supposed to stay one week and loved it so much I stayed there for the rest of my trip! I would have moved in permanently if I could have! I found the Blue Sand on Instagram, and it was everything I was looking for: incredible location just on the beach, seemed stylish, and had nice reviews. I finally visited this year, and can confirm that this hotel was phenomenal and exceeded EVERY expectation. Pictures do not do it justice! It's an epic view, incredible swimming beach, lovely, stylish rooms and decor throughout, with the KINDEST owners and staff. Attention to detail is strong, housekeeping was perfect, every effort was made to ensure that every surface of the hotel is clean and sanitized. There were some amazing extras though that helped make the difference, including the delicious restaurant and juice/coffee/cocktail bar (try the feta and tomato breakfast scramble, the fried cheese and honey, the prosciutto pizza, the iced apple ginger tea, and the watermelon juice!) the incredible level of friendliness and service, the in-house transport, the hotel's boat which can be chartered for a day or half day, the super chic boutique in the hotel full of beautiful pieces and accessories by talented, local Greek designers. I am sure I've forgotten a few things, but do yourself a favor and book this hotel, and book it in advance if you can. I can't wait to return next year!…
We had a nice stay at Blue Sand however it was somewhat disappointing. We visited 3 islands and 3 hotels on our trip and sadly the service at Blue Sand was the worst, although we paid the highest price. We took a superior sea view suite with a balcony, it was a lovely room, very nice bathroom, the website describes a panoramic sea view, I wouldn't agree that it's panoramic as you do look over the roofs of some tavernas and houses below and more directly towards the beach and mountain than the sea, however it was still very nice, but not quite the picture I had. The service from the hotel staff and during breakfast was sadly mediocre at best compared to our other stays, the clincher came when we were informed we had to pay €4.50 for an iced coffee at breakfast because they only include filter coffee, when we were paying almost €400 a night for a room. To me that is quite shocking. We stayed at a well known hotel in Santorini with a better view, and better service, for a lower rate, where the staff could not do enough for you. They did provide a paid transfer service into the Chora in the evenings, which was convenient as the roads are quite steep and windy, however it stopped at 11pm, which is very early for Greece. It was nice, the design is cool, but you can tell there's not too much care regarding the guest experience. It's a shame, because the setting is wonderful and it could be exceptional. So in all a bit of a mixed feeling on this one.…
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