Astypalaia, Greece

Saluti da Stampalia Suites

Price per night from$191.48

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR176.99), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Upscale hillside suites

Setting

Ancient Aegean drama

Scents of wild sage and thyme drift on warm Aegean breezes at Saluti da Stampalia Suites. This classic vision of Greek whitewashed terraces and honey-stone porticoes is dotted with intricately hand-carved doors, colourful local paintings, driftwood sculptures and potted cacti. Each of the seven suites are aimed towards that postcard-perfect view across the lapis-blue waters of Livadi Bay to the old town, where traditional stone windmills and gleaming sugarcube houses tumble down the olive-green hillside, and the 15th-century Venetian castle provides some Greek drama when illuminated against a dusk-pink sky.

Smith Extra

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A free bottle of Greek wine

Facilities

Photos Saluti da Stampalia Suites facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Six luxury suites of varying sizes and grandeur.

Check–Out

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Check-in is from 3pm, but staff will always try to accommodate guests earlier where possible.

Prices

Double rooms from £171.37 (€200), including tax at 13 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional government tax of €1.50 per room per night on check-out.

More details

Rates include breakfast plus free minibar items, soft drinks and snacks.

Hotel closed

November to April

At the hotel

Concierge service. In rooms: air conditioning, TV, WiFi, minibar, free soft drinks, bottled water and snacks, Nespresso coffee machine, choice of pillows.

Our favourite rooms

Step out ‘on deck’ – aka the Saluti Honeymoon Suite’s huge private balcony – and imagine yourself adrift on the Aegean, the mainsail billowing overhead as tranquil waters lap far below. Complete the illusion by soaking in your outdoor hot tub, where uninterrupted views of the castle are enough to make a Greek god weep.

Packing tips

A pair of reef shoes or comfortable sandals is a sensible choice for negotiating some of Astypalaia’s stonier beaches (including nearby Livadi). Meanwhile, anyone who has ever strolled the cobbled streets of a whitewashed Greek hillside village in summer will tell you it can be hotter than hell, so don’t forget a filter water bottle and huge floppy hat. Also outsize Jackie O sunglasses if you wish to avoid squinting goofily in every holiday snap.

Children

No children under the age of 12 are permitted. Adult rates apply for ages 12 and upwards.

Food and Drink

Photos Saluti da Stampalia Suites food and drink

Top Table

The terrace tables, in the early morning sunshine, are hard to beat.

Hotel restaurant

The Saluti da Stampalia breakfast room is a leisurely affair, with indoor and outdoor seating overlooking Chora. You’ll arrive to the smell of freshly baked bread and may spend the entire morning there acquainting yourself with fresh seasonal fruits, homemade jams and local thyme honey, as well as a selection of omelettes and bruschette using herbs from the courtyard garden, and freshly cooked to order.

Last orders

Breakfast is served 8.30am-noon. There is no lunch or dinner service but snacks and drinks are available throughout the day, from noon.

Room service

Bulging platters of local Astypalaian cheeses, cold cuts and seasonal salad (€10 a person) can be paired with Greek reds, whites and rosés, sold by the bottle.

Location

Photos Saluti da Stampalia Suites location
Address
Saluti da Stampalia Suites
Livadi
Astypalaia
85900
Greece

Planes

The closest airport is Astypalea Airport, 25 minutes away by car and the hotel provides a free transfer service by luxury SUV.

Automobiles

Free private parking is available in front of the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

Astypalia’s main town – known locally as Chora – is worth a good day or two out of your otherwise busy sunbathing schedule. Gleaming white stone windmills line the boulevard that leads up to theatrical Querini Castle, the well-preserved medieval fortress that crowns the village, and which comes complete with classic Greek chapels, Cyclades-style whitewashed walls, powder-blue domes and Instagrammable perfection. For the best photo opportunities, head up at sunrise or sunset, when you’re far less likely to arrive perspiring like you’ve staggered off a treadmill.

Livadi is the closest main beach to Saluti da Stampalia Suites. Its crystal-clear waters and row of traditional tavernas make it a fine place to nurse a Greek mojito (with Metaxa instead of rum). But you don’t have to stray far from the beaten path on this largely undiscovered island to find more secluded, even private spots. For example, tucked away just beyond Livadi Beach is the tiny chapel of Agios Vasilios, beneath which lies a small stretch of unspoiled pebble bay shaded by tamarisk trees. Take a good book and a picnic and, with luck, you might even find you have the place to yourself.

Snorkelling day trips out to the uninhabited islets of Kounoupa and Koutsomitis are a great way to get up close to the Aegean’s aquatic life. Yacht charters usually include lunch on board and can be organised via the hotel.

Local restaurants

Astypalaia is becoming something of a mecca for seafood lovers. There’s little to beat grilled octopus from the morning catch, paired with a crisp sauv blanc in a taverna by the shore, something every visitor to the island should experience at least once.

For something a little more upmarket, Akti Restaurant is a romantic Chora favourite that perches on rocks over the Aegean, with views of the castle and a quite dazzling array of fish and seafood specialities on the menu – think swordfish carpaccio, grilled lobster and squid ink linguini with calamari.

Set in view of the stone windmills on Chora’s main square, Ducato di Astypalea serves up Greek and Mediterranean dishes such as Astypalaia goat in lemon sauce, octopus with fava beans and fillet of Black Angus beef.

Local cafés

Kafeglikatzidiko O Marinos is considered an institution in the nearby town of Maltezana, serving up a bewildering array of millefeuilles, cakes and other pastries, all freshly made on the premises daily. Greenery surrounds the small terrace dotted with decorative tables and chairs, where you’ll feel your waistline gently expand upon second and third helping.

On the road to Livadi you’ll find Argo Coffee Bar. By day, it sedately serves coffee and astypalitika (local biscuits made with saffron and thyme honey). Later the bar morphs into a favourite nightspot for locals, where you can expect traditional ouzo and raki, live music, Greek snacks, and a good time.

Local bars

You can, of course, bring the party to your private balcony at the hotel, especially if you’ve booked a room with a hot tub. But if you want to sample Astypalaia’s low-key nightlife, you’ll find plenty of small, traditional dance shows around Chora’s tavernas, especially during the religious feast festivals that take place from July to September.

Located right in the shadow of the castle, Castro Bar serves up cocktails while DJs spin the tunes until late. Its wide terrace, open courtyard, colourful decor and – naturally – panoramic views of the Aegean, make it a great spot for people-watching over a margarita or three.

The younger crowd heads for Vatses Beach Bar, five miles south of Chora, where sundowners on the menu include the mastichito: another Greek variation on the mojito, where the rum is replaced with mastiha liqueur from the island of Chios. We’d strongly suggest organising yourself a cab home afterwards.

Reviews

Photos Saluti da Stampalia Suites reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this decadent Aegean retreat in undiscovered Astypalaia and unpacked their many gifts of local thyme honey (that, on reflection, they’ll be keeping for themselves), a full account of their island adventure will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Saluti da Stampalia Suites in Astypalaia…

Move over, Santorini: if the freshest fish, even fresher local pastries and Cyclades-style powder-blue cupolas atop gleaming whitewashed chapels are your thing, the tiny Dodecanese island of Astypalaia is where it’s at. Plus, luxury accommodation fit for an A-lister is here at a fraction of the cost of its more famous near-neighbour.

Saluti di Stampalia Suites ticks a whole host of boxes: pristine rooms with traditional stonework accents; glorious views over glittering blue waters; a castle and the ancient town of Chora beyond. Most rooms have a terrace (some with a hot tub) – but it’s the attention to detail that really sets this hotel apart, with staff on hand with iced tea at the merest hint of perspiration on your brow, and detailed maps provided for those who can drag themselves away long enough to explore the rest of the island.

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Price per night from $191.48