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 (EUR273.87), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
A set of starry suites on an eastern cliff edge of Sifnos in the Cyclades, Verina Astra takes the island’s natural bounty as its building blocks, literally if you count the stone walls. The gold (and silver) rush may be over, but there’s plenty of treasure to dig for: locally sourced food that makes even the mega-yachts drop anchor, pottery perfection and whitewashed hilltop villages that are Disneyland in Cycladic-architecture form. Hike the mountain paths that weave past white and blue churches, ancient temples and monasteries – or stake out your shaded terrace for endless Aegean views, homegrown-herb cocktails and, of course, delicious local produce.
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £268.24 (€309), including tax at 13 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional government tax of €0.50 per room per night on check-in.
More details
Rates usually include breakfast.
Also
The bar may be staffed by expert drink mixers, but if you can’t make it that far, there are ready-made cocktails helpfully stashed in the minibar.
Hotel closed
The hotel shutters up for winter from the middle of October until May.
At the hotel
Free WiFi throughout, gardens, rocky beach. In rooms: Bluetooth speakers, smart TV, Nespresso coffee machine and kettle, air-conditioning and Meraki bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Each room is different, but every last one has uplifting Aegean views from its shaded terrace. If you like your Greek architecture cave-like and classic, request one of the original seven rooms, which have small pastel-coloured windows and shutters for Hellenic heaven. For a bathroom you could spend all day in, go for Monoceros and its skylight-enhanced, Sifnian stone number. And if a private pool’s a dealbreaker, book Norma or Indus.
Poolside
The sea-edge saltwater infinity pool was Pantone-matched to just the right shade of Aegean blue. There are rattan parasols, giant cushions and sunloungers and chairs in tasteful tones of charcoal, grey and taupe. Swimming hours are 8am to 9pm.
Spa
An Elemis spa will open in time for the 2022 season.
Packing tips
Breezy does it: the laid-back approach to luxury here means anything goes – just make sure you pack swimwear that will withstand the rocky coves.
Also
The cliff-top location is not easily accessible for wheelchair users.
Pet‐friendly
Pets are welcome with prior permission. There’s no charge, but the hotel doesn’t provide anything extra for your fluffy friends. See more pet-friendly hotels in Sifnos.
Children
The hotel welcomes children aged 8 and up (€40 a child a night). Most of the rooms have a sofa-bed and there are family-friendly suites that sleep four. The sloping setting is on the hazardous side and so children will need to be supervised.
Sustainability efforts
The hotel harnesses rainwater in tanks, since water shortage is a huge problem in the Cyclades. All bath products are in refillable bottles, and reusable glass is used for the water bottles. The island’s many natural resources were used in the hotel’s construction (including the sleek stone in some of the bathrooms and, of course, the traditional stone walls). At the kitchen, seasonality is insisted upon: all of the vegetables come either from the grounds or small local producers, all fish is caught by the island’s fishermen and all meat is sourced from surrounding farms.
The front row, obviously – which in this case means the five tables right along the edge. If it’s windy, you may want to retreat slightly.
Dress Code
Things get a little breezy up here – if you’re fond of your floppy sunhat, make sure you hold on.
Hotel restaurant
The island sets the gastronomy bar high and the hotel’s restaurant doesn’t disappoint, mostly due to its bountiful vegetable garden and the rest of its farm-to-table fare, sourced from the island and its waters. Guests will see the chef foraging for herbs throughout the day – and new dishes appear instantly on the menu if he finds something special at the market. Breakfast dishes include omelettes with more of those garden vegetables, poached eggs with brioche, and pancakes with walnuts and thyme honey or strawberry syrup. In time for summer 2022, the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant Bostani will open to give Sifnos yet another place to shout about.
Hotel bar
There’s no separate bar, but the restaurant has lots of wine and masterful muddles to choose from. However, the soon-to-be-opening Bostani bar will put all the wild thyme and oregano growing on the property to its rightful use (into cocktails).
Last orders
Breakfast is available from 8.30am until 11am, lunch is between noon and 3pm, and dinner service is from 7pm until 11pm – with lighter snacks served all day from noon until 11pm.
Room service
A simple all-day menu of salads, sandwiches and pastas can be ordered in between 11am and 11pm.
The hotel is on the east coast of the Cycladic isle of Sifnos, adrift in the Aegean near Milos, Antiparos and Serifos.
Planes
There’s (thankfully) no airport on the island, so either land at Athens and make your way to the port of Piraeus to board a ferry – or set sail from Santorini and several other islands, including Milos and Serifos.
Automobiles
The island has a reliable bus service linking up its many coves and corners, or hire a car to tour them on your own terms – there’s free parking at the hotel.
Other
Alternative modes of transport range from helicopter transfers to the standard-issue Greek-island quad bike or scooter.
Worth getting out of bed for
Pottery and food are to Sifnos what sunsets are to Santorini and parties are to Mykonos. The hotel’s ceramics that you’ve been admiring can be purchased with a trip to its supplier, and staff will be able to arrange a pottery class, too (no Patrick Swayze included, sadly). The island has (almost) a church for every day of the year – attempt to tick off all 235 by making a start with Poulati, the whitewashed one with the blue dome completing your Greek architectural fantasy directly beneath the hotel. Take some Sifnian recipes home with you by signing up for a cookery class at a nearby farm – the team can also help to organise horse-riding and scuba diving. They’ll direct you to the island’s many rocky beaches and the hiking trails that link up its outdoor-museum archaeological sites and monasteries. Appolonia is the island capital, but the village of Artemonas wins the prize for being the most picturesque (it’s great for photogenic meze tours), closely followed by mediaeval stronghold Kastro.
Local restaurants
The aptly named Omega3 (+30 22840 72014) fish bar is precisely where to stock up on your weekly portions in style – or try the former-scientist chef’s sister property on Sifnos, Cantina (+30 22840 35395), which changes its menu daily in its quest to be zero-waste. There are lots of traditional tavernas where you can try Sifnian specialities such as the famous goat’s cheese, chickpea fritters and slow-roasted lamb, along with more super-fresh seafood, including Limanaki (+30 22840 71425) and Fyssas (+30 22840 33119).
Local cafés
To enjoy a plate or two (or 10) of mezedes (the Greek take on tapas), try Mosaico (+30 22840 22562) in Artemonas or Drakakis (+30 22840 31233) in Apollonia.
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 boutique hotel in Greece and unpacked their pottery and herby honey, a full account of their island break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Verina Astra on Sifnos…
Greece may have more than 200 islands, but that doesn’t stop Santorini and Mykonos from getting most of the footfall. Step forward Sifnos, about to be your new favourite Cyclade. In the birthplace of beloved chef Nikolaos Tselementes, whose 1910 cookbook no self-respecting Greek kitchen is without, you can be sure you’re going to eat well, whether it’s trying the island goats’ finest cheese, the aniseed buns that scent the alleys of ancient villages or the famous chickpea fritters. There are stylish seafood bars serving the yacht crowd, traditional tavernas and breezy beach bars – or seek out the classical culture: the island is home to temples of Apollo, monasteries and no fewer than 235 churches. At Verina Astra in Poulati, every room has an Aegean-facing advantage, with siesta- and sundowner-friendly shaded terraces, pastel-coloured shutters and stone walls to form the Greek island idyll of your wildest dreams (or the 1950s). Sifnos had a mineral rush in ancient times, and it won’t take you long to see you’ve struck gold.
