Hope you guys don't mind but i thought i'd publish our review of San Stef holiday, June 2010.
Ab fab time staying at Fedra Mare - a very big thanks to Dimitris and H for their hospitality and generosity - a great place to stay for anyone thinking of staying in San Stef. Superb accomodation and spotlessly cleaned everyday.
So how does Fedra Mare compare to Terezas where we stayed last June. Quieter for sure but just as welcoming. The cleaning is better at Fedra Mare, although evenings are quieter - but that was fine as it meant we didn't drink as much!
The weather was absolutely superb (better than last year) - no rain, hardly any cloud and a surprising lack of windy days - still v.warm on an evening. Brilliant!
San Stef itself is very quiet - esp our first week - seemed to get busier from Monday this last week, but all the bars are v.quiet. Quite a few nights we walked passed Silver Star (at about 10) and it was dead - about 7 or 8 tables occupied. We were in Condor most evenings and it was quieter than last year - in fact, after the tribute acts most people left - one night we were in there until about 1.30 and there was 6 of us in there. The really annoying thing was that most people watched the acts, almost for free, only buying one or two drinks - out of order IMO.
Thomas Bay looked fairly 'steady' all thru' the holiday. the new bar opposite Condor is nearly finished so i guess it will be open v.soon.
A big thank you to Anna at Three W Bar for serving our pre-dinner cocktails most nights.
The beach is smaller than last year and was v.quiet during our first week but got busy the last few days. But no snack van on beach - Leo is missing a trick here, as a lot of people were using the supermarket by Summer Dreams for their ice creams and drinks.
The restaurants we used - many of you will find a couple of my reviews surprising, but i have to be honest i'm afraid:
I'll start with the not-so favourable ones -
Ozzy Oils - sorry guys, but this one failed to hit the button with me and the wife for 2nd year running - we just don't see what the fuss is all about - food is OK, but that's it in our opinion - i had the Meat Pie - the pastry was soggy and the meat uninspiring. Just not for us i'm afraid.
Little Prince - bland serving of food - i had the sizzling steak - meat of poor quality - not real steak IMO.
Beachcomber - Lovely food - great location, but how can they call themselves a 'Bistro' when they didn''t have any desserts, other than ice cream?! - that left a sour taste (people we met in SS also had same experience a couple of nights later)- they didn't even seem to care that much to be honest - a little stand-offish in terms of 'welcomes'
Olympia - didn't use this one last year, but went twice this year - recommended - excellent food and service (homemade chips - yummy!) really good value.
The Waves - used 6 or 7 times on a lunchtime - good lunchtime fare - Sole, Stuffed Toms, Grilled salmon, lamb chops
Zorbas - one of our favourites - Lamb Kleftiko for me, another Lamb dish for my wife. Lovely desserts, followed by dancing; great service and friendly welcome - recommended
Mamma Mia's - next to Zorbas (owned by them) - had stonebaked pizzas on our 'flight day home' - 2 for 1 - brilliant value
Perros Hotel - stumbled across this when planning to go to Paradise - Stefanos had cooked a Beef Madras that afternoon - couldn't resist - superb! Great value as well - 7.50 euros with a free glass of wine (not very Greek i know but a welcome change towards end of holiday)
Mythica - the best in our opinion - warm bread rolls for starters, lovely desserts and great mains - superb service with a smile - very good value - not expensive either.
So all in all a great time; albeit quieter than last year, but weather better. Hope everyone else enjoys their stays this summer, but please use the bars - they need your support - it's tough this year for sure.
EDIT: Forgot to add earlier, but the restaurants at far end i.e. Beachcomber, Mistral, Manthos and Nafsica should add a signpost near Summer Dreams and the Supermarket advertising where they are. When we were in Olympia the number of people we saw walk as far as Summer Dreams and then turn around because they think there's nothing beyond was quite staggering. I know SS regs will know of the far end of San Stef but obviously a lot of newbies do not. On a couple of nights Beachcomber was completely empty - the first meal we had at Olympia, on night 3, the owners of Beachcomber came along on their motorbike looking at the restaurants to see how busy they were! Because there was no one at all in Beachcomber!