Andronis Minois

The sea is right in front of Andronis Minois, and the hotel's own advice is not to swim in it. On this stretch of the west coast of Paros the water is for looking at, which is what Olvo's terrace is for at dinner: round tiled tables and white wire chairs at the rail, and a scrubby headland running out into the bay. The swimming is a few minutes' walk away on the sand at Parasporos, or in the pool, where the day goes anyway. The Andronis family reopened the old Minois in 2024 after a renovation by Mutiny Architecture & Design, and its 44 suites stand in two storeys of whitewash behind the pool, with dark shutters and steps tiled in blue and white triangles. The white is Cycladic. The rest the architects borrowed from round the Mediterranean, anywhere from Italy to Morocco.

Recommended for couples after a quiet corner of the Cyclades, and for families, since children of any age are welcome. The Deluxe and Minois Blu suites have two bedrooms and sleep four, cots are free for under-twos, and the kitchen will make something for children on request. For a swim without anyone else's children in it, book an Element, Essence or Minois Blu suite, each with a plunge pool of its own. Naoussa, with its harbour and its bars, is about 14km away, and the hotel runs a shuttle there every day from noon until eleven at night, then home again to a bay that is only for looking at.