Blue Sand Hotel & Suites — Hotel in Municipality of Folegandros

I just returned from staying at this hotel for 2 weeks, and cannot say enough good things about it. It's beyond beautiful, stylish, beachy and unpretentious luxury at it's best. 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 originally read about Folegandros in the New York Times and in the UK's Telegraph, I thought it seemed like a charming destination that was under-the-radar and would be fun to discover. After a little research, I found the Blue Sand on Instagram, and thought the pictures were perfection. It was everything I was looking for: incredible location just on the beach, seemed stylish, and had nice reviews. I fell in love with the pictures of this hotel a couple of years ago, and I've emailed them a few times since, but they've always been booked full. Thankfully, I booked in February 2020, as I wasn't taking chances this time - this was going to be the year that I made it to the Blue Sand hotel! Although it's been a bizarre year, this hotel was incredible and exceeded EVERY expectation. First, everything I thought I would love exceeded my expectations and more. Pictures do not do it justice! It's an epic view, incredible swimming beach, lovely, stylish rooms and decor throughout. What I didn't know was all the extras at the hotel, here are a few highlights:

1 - THE PEOPLE/STAFF/SERVICE: People really make the difference, and everyone was SO kind and helpful, especially Katerina and Anna. From the moment I stepped onto the property, they were super attentive, smiling and service-oriented. Nothing was too much trouble. When my toothbrush broke, one of the owners of the hotel (Katerina) personally went to the pharmacy to purchase one for me (totally unnecessary, I could have done it!). I now feel like I have made new friends! Genuine, kind AND efficient.

2 - THE RESTAURANT AND BAR: Even if this wasn't great, it still would be worth coming to, but it's REALLY GOOD. The juice, coffee, and cocktails are made artfully with the freshest ingredients. The pizza is better than most I've had in Italy. I'm really going to miss drinking fresh watermelon juice every day! Breakfast was also really good (and you can't beat the view!).

3 - THE BOAT(!!): After checking in, I learned that the hotel has their own (gorgeous and new) speedboat now, which you can charter for halfdays (or longer), skippered by the owner's amazingly kind husband, Yiannis. For 4 blissful hours, we floated around the perimeter of Folegandros, stopping to swim and snorkel and enjoy the perfect picnic-style lunch provided by the hotel's kitchen. Also, incredibly affordable. BEST SURPRISE EVER. Must do!

4 - TRANSPORT: I don't drive, so was a little worried after hearing transportation options were limited. I was prepared to walk everywhere, but the hotel's shuttle will take you anywhere for a very reasonable fee.

5 - CLEANLINESS: Wow, this hotel takes seriously strong measures to prevent and protect against Covid, which felt great. Antibacterial gel dispensers are throughout the hotel, every employee is wearing a mask and/or shield, hotel keys are sanitized in special UV light boxes (which only you touch to retrieve the key for your room). Housekeeping was thorough, respectful and courteous.

6 - THE BOUTIQUE: The hotel has a super chic and cute boutique next to check-in. Katerina, one of the (fabulous) owners, started this boutique based on the idea that they could offer chic, beachy pieces and accessories made by Greek designers. Everything was gorgeous and cool (mostly swimwear, coverups, maxi dresses, jewelry, sandals, beach totes and more). I loved discovering all the Greek designers and brands in the store, most of which I hadn't heard of before. A total plus!

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...

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...

THIS HOTEL SHOULD BE NAMED: SEWAGE SANDS||||Our two days at the Blue Sands Hotel were a total mess. The rooms were awful, and the staff treated us terribly. Do not stay here until they learn how to run a hotel and treat people with respect.||||Day One: The Awful Smell and The Rude Manager||Our trip started with a ruined, sleepless night because of a terrible smell of human waste in our room from a broken pipe at the hotel. When the front desk opened at 9AM we spoke with the manager Mirela. Together we went to smell our room and she agreed it was bad, saying, "I’ve never smelled a room like this before, this is bad."||They moved us to a new room, but that was the least they could do. A simple room change is not enough for such a horrible start to our vacation. They didn't even say sorry or offer our money back. When we asked for a refund, Mirela was very rude and laughed at us, saying she had "done more than enough." She acted like she didn't care at all about our terrible night.||||Day Two: Everything Broke||The new room was just as bad. It had many problems:||• The shower had no water pressure and no hot water.||• The fridge leaked water all over the floor.||• The air conditioner poured water down the wall, making a big puddle that soaked our luggage.||To top it all off, we were supposed to check out at noon. But starting at 11:00 AM, staff kept banging on our door and calling us to make us leave quickly.||||Final Word||The Blue Sands Hotel is not just broken; it is managed by someone who is shockingly disrespectful, and Manager Mirela’s bad attitude showed us everything we needed to know. The whole experience was simply horrible.||||Do not stay here. They have earned the name...