NOS Hotel & Villas — Hotel in Municipality of Sifnos

As much as we want to recommend this hotel we are unable to do so and will not return to it in the foreseeable future. We do however want to provide an honest review.

Design: The hotel is new and is absolutely gorgeous. Great design and aesthetics in common areas as well as in the rooms. Common areas were very clean and spacious with generally good views. This is a good place to rest and disconnect. There is one spot that obstructs the view in the common swimming pool by another villa which is under construction.

Rooms: We initially had two suites booked, one Junior suite and one Superior suite. We extended our stay by 1 night and stayed in a “standard” room so we got a good feeling of the different types of rooms the hotel offers. The suites are fairly spacious and the room design and cleanliness is excellent. Beware that the Junior suites seem to have a smaller in-room swimming pool than the Superior ones. If you want to optimize for the size of the pool you are better off with the Superior suite which is usually cheaper. The Junior suites might not be worth the money after all despite being more spacious. At least the one we got had so-and-so views compared to the Superior one or even the "standard" one, so again you are paying more for ultimately a little bit more space. Generally, you probably are better off to get the "standard" room as it is the cheapest, might have the best views and you can instead enjoy the large and gorgeous common swimming pool.

Food: Food is always a very subjective matter, but we believe the dinner in the restaurant was the best. Breakfast is pretty good with a buffet and a solid a la carte menu. The portions are pretty large for each dish.

Restaurant staff: The folks at the restaurant were super polite, respectful and kind. We loved all of them and wished them the best. They were responsive and fast.

Management: Here's where things broke down unfortunately. The hotel seems to have quite a few obscure rules and "tenets'' that do not seem to be clearly communicated to its guests. For example, if you wish to bring a couple of friends over you can only do so after 1pm.

For us, this is not a problem and as guests we wish to respect the hotel's rules and principles (and the other guests), however, if a situation or misunderstanding arises like in our case, management is absolutely not susceptible to feedback. Regardless of who is wrong or right, hotel management for the most part turns combative and completely lacks empathy towards its guests. We felt unwanted and under appreciated by management to the point where we wished to leave which is one of the worst possible feelings one could have during their vacation. We looked online and found further evidence in which the hotel publishes private email exchanges with its guests to defend its position and also anecdotally heard of similar experiences from prior guests. For us, this is not something we've been accustomed to from other 5 star hotels and completely prevents us from coming back. We do not wish or have the time to enter into a pissing-contest with the hotel. We wish to feel good and welcomed which is not something management succeeded in doing so when it dealt with our misunderstanding.

We stayed for 4 nights and on the second night we were actually imagining ourselves booking this hotel again next year before things turned south. It is a pity for a hotel that is in its first year to make its guests...

10/10. Only five hotels out of the 1000+ I have stayed at get this score. Hotel was spectacular. We want to go back every year. We are even discussing doing our wedding there! There was very little not to love.

Sifnos is a paradise, off the beaten path. Hard to get to, and that's just perfect. No one wants Sifnos turning into Paros or Mykonos.

We arrived by small boat from Paros, and the hotel picked us up. The hotel is in a perfect place on the island. Lovely location and is close to the best beach and beach clubs.

As it was September and the hotel was new, it was not crowded anywhere, which was a dream. But still perfect weather.

We reserved a suite with a private plunge pool. The design of the hotel and rooms was lovely. So chic but relaxed. Gorgeous, but not trying too hard. The bed was so comfortable.

The hotel is small and never feels crowded, but it has all the services that a 5-star hotel will have. It's Greece, though, so you need just to slow down and not expect super fast service. That's ok. You're on holiday - it's Greece. Relax!

The spa area was so lovely for massage and facial. It's breathtaking. And the gym is lovely too.

But the hotel comes alive for two reasons. First, the restaurant and bar. The food is truly spectacular. We planned to eat there only the first night, but the food was so good we ate there all but one night. The deconstructed spanakopita salad was unreal. Everything was fresh and delicious. Very greek but also more than simple Taverna food. And the breakfast was beyond. Wow.

Our highlight was the bartenders. They knew how to make all the cocktails and make them well. Hard to find at most bars anywhere, let alone a small hotel on an island in the Aegean. Very impressed.

Last but not least, the staff was beyond lovely. They knew our names, they treated us as family. And we loved speaking to them.

A couple of tiny, tiny suggestions (minor): 1. plunge pool area can get bugs at night. Light a mosquito candle to get them away. 2. Pool area can get very hot in the sun. Get larger umbrellas that cover more of the surface so you don't have to move your chair a lot. 3. Have a free hotel shuttle to Platos Gialos, as renting a car is necessary otherwise. 4. Let people stay in the pool until after sunset. Needing to get out of the pool at the best time of day for the restaurant people eating early seems silly.

I hope they keep focused on the service, quality of the food, and more. But it is a...

We had plans to stay at NOS for part of our Honeymoon in September of 2024 and we were so excited about it! We booked our reservation in early May and continued with planning for the remainder of our trip.

Then, on August 22nd, less than a month before we were scheduled to arrive, we received an email out of the blue from NOS stating that our reservation had been canceled. This obviously had me quite concerned so I called the hotel immediately. The women who answered the phone was pleasant, but told me that I had to email the reservations team, which I did immediately after we spoke. A number of hours passed with no response so I called again and asked to speak with the manager of the hotel. The manager was kind as I shared the details of the situation and she communicated that she would escalate to the reservations team.

The next day, which was a Friday, I received an email stating the following: "We had a cancellation request for September from another guest with the same last name as yours and first name starting with the same letter so there was the confusion made. Please find attached the confirmation of your reservation and we apologize once again."

This was a big relief as we were once again under the impression that our prepaid reservation was still valid.

On the following Monday morning, 3 days after I had received assurance that my reservation was valid, I received another email from the reservations team at NOS stating: "We regret to inform you that due to a system error we will not be able to accommodate you reservation for 19-21 September, since the hotel is fully booked. We have now refunded the amount of your accommodation and we sincerely apologize."

This all felt highly disingenuous in multiple ways, and we were left not knowing what to believe. My first thought was perhaps they wanted to make space for a VIP and simply canceled our reservation and blamed it on a technical issue. This review is simply meant as a warning to others out there to perhaps seek another lodging option that is willing to honor your reservation and not complicate your plans, especially those as important as...