GREECE & CYPRUS TRIED & TESTED DESTINATIONS TRIED & TESTED:
quinting through the heat rippling off Cape Sani’s brilliant blue sea, I spy a couple of camels standing on a jetty in the distance. It’s not the ouzo – they are just incredibly life-like statues. These Arabian effigies represent the Silk Road theme of this year’s Sani Gourmet festival – an annual 10-day celebration of the resort’s restaurants. And during sunset drinks on the jetty, the camels are a hit with the champagne-fuelled selfie-seekers. Before its development in the 1960s, Cape Sani was a stretch of forest and wetlands fringed by a curve of golden sand on the Kassandra peninsula, the southernmost finger of Halkidiki, jutting out from mainland Greece. Though tamed into a five-star microcosm of four hotels, it retains its wild edge with a 1,000-acre eco-reserve and back-to-nature feel that will appeal to those wary of an artificial resort environment.
Sani Resort S
Thessaloniki is a 50-minute
drive away, and easyJet offers daily flights from Gatwick and thrice-weekly from Manchester.
w FOOD FOR THOUGHT One of the factors behind Sani Resort’s 40% return visitor rate is undoubtedly its culinary offering, with no fewer than 18 refined restaurants offering everything from classic-yet-contemporary Greek at Ouzerie to sophisticated sushi at See You Up, new this year. The resort also boasts Greece’s only caviar restaurant, the opulent Byblos – a lure for the superyachts moored in Sani’s own 215-berth marina. Room rates are half-board, including breakfast and dinner at guests’ home hotel, but a Dine Around package allows them to eat at restaurants throughout Sani Resort, regardless of which of the four hotels they are staying at. Certain restrictions apply, but it’s a great way of adding variety to guests’ dining experiences.
w PAUSE AND PLAY Aside from the restaurants, Sani’s facilities are extensive. These
include a sports centre with six clay tennis courts, Padi diving centre (with a nearby shipwreck to explore), two watersports stations, and a mountain biking centre. All cost extra. Free scheduled activities include games on Sani’s mini- football field, basketball and beach volleyball tournaments, hiking and archery. One morning, we rise for open-air yoga at one end of Sani’s bay, peppered with pink lotus flowers. The atmosphere is relaxed and inclusive and a passing guest even decides spontaneously to end her coastal walk and join in. Sani can arrange day trips to
hip-yet-historical Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, and Afytos village, with its stone cottages and incredible cliff-top views, 10 miles from Sani. Other excursions include wine tours, coastal hikes, eco-tours of the neighbouring wetland bird sanctuary, and cruises past ‘Holy Mountain’, Mount Athos, which houses 20 Orthodox monasteries and can only be visited by men. Sani Resort combines chic, all- white spaces with a child-friendly
ethos – this may put some honeymooners off, as toddlers frequently potter around the lobbies and make their presence known in restaurants. Extensive family services include ‘Babewatch” babysitting on the beach (the first 30 minutes is free), kids’ mini- clubs at each hotel for four to 12-year-olds, and a teenagers’ club (high season only). Sani has also introduced explorer-themed clubs so younger visitors can experience local wildlife, spotting birds, heading into the forest with magnifying glasses and creating beach eco-systems in jam-jars.
w SANI BEACH HOTEL This sociable, six-storey option is best for guests seeking a classic hotel environment. Most of its 389 rooms have been refurbished, offering calm, modern decor with beachy touches and balconies (sea- view rooms are worth the price increase from garden-view). A top-tier category of suites has been added, offering direct beach access. The hotel’s four restaurants and five bars are
10 December 2015
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