375464 5 Location 508230 <p>The Oasis Scala Beach Hotel has the perfect location on a beautiful but seemingly not very well know island in Greece.&nbsp; Agistri is not far from Athens which makes it so easy to get onto an idyllic island without adding hours and hours on to your journey.</p><p>The Oasis Scala Beach Hotel is right on its own beach.&nbsp; The beach itself is soft sand underfoot and I watched the children play so safely because it does not suddenly drop away into an unmanageable depth.&nbsp; The parents all seemed so relaxed too - I suppose because they did not feel on constant guard.</p><p>As a lone traveller I find it is important to&nbsp;be somewhere which feels friendly and safe without feeling like you are being suffocated or forced to stay in one bar or place all the time.&nbsp; The staff at Oasis Scala Beach fulfill these criteria superbly.&nbsp; They are concerned for your welfare, certain to make sure you are aware of all the island has to offer and provide excellent general service.</p><p>The rooms are clean and comfortable.&nbsp; I saw that more are near completion but was glad to see they had the good sense and common courtesy to delay the building over the summer period so everyone had an uninterrupted holiday from any extra noise.&nbsp; The hotel's owners - a brother and sister team called Michali and Martha, - told me that they will have family style suites and all the original rooms will be updated too over the winter ready for summer 2007.&nbsp;</p><p>It is a good reflection on them as to how many return visitors they have.&nbsp; Several of the guests in the hotel at the same time as me had been coming there for many years and expected to do so for many more.&nbsp; It was nice to be amongst mixed-age company from people in their twenties to people 60 plus.&nbsp; Everyone blends in together somehow and it works beautifully.</p><p>Agistri itself is a beautiful place.&nbsp; There is a part of you which doesn't want to tell anyone about it so it does not become overun with people!&nbsp; But the other side of you wants to say 'Wow!&nbsp; you have to see this place!'</p><p>It is covered in pine trees and in its forests grow wild herbs and flowers which make the island bvery aromatic.&nbsp; In places along its coast the pine trees come right down to the coast and where they don't reach the sea, the beaches reign!&nbsp; What choices you have too.&nbsp; The beach at the front of Oasis Scala Beach Hotel is perfect for families, children and the odd nervous swimmer!&nbsp; At Dragonera you have the laid-back area with its tiny bar, chilled music and great swimming.&nbsp; At Aponissos you lay on the small beach, looking out over the glistening cove which is a very popular and but hidden swimming spot.&nbsp; You can fantasise about the privately owned island there and watch the yachts moored nearby with their glamourous occupants diving on and off into the clear sea.</p><p>If you want deep, deep swimming the tiny platform at Mariza provides the perfect solution.&nbsp; It is a little choppy after about 3pm but before that - it's heaven.</p><p>The island is surprising in so many ways.&nbsp; The landscape, the variety of places to go to for the smallest in the Saronic Gulf group of islands.&nbsp; And the choice of places to eat is amazing.&nbsp; All the food is fresh and I noticed how sensitive the bars, cafes and tavernas were to the tastes of children too.&nbsp; The places I especially liked was the little and only taverna at Limenaria.&nbsp; Gorgeous food in the most charming of settings - there are no hotels in Limenaria which makes it so peaceful and perfect a place for a quiet, home cooked meal.&nbsp; The also sell the most delicious freshly made cheeses there.&nbsp; Avli is an Italian restaurant on the island where the quality of food is so excellent you could lift the entire restaurant and place it any city and it would stand up against any competition.&nbsp; The tavernas such as Saronis, Toxotis, Galaxias and Dolphins provide you with delicious local dishes - again all freshly prepared.&nbsp; The choice of places to eat stretches way beyond the few I have mentioned and no one could ever come to Agistri and say they didn't enjoy the food.</p><p>All in all, I am making sure I return next year.&nbsp; This is a very special place, witnessed by the number of people who have made it their home and the number of people who return year after year.&nbsp; I understand why - the beauty, the aromas, the food and the friendliness.&nbsp; Roll on 2007 and the return to Agistri.</p> 2006-10-28T18:55:02-07:00 578814203 2006-08-06T17:00:00-07:00 0 16 207933 2670294 375464 0 0.0 2006-07-23T17:00:00-07:00 Published 0.0 2006-10-28T18:55:02-07:00 61918 0