Windmill Bella Vista

We would love to write a great review and mention how wonderful Sifnos was, how beautiful the beaches and scenery were as well as the superb food and hospitality of the island itself and all of this was true. However, as hard as it sometimes is to say something unflattering, you also need to give an accurate account of things when it goes badly. This did not go well and the WindMill Bella Vista was the biggest disappointment of a 17 day trip. It did not deliver anything like it advertises and in our experience was certainly not a luxury stay. We were the first guests for the season in May 2024 and they were clearly nowhere near ready to accept guests. Not even close. The restaurant and bar were not open at all. They did provide a breakfast but certainly not the buffet breakfast we were expecting and on our last morning, they did not even have any milk. Broken chairs and tables were piled up on the side of the dining area. There were no shades or umbrellas around the pool and there was work being done around the pool area with tools, lights and electric leads lying around. There were tools scattered around the outdoor areas as well as paint trays and pots, buckets and other equipment lying around. The “kitchenette” leaves a lot to be desired with rusty hot plates that were very slow to heat and the cutlery was placed on the tray with the dishwashing liquid. We had no hot water and very cold showers for the first 2 days. We assume the backup for the solar heating system was not operational. Regardless, the bathroom was a bad design as there is no panel or curtain to stop the water covering 80% of the tiny room. Margarita (manager) greeted us on the first night and helped to arrange a rental car for us but from there on in it was almost impossible to find anyone for assistance with anything. Repeated calls to the reception number were not answered. There was only really one staff member around who honestly did her very best in all aspects but even she could not find the manager when needed. On our 2nd day George (owner) was lovely and very kindly offered us some food and drink from his own fridge but unfortunately this does not make up for the unprofessional attitude and lack of effort from the manager. Given responses to previous bad reviews I am expecting an unpleasant response from Margarita but sadly, I felt that people should be aware of the truth here. Definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND. We did see Margarita when we were leaving and she really did not want to accept any responsibility for any issues whatsoever. We have subsequently read almost all reviews available for this place and would urge you to take into account the poor reviews as we are not the only people who had a 1 star or less experience. Good luck!

The position is outstanding and the views of Sifnos and across to adjacent islands breathtaking. We walked everywhere discovering a very well marked network of old island pathways providing off road access to Apolonnia and Kastro. And in particular to Artemon where there are some great restaurants. Buffet breakfast at the hotel good but there is literally no other service during the day at this time of year.

Beautiful and confortabile stay with my family close to artemon village. The swimming pool and Castro’s view is amazing! Windmill’ staff has been very kind with us, service always perfect. I highly recommend it!