Golden Beach Athina Studios

The Athina is situated at the northern end of Potamia Bay. They are some 250 meters from the beach behind the Golden Sands Caf and Fedra Restaurant, but because of their elevated position you can see the whole of the bay from your balcony.

There are the old and new parts of the building, we stayed in the older part which is made up of 11 studios. At least 1-10 have seas views with balconies. The rooms are basic but comfortable. They include shower room, hair dyer, safe (15 Euro a week), air conditioning (5 Euro per day, excellent value), some basic cooking facilities including a fridge (essential for the wine and beer etc.) The rooms are serviced everyday, with clean towels every other day and linen changed during the week. There is enough room for a couple and their clothes.

the area around the buildings is well maintained, with room for parking and garden furniture to use. There are also a table and chairs on the balcony. The staff are friendly and helpful, although we did not really call on them.

the studios are about

- 250 m from the beach

-150 m from the supermarket, which caters for most of your needs and the local bus stop.

- within 500m there are several restaurants and bars

- taxi's and car hire are within 500m.

We preferred the beach at the northern end of the bay, it was much more picturesque, although busy but not crowded. Beds and parasols were available at 2.5 & 2 Euro respectively. Water sport facilities were within easy walk. The sea was very clean and shallow for quite a distance out. The water could be calm or provide some moderate surf. Walking along the beach was very popular. The one criticism would be that the beach could have been a little cleaner, lots of cigarette ends.

we tried several restaurants, all of which were very friendly, great value for money and excellent service. Three that stood out were the Vigli, for the views above the bay, Sotiris, for being so close to the beach and the Fedra for its vibrant atmosphere. The average cost of a 2-course meal, including a bottle of wine was between 30 & 40 Euro per couple. Worth noting that very few shops or restaurants take credit cards, and the nearest ATM is in Skala Potamia. There are some places that will exchange travelers cheque's (best to take Euro TC's).

At lunchtimes we frequented the Goldens Sands Caf , which served ice-cold beer, a good range of snacks as well as good music.

Golden Beach does not have much nightlife, discos, late night music or much to entertain teenagers. Skala Potamia appeared livelier, but was a good 30 minutes walk from Golden Beach.

the only downside to anyone visiting is if you have a phobia about wasps. Because of the amount of green foliage there do seem to be an abundance of wasps, so insect & wasp repellent as well as creams for bites are essential, not that we had any major problems, but they can be annoying.

Just one last comment about the transfer to and from the resort organized by Thomson's. You fly into Kavala and then transfer to the ferry port for a 30-minute journey to Thassos, and then 20 minutes to Golden Beach. During your transfer your luggage travels separately, as the coach's do not go on the ferry. You leave your luggage at the airport and it turns up at your accommodation, for us within an hour of our arrival. Then on the return it's collected and you get it at the airport.

Overall we were very pleased with the accommodation and the resort. It was the ideal place to chill out for a week, enjoy the sun, sea, views, food and wine.