Paros Naoussa Hotel Stelia Mare

There’s a moment on Agii Anargyri beach, just before the sun clears the ridge above Naoussa, when everything goes quiet. Even in August. That’s when the first guests from Stelia Mare, a 15-suite family-run hotel a few metres from the shore, wander out with coffee and watch the water turn from slate to silver. It’s a calm that Naoussa doesn’t always advertise.

Paros likes to present its busier self — the packed bars around the Venetian harbour, the tables balancing plates of grilled octopus well past midnight — but just behind the noise is the island locals still recognise. Stelia Mare sits in that space. The family who own and manage it renovated the hotel in 2020 with the same light touch: a sunlit pool, a gym, fifteen suites — a few of which have their own hammam or jacuzzi — Cycladic white walls and balconies angled towards the sea. Nothing overthought. One of the owners told me, half-laughing, “Our only rule is that a guest shouldn’t have to ask twice for anything.” They’ve held to it.

rebuilt the place in 2020 with a light touch: fifteen suites, Cycladic whites, balconies angled toward the sea. Nothing overthought. One of the owners told me, half-laughing, “Our only rule is that a guest shouldn’t have to ask twice for anything.” They’ve held to it.

Days slip into an easy pattern here. A swim before breakfast. A wander into Naoussa for lunch — maybe the back-alley spot serving xinomyzithra ravioli — and then a drowsy stretch by the pool while the afternoon wind settles. At night, the walk back from the harbour takes no more than five minutes, though most people stretch it out, following the glow of the shops and the low murmur of families lingering on benches.

What Stelia Mare offers isn’t luxury in the abstract. It’s the comfort of being close to the life of the town without getting swept up in it. A family tending to their own corner near the shoreline, keeping a slower version of Naoussa intact. And if Paros keeps changing — as every island does — this small beachside hotel is a reminder that some parts of its character still hold firm.