We knew we would like Hydra the second we walked off the ferry and we knew we would love Hotel Phaedra the instant we met Hilda.

This small hotel is a very short walk up from the dock. If you have a rolling suitcase and light pack, you are fine for the stroll. If you have a heavy case or a little too much to carry, a cart can be hired. Hilda will arrange that for you when you let her know when you will be arriving. We booked the Phaedra Room. It overlooked the street. Sleeping with open windows, we enjoyed the sounds of morning in this small village. The room was splendid. Roomy, with plenty of light and well equipped with necessities. Everything was spotlessly clean. Wireless internet worked fine in the room. The bed was comfortable, linens crisp. I cannot think of a thing we would change.

On the recommendation of friends, we stayed at the Phaedra Hotel and were so glad we did. It is a charming, elegant little hotel where we were made to feel very welcome by Hilda and her delightful niece, Anna-maria. Our rooms (Athena - Artemis) were gorgeous: spotless, spacious, comfortable and with a view of the rocky hills above the town. We were interested in Hilda's transformation of this building, and appreciative of her advice about the island. Breakfast on the terrace was fabulous, and we were touched when on our last evening at Phaedra, Anna-maria shared her name-day chocolates with us. This was a wonderful place from which to explore and enjoy the rest of the island, and we would certainly return. Thank you Hilda and Anna-maria.

We had a wonderful stay at Phaedra this september. The rooms were very nice - clean and comfortable. Hilda took very good care of us - every thing you need for breakfast. I love greek youghurt :-) - if you like cookies better, or cheese and ham and bread or toast - everything is there. This was the second time on this hotel and everything was as good and nice as I rembembered.

My wife and I could not have been more pleased with our stay at the Phaedra Hotel in Hydra. It was truly an excellent and memorial experience. We were travelling around several Greek Islands, Athens and the Peloponnese peninsular with another couple during the latter half of September, 2011. We were lucky in as much as we liked all of the places we stayed at in Greece. However, Hydra was a very special experience for us and our friends. Firstly the island is simply a fabulous place and secondly Hilda, the owner of the Phaedra, her lovely niece and friendly staff made us feel so much at home.

Hilda could not have been more helpful. My wife and I live in the same town (Edmonds, WA, USA) as the well known travel writer, Rick Steves. We used his book on Greece and his travel office in our home town to research Greece thoroughly and picked the Phaedra from it. We also took a half hour consultation with his Greece travel specialist, Paul. But, after all this research, we still had some considerable travel worries about getting from Hydra via Ermioni, the nearby port on the Peloponnese peninsular, to Nafplio where we needed to make a bus connection to Athens for our return flight back to Seattle. Rick Steves' book hints at the bus connections between Ermioni and Nafplio as being potentially problematic and less than ideal. Unfortunately his Greece expert could not give us the assurances we sought as to boat connections between Hydra and Ermioni and taxi connections from Ermioni to Nafplio. In any event, not wishing to leave travel plans to chance on a tight schedule, a few days before we left home, I called Hilda directly (her name and the Phaedra's number are in the Rick Steves' book). She was immediately extremely helpful and reasurring to us, promising to arrange any boat, taxi or rental car needs for us upon arrival so that we could be sure of gettig to Ermioni and Nafplio exactly when we wanted and being met in Ermioni either by a taxi or by a rental car company. Her English is excellent as are her travel contacts. I guess we should not have been suprised about this as we later learned she used to work as a travel agent. When we arrived in Hydra she was as good as her word and arranged our travel connections all the way to Nafplio absolutely perfectly.

But this wasn't all that Hilda did for us. She arranged to have her staff member meet our boat from Piraeus to transport our bags to the Phaedra which was located only a five minute walk from the dock. At no extra cost she upgraded the two rooms our friends and we had booked to a beautiful upstairs suite of two rooms with two ensuite bathrooms and two kitchens and a large private deck. She and her staff member personally brought our breakfasts to our private deck each morning instead of requiring us to come downstairs and serve ourselves as was the case with all the other hotels we stayed at. These breakfasts of fruit, Greek yogurt, ham, and a good variety of pasteries were delicious especially the Greek yogurt and honey.

Hilda made us feel very much at home and was so helpful. Our two friends, my wife and I could not find a decent gelato place in Hydra. When Hilda heard about this she insisted on taking us to one herself. She was more like a good friend of the family than an impersonal accomodation operator.

The Phaedra is in an excellent quiet location within five minutes walk of the center of Hydra. It is just a few minutes walk of some truly excellent restaurants. It is a very well upgraded mansion with a lot of charm. Everything there is extremely clean. The suite of rooms and bathrooms we stayed in were spacious, clean and well furnished in good taste. The private deck we had and the other common decks and patios of the Phaedra were beautiful places to sit and relax with oversized shades to shield you from the sun while you enjoy a pleasant tranquil view of the town and its surrounding country side.

Bottom line - we simply loved Hydra and loved everything about the Phaedra, especially Hilda. Our only regret was that our travel plans allowed us to stay there too few days, Our good friends and we very much wished we had booked more days at the Phaedra. Will will certainly stay there again on our next visit and for longer next time.