Alexandros Palace

English is spoken by the hotel team, alongside German and Greek, so you can deal with the practicalities without resorting to underwater hand signals at reception. Alexandros Palace is a large coastal hotel and resort in Trypiti, suited to divers travelling with family or a non-diving partner who wants more than a bed and a breakfast room.

The mood is broad rather than boutique: several pools, a private beach, sports, a spa, children's facilities and a choice of places to sit with a drink. There are 243 rooms across two floors, with air conditioning, a 24-hour reception and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. In other words, this is the sort of base where everyone can follow their own timetable while you are out on the water.

The hotel is in Trypiti, Greece, on the coast near Mount Athos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The setting is beside the sea rather than in the centre of a town, with direct access to a private golden-sand beach. The shore is roughly 0.1 to 0.2 miles from the hotel, close enough for a sea view to feel useful rather than decorative.

On the beach, you have sun loungers, parasols and the Nero Beach Bar. The area also gives you a base for excursions to Mount Athos, Ammouliani Island, the Drenia Islands and the Sithonia Peninsula. The nearest airport is 68 miles away, so an airport transfer is worth arranging before arrival, particularly if your luggage includes the usual collection of oddly shaped dive-related objects.

For two, the double rooms let you choose between a garden view, a pool view or, in the superior category, a garden-facing room with the more complete set of everyday comforts: air conditioning, a fridge, safe, tea and coffee facilities, soundproofing, toiletries, television and Wi-Fi. The pool-facing standard double also has a fridge, safe, soundproofing and tea and coffee facilities. That matters when you return warm, salty and ready for cold water rather than conversation.

Twin-bed versions make sense when two divers are sharing without wanting to negotiate a single mattress after a long day. Families have more room to manoeuvre through the family categories, including a family suite with sea view. Couples who want the sea in the first thing they see can look at the junior suites with sea view. The point is not simply the label on the door: garden-facing rooms are the quieter-looking choice on paper, pool views keep you close to the centre of resort life, and sea views give the evening a proper backdrop.

Air conditioning is available in the room categories where it is listed, while selected rooms also add a fridge, bathrobes, hairdryer, iron, safe, soundproofing and tea or coffee facilities. Private bathrooms, showers, towels and toiletries are available across the room range in different combinations. Room service is available on request, useful when dinner feels like an expedition of its own.

Thalassa Restaurant handles breakfast, lunch and dinner as a buffet, with Greek and international cooking. Breakfast is a buffet and the hotel serves a certified Greek breakfast using local products, which gives the first meal of the day a clearer sense of place than a plate of anonymous toast. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available, and packed lunches can be arranged for days spent away from the dining room.

You can choose breakfast, half board or full board, depending on the rhythm you want for the stay. Lunch is casual, while dinner is smart casual. The restaurant serves breakfast from 07:30, with lunch and dinner following the hotel's stated service periods, so early risers have a defined start rather than a vague promise of coffee at some point.

There are four bars. Nero Beach Bar puts drinks and snacks directly on the sand during the daytime; Ammos Pool Bar serves by the pool into the evening; Aura Pool Bar covers the earlier pool hours; and Pearl Lobby Bar moves indoors, with an outdoor area, for alcoholic drinks from late afternoon until 01:00. The bar choice is practical: beach for the view, pool for staying horizontal, lobby for the later drink.

Three pools give you a choice of water without requiring a timetable: two are outdoors and one is heated indoors within the spa area. The beach adds another option, with loungers, parasols and beach equipment already in place. For the genuinely committed lounger, that is enough geography for one afternoon.

The spa covers massage, facial treatments, hammam, sauna and jacuzzi, while the fully equipped gym gives you somewhere to stretch the legs on a non-diving day. Tennis, table tennis and cycling provide more active alternatives. The hotel also has a water park, snorkelling, jet-skiing, fishing and boat excursions, so the non-diver in your party is not left conducting a long-term study of the same pool tile.

For evenings and days ashore, the hotel can help arrange excursions to Mount Athos, Ammouliani Island, the Drenia Islands and the Sithonia Peninsula. There is also karaoke and evening entertainment. Families have a kids' club for children aged 4 to 11, a children's pool, a play area, children's activities and babysitting.

Check-in runs from 15:00 and check-out is by 11:00. The reception is open 24 hours, with early check-in and late check-out available on request. Luggage storage, concierge service, laundry, dry cleaning, ironing and a reception safe are available, and a doctor can be arranged on request.

The hotel provides free parking, an electric-vehicle charging station, a lift and step-free access. Airport transfers are available to arrange with the hotel, and car hire is available as a separate practical option. Free Wi-Fi covers the hotel, while Visa, Mastercard and cash are accepted. A meeting room is also available if somebody in your travelling party insists on bringing work along.

The hotel is closed from 26 February to 30 April. The meal arrangement depends on the board option selected for the stay, so check that the plan matches your diving day before booking: a buffet breakfast, half board and full board are all available. Pets, including assistance animals, are not accepted.

The hotel is on the coast beside Mount Athos and a blue-flagged golden-sand beach. Those are the environmental facts that shape the setting: sea, shore and a protected cultural landscape close by. No named ecological certification or specific sustainability programme is attached to the hotel.