Favorite area of Naxos to stay in?

Based on what you said, I would recommend the Plaka beach area. This is a very good beach and has regular bus service to Naxos town until late in the evening. It has several tavernas and hotels but not overdeveloped.

I would also recommend Agios Prokopios or Agia Anna, which is at the northern end of Plaka Beach. Both have bus stops for quick access into Naxos Town

You didn't say when you would be going which can make a difference on where to stay.

I've stayed at St. George Beach at Studios Naxos, a basic but nice studio within 50 meters of the beach. The beach is OK and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. St. George is just a short walk to Naxos Town and if you don't feel like walking there is a small town square with numerous shops, markets and tavernas. Naxos Town is a quick walk though and lots of options for a night out and shopping and eating.

You can use a third-party web site to check out accommodations and if you find something that meets your needs I would look to see if they have their own website and book directly with them where you'll get better customer service and possibly a better price.

This website may help with looking for accommodations:

https://www.naxos.net/accommodation.php

thank you! I was looking at Melidron Luxury Hotel & Suites in Agios Prokopios. It sounds like that might work well. I'm going to keep looking as well though

I agree that there are nicer beaches than St George but that is where we stayed and I would stay again. I liked being in a town and able to walk everywhere. We rented a car a couple days and explored the other beaches. There isn’t a lot other than the beaches and a restaurant or two. It was great for the afternoon but not where I would want to situate myself.

St George beach is actually a good sandy beach. While the water is shallow and part of the beach is lined with small family owned hotels and it can be crowded in July and August in Srptrember the rowds will have thinned significantly so the crowds are not an issue. I agree that the west coast beaches mentioned are actually better than St George particularly for people who desire a beach vacation, however if you have interest in seeing Naxos, exploring antiquities, mountain villages and hiking then you should seriously consider staying near Naxos town. St George is the town beach and is a delightful 10 minute stroll into the heart of Naxos town. St George also has a section of the beach away from the busy area that has no services just small sand dunes and the sea.

You get a beach vacation with all the activities of town. The island transportation hub is from Naxos town. There are over 100 tavernas in town plus all the shops and the kastro area. Last September we took two ladies new to Greece to Naxos and because their interest was exclusively for a beach vacation they chose to spend their time at Plaka beach. We took one day to explore Naxos town and they both told me later they should have stayed at St George.

Here is what you will see.
Naxos Town http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094558042/
Trip around Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634605629689/
Naxos sunsets https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157700728046481
St George Beach Hotels Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632162394787/
St George Beach Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632113170279/

thanks! Hmm I think maybe you all are probably right and it would be better to stay in St George area so that we're close to restaurants and exploring the town and just take the bus when we want to go to the beach vs taking the bus every time we want to go out to eat and explore. I'm going to see if I can find a hotel similar to Melidron in that area. I love that it has a pool, beach bar, good breakfasts and the rooms look nice, and there's probably something similar in the St George area too.

I'm going to check out those links as well!

St George was the first beach to get hotel development on Naxos. Back then there were no luxury hotels just small family run affairs. The majority of hotels are still the same hotels, just updated.
For something somewhat comparable to Melidron look for Nissaki, Naxos Resort and Galaxy. With a large budget which I do not have, I would choose these hotels in the order I have listed them. They are all luxury with pools. Nissaki is beachfront, Naxos resort is back about 100 meters and Galaxy is way over at the far end of development and is about 200 meters from the beach.
For something special look at Boutique hotel Glaros. Its beside Nissaki much smaller and intimate with high end atmosphere. It does not have a pool but was named one of the top 10 boutique hotels in Greece after independent study by the times of London,a couple of years ago. You can only book Glaros from their web site.
Nissaki and Glaros are the first two hotels in my Hotel album I posted earlier.

As recommended upthread I agree that St. George Beach checks your boxes for walking distance to Naxos town, restaurants, bars & sites. We took public transportation around the island to visit other beaches & villages. We stayed at Alkyoni Beach Resort which was a leisurely 10-15 min. walk to Naxos Town. That said, there were several beach restaurants 2 mins. away including the resort restaurant. We enjoyed the generous breakfast (best we had in Greece) by the beautiful pool and bar. Excellent coffee drinks made to order. We had a quiet, large well appointed room with a private patio. Our favorite restaurant in Naxos Town was Nostimon Hellas. We ate there twice in the lovely garden area. Reservations necessary.