Santorini’s luxury boutique hotels have a front row seat in front of one of the most spectacular seascapes in the world.
The island is possibly the most photogenic of all the Cyclades, the group of whitewashed Greek islands in the southern Aegean. Villages of square white houses and white-painted caves cling to the tops of 1,000-foot cliffs, the edge of a lava-stained caldera, like the seven-minute icing on a Christmas fruit cake. The entire island is actually a huge volcano, inactive but still active, its cliffs the limits of a lagoon. And in the center, a blackened island, Nea Kameni, is the surface evidence of that “dormant” volcano, still spewing sulfur into the sea.
With plains sloping towards the beaches to the west, behind the cliffs, one wonders why so many beautiful settlements, filled with expensive and upscale hotels, restaurants and shops, choose to stretch along the edge and slopes of the caldera. volcanic. Maybe it’s that volcano. Better keep an eye on it. More than 4,000 years ago, its eruption destroyed the Minoan civilization, here and on Crete. And it blew up three times in the 20th century, most recently in 1950. In the meantime, you can experience it champagne-style at these five glorious hotels.
Despite their superficial identity look, Santorini luxury hotels come in a surprising variety of shapes and sizes, each with its own unique characteristics.
But based on our spring 2018 experiences as a guest at five specialty hotels, we can attest to these qualities that they all share:
- A very high ratio of staff and guests resulting in attentive and patient service.
- Glamorous Jacuzzis or Private Pools
- Free and relatively reliable Wi-Fi and international cable TV if you can’t stay away from the news.
- Stunning views of the caldera and the sunset.
- Romantic, indulgent privacy. Even when the island is packed with day trippers during twice-weekly cruise visits, guests at these boutique hotels can be in a world of their own.
You cannot escape the fact that most of these hotels are expensive by anyone’s standards. But they provide memorable and unforgettable experiences for honeymoons, anniversaries, and special romantic getaways.
And a note on the steps: Santorini is essentially the shell of a mountain and access to its Caldera hotels often involves negotiating long or zigzag flights of stairs, often without handrails. Most of the ones we visit are not suitable for visitors with mobility problems.
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Santorini’s iconic boutique cave hotel
Santorini’s first inhabitants, mostly visiting fishermen seeking shelter from bad weather and Venetian merchants who stored their wares, occupied the caves at the front of the caldera, some of natural origin and most dug out of the volcanic basalt to satisfy your needs. Over time, cave villages (some as dwellings, others as shops and workshops) grew. Iconic Santorini occupies some of these.
Hotel units vary from two- to three-bedroom suites. Each unit has a generous sun-drenched terrace with loungers, tables and chairs, umbrellas for shade, and an ever-changing view of Nea Kameni. Breakfast is served here, at your requested time, and the soft ringing of the telephone by the bed awakens you to tell you that you have arrived.
As we entertained ourselves with a huge breakfast of fruits, breads, meats, cheeses, and eggs, we watched the yellowish stream of the volcanic hot springs running from the islet in a thin stream across the lagoon. Multi-deck cruisers and giant ferries sail below, reduced to the size of pond skaters by our elevation.
Each well-appointed suite is comprised of plastered and whitewashed caves with plenty of lighting to compensate for minimal windows. Rather than looking claustrophobic, the large caves provide a cool respite from the relentless, blazing Santorini sun.
Our suite was furnished with a huge comfortable bed, a full-size sofa and table, a desk and chair underneath a flat-screen TV, and a small walk-in closet with shelves, drawers, and a safe. Additional luxuries included two fluffy robes, top-of-the-line toiletries from Aesop, natural sponges, and sponges. In the bathroom we appreciate the non-slip floor of the large glass shower, well-lit vanity and high-powered hair dryer.
The hotel has one of the largest horizontal pools in the Caldera, pictured, deep enough and long enough for a short, satisfying swim. And some suites have huge private, heated pools and whirlpools.
And here’s the best part: Some of those plunge pools are inside the suites, ready, if the romantic vibe hits you, for a private midnight dip.
Hotel Features:
- 19 rooms and suites, ranging from € 995 per night for two with a private heated pool and whirlpool, to € 3,495. We tried a Grotto Suite available mid-summer 2018 for € 1,245. There are some rooms without pools available from € 795 per night.
- Lunch and dinner are served poolside or on a shaded pergola with a menu of Greek-inspired specialties that changes daily.
- There is a treatment room and a small gym area with a treadmill and cross trainer, as well as a larger pool for treatments and hydrotherapy.
- This was the only hotel we visited that was carefully equipped with handrails on the steps.
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Andronis Luxury Suites
Andronis Luxury Suites, spacious suites and villas, stretch along the caldera from the highest point in Oia (pronounced EEE-yah for reasons mysteriously related to the Greek alphabet). Oia, the northernmost town on the island, is where most of the luxury shops are located and is where, at sunset, thousands of visitors swarm through the narrow streets in search of the best view.
But once inside your suite, the rest of the world just doesn’t exist.
Our Superior Suite (approx € 1695 in 2018) was a long series of rooms including a large living room with eye-catching designer furniture (patchwork leather sofa, found wooden table, many illuminated nooks in whitewashed walls, caves) and French windows opening onto a covered terrace Behind, a super king-size bed was surrounded by convenient electronics: power outlets, USB ports for charging devices, an iPod dock, and a traditional telephone. And at the bottom of this tunnel of rooms, a dressing room with generous hanging cabinets and a well-lit bathroom and shower with generous amounts of Apivita toiletries (a luxury Greek brand of bee products), natural sponges and plenty of towels, robes. and slippers. .
The large black volcanic basalt effect ‘cave’ shower was very glamorous but also very slippery, a feature of the polished concrete material widely used in Santorini. We encountered the same danger when entering and exiting the large heated pool on the terrace. (Be sure to use the provided plush floor mats, they are not optional.)
On arrival we were greeted with a tray of sweets: a watermelon lime drink, a small pot of whipped chocolate mousse, a sweet roll and a bottle of wine from the owner’s vineyards.
About that terrace, next to the heated pool, includes a table and chairs where breakfast is served (ordered from an extensive menu the night before) and a romantic double bed. The pool was almost completely protected from prying eyes and the perfect place to dive and play while taking in the extraordinary views of the caldera.
Hotel Features:
- 27 suites and villas ranging from € 1,060 to € 3,274, all with private terraces and indoor or outdoor plunge pools with hot tubs.
- Visitors have rated the hotel’s Lycabettus restaurant as one of Santorini’s most romantic. It stands out over the caldera on a promontory of its own. We never tried it because going down wide, sloping stairs, paved with round volcanic cobblestones and with no handrails was more than we could handle.
- Massages and treatments available at the hotel’s spa.
- Most suites are reached by these same challenging stairs, but fortunately several at the top of the hotel are accessed by normal steps through the hotel reception building. If you have problems with open staircases versus open spaces, be sure to request one of these rooms when booking.
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Myst Boutique Hotel
Santorini’s newest hotel, The Myst Boutique Hotel, opened in May 2018. Less theatrical and consciously romantic than many of its Caldera neighbors, this is a quiet haven for couples and friends who enjoy a more casual, and barefoot.
The family-owned hotel is located on the edge of the Tholos plains, less than a kilometer below Oia. It is close enough to the glamorous city to go out for dinner or shopping without the pressure of the crowd.
The views are equally tranquil, from agricultural fields and vineyards to a blue horizon of the Aegean Sea. With the exception of the pool-view rooms, most rooms have west-facing terraces and immaculate hot tubs, clad in aqua-colored tiles. Perfectly located to watch the sun sink into the sea. After the morning heat haze burns off the sea, most of the mountainous area is visible from the pool deck and restaurant.
From its cool white entrance arch (reminiscent a bit of the gates of Mycenae) through the short flights of gray steps between clean white walls, the hotel’s design and color scheme reflects a traditional Cycladic palette of blue. and white filtered and softened by a modern sensibility. . Grays and taupes knock out the usual blinding glare of white walls. And the sharp score of turquoise, in the huge square horizon pool (arguably among the largest in Santorini), is echoed in the loosely provided beach towels at various locations. Soft gray loungers surround the pool and ‘floating’ double beds line one side.
Lots of attention to detail extends the comfort quotient. The beds have a leading brand of pillow top mattresses; the tiles in the shower, inside and next to the hot tubs are non-slip, the toiletries are from the Greek luxury brand Apivita; there are French designer towels and bedding; header USB ports and flat screen televisions with state of the art controls.
Breakfast can be taken on your private terrace or on the well-shaded terrace of the restaurant. There is a buffet selection of fruits, juices, breads, cheeses and cereals; Omelette and waffle “stations” or you can order from a cooked breakfast menu.
Light lunches and dinners, cocktails and wines are served in the open-air restaurant or by the pool. When we visited the new restaurant it was still a work in progress. Salads were fresh and satisfyingly complex and the short selection of grills and pastas was well presented.
Hotel Features:
- 19 suites ranging in price from € 432 to € 725 per night with significant discounts available for prepaid advance bookings. All have private decks overlooking the pool or private heated outdoor hot tubs.
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Andronis Concept Wellness Resort
Just outside of Imerovigli, the highest town in the Caldera, Andronis Concept Wellness Resort rises from the landscape, an earth-toned mass more reminiscent of New Mexico than anything you’d expect to see in the Cyclades.
If your idea of vacation paradise is comprised of massages, workouts, body wraps, beauty treatments, and yoga classes, including a 90-minute sunset yoga session in the beautiful rooftop studio shown here, you will love it. this unusual spa / boutique hotel. .
Twenty-five suites, on two levels, all point to sunset and have terraces with infinity pools, tables, chairs, and moderately heated outdoor loungers.
The centrally located spa offers an extensive, if somewhat expensive, selection of treatments and massages, using Valmond and Thalgo products. There’s a steam room, four-season and cold showers, and a windowless underground gym with a variety of torture devices (can you tell we’re not fans of gym equipment?).
The main pool, located outside the spa area, is the largest on the island – a long, narrow, unheated swimming pool with a horizontal edge that curves around a deck lined with loungers. We especially enjoyed the heated ‘cave’ pool with waterfall adjoining the terrace.
Food and beverages, from light snacks to full meals, are served poolside, in the hotel’s elegant sun-drenched Throubi Restaurant or in your suite. We signed up for an outdoor cooking class with Chef Miltos (£ 150 per person) and spent a few friendly hours preparing and sharing local specialties like Santorini fava, little lamb meatballs (the secret ingredient is ouzo) and fresh salads. .
On the downside, because it is located above, rather than within the Caldera, the terrace areas can become windy and, early in the season, cooler than anywhere else on the island, making the private pool, sun loungers and table and chairs are unusable.
And a word of warning: try to book a room on the upper level. The hotel is located right on the popular cliff path between Imerovigli and Oia. On busy days, especially when cruise ships visit the island, a constant walker passes close enough to the rubber collar, greets, and even photographs guests in rooms at ground level.
Hotel Features:
- 25 suites ranging in price from approximately € 1,200 per night for the basic ‘Cozy Suite’ to € 2,100 for the multi-level ‘Fabulous Suite’ for up to four.
- The hotel is pet friendly and in 2018 it was launched as the only family hotel in La Caldera. At the moment, there are no special activities for children, menus or facilities, but we did see a small boy having a great time with his dad in the cave pool.
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Oia Mansion
About two hours before sunset, hundreds of people wielding Nikons, smartphones and selfie sticks swarm the ruins of Oia Castle in Santorini’s northwestern tip for the daily sunset spectacle. If you are a guest at the Oia Mansion, you can toast yourself with cocktails and watch the show, both at sunset and the tourist crowd, from your private rooftop retreat, far above the melee and noise.
Or, even better, you can watch while floating in your nice warm hot tub, angled just perfectly to salute the last rays of the sun.
The mansion, a distinctive, pink and blue confection on four levels, with spectacular views of the lagoon and the open sea, has been in the Nomikos family of ship captains and ship owners since 1870. It’s a registered Greek Cultural Heritage Building, a neoclassical landmark and a very comfortable four-bedroom house. Oia Mansion accommodates up to eight very lucky people in a combination of period splendor (dining room, sitting room, captain’s office) and traditional island style (minimalist, white washed bedrooms, most with outdoor access).
Although it’s a sort of villa, its rooms and facilities are booked and priced by the night so it positions itself as a boutique hotel. It’s on one of the main streets of Oia and its gated front terrace, with table and umbrella, are passed by all and sundry. But that terrace is just for show. There’s the well furnished roof deck and a lovely, coral painted interior patio for outdoor dining and lounging. And, in inclement weather, a formal dining room.
The house is let on a bed and breakfast basis, and looked after by the lovely Lily — who offers island advice and makes all your arrangements — and her mother, who cooks fabulous breakfasts of eggs, breads, yogurt, pancakes with banana and chocolate, coffee, pastries and fruit salad.
The house is well prepared for small weddings and wedding receptions, including most authorized religious ceremonies (except Greek Orthodox, which must take place in one of Santorini’s many churches). It is ideal for family reunions or groups of friends, but surprisingly, it is just as comfortable for a couple and is priced similarly to other boutique hotels in Santorini.
Hotel Features:
- Four bedrooms with capacity for eight. Prices in season range from € 1,512 per night for two people with a minimum of two nights stay to € 3,000 per night for 8 people with private transfers and a minimum of three nights stay. The house is available throughout the year, including Christmas and Easter, with deeply discounted rates in early spring and fall. Children under 6 years stay free.
