Athens / Santorini hotel recommendations

[Mandy]

Can anyone recommend a hotel for 2 adults and a teenager in Athens/Santorini in April. We usually stay in IHG or Hilton but open to recommendations. Thanks in advance.

[Rhys]

I can HIGHLY recommend Santorini Sky: https://santorinisky.com/ (I know the owner – he used to work for Virgin.)

The problem with Santorini is that if you want to stay in the scenic towns with white clifftop houses like Oia you will be staying on top of all the other tourists. Your hot tub will be within arm’s reach of your neighbour’s.

Santorini Sky is 5 mins drive from Pyrgos up the mountain. It has absolutely phenomenal villas with private hot tubs and stunning sunset views across the island (literally the best on the entire island). You’ll need a car but you’re out of the way, away from the crowded masses and can dip into the other places as and when you prefer.

If you have a teenager I would stay in a Panoramic Villa – should have a sofa bed – and an extra pool (rather than just hot tub)

They’ve now also joined Mr & Mrs Smith: https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/luxury-hotels/santorini-sky

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[Mandy]

Rhys Jones wrote:

I can HIGHLY recommend Santorini Sky: https://santorinisky.com/ (I know the owner – he used to work for Virgin.)

The problem with Santorini is that if you want to stay in the scenic towns with white clifftop houses like Oia you will be staying on top of all the other tourists. Your hot tub will be within arm’s reach of your neighbour’s.

Santorini Sky is 5 mins drive from Pyrgos up the mountain. It has absolutely phenomenal villas with private hot tubs and stunning sunset views across the island (literally the best on the entire island). You’ll need a car but you’re out of the way, away from the crowded masses and can dip into the other places as and when you prefer.

If you have a teenager I would stay in a Panoramic Villa – should have a sofa bed – and an extra pool (rather than just hot tub)

They’ve now also joined Mr & Mrs Smith: https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/luxury-hotels/santorini-sky

Thanks Rhys, looks great. Any idea when this will be available through IHG. Can’t see it on the app.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[Rhys]

I’m afraid not – IHG seems to add them in drips and drabs.

[MillyS]

We stayed at the Electra Metropolis is Athens – 5 adults and a 3 year old in October. Highly recommend the hotel, it is perfectly located, rooms were a good size and staff were great, you can walk to most places with plenty of good restaurants nearby. Breakfast is on the 10th floor and has unobstructed views of the Acropolis. I would stay again.

[jj]

Mandy wrote:

Can anyone recommend a hotel for 2 adults and a teenager in Athens/Santorini in April. We usually stay in IHG or Hilton but open to recommendations. Thanks in advance.

I don’t want to undermine your travel choice as I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time Santorini, but curious why you would choose Santorini over any other Cycladian island if you don’t have a specific hotel in mind? Other islands in the Cyclades may not have so many luxury hotels or the drama of Santorini’s cliffs, but they would be just as beautiful whilst also being quieter, cheaper and likely to have better beaches.

[cinereus]

jj wrote:

Mandy wrote:

Can anyone recommend a hotel for 2 adults and a teenager in Athens/Santorini in April. We usually stay in IHG or Hilton but open to recommendations. Thanks in advance.

I don’t want to undermine your travel choice as I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time Santorini, but curious why you would choose Santorini over any other Cycladian island if you don’t have a specific hotel in mind? Other islands in the Cyclades may not have so many luxury hotels or the drama of Santorini’s cliffs, but they would be just as beautiful whilst also being quieter, cheaper and likely to have better beaches.

Agreed. If you haven’t already booked, there are better options.

[shub]

cinereus wrote:

Agreed. If you haven’t already booked, there are better options.

In similar situation.
I’ve Flights already booked to Santorini for a week in mid-August next year. Will be travelling with a toddler and a baby so can’t do island hopping.
So considering various options.
Plan A is a 5 night points redemptions at Vedema – Marriott and 2 nights somewhere else.
Plan B could be couple of days in Santorini and 5 days on some other near by island.

Suggestions please?

[PeteM]

Hullo! Resurrecting this thread as going to Santorini 18-23/Sep this year. Do we have any fresh recommendations, please?

Santorini Sky looks great, but a bit on the expensive side of what we’d like to pay (cheapest option is over £1,200 for the five nights). There’s currently three of us (but there may be four), so need two rooms. We’ll have a car.

Many thanks in advance as always 🙂

[jj]

If you don’t like Santorini prices, don’t go to Santorini. As others have said above, there are many islands in the Cyclades. All are beautiful, but not all are expensive.

Personally, I’d head straight to the port and grab the next ferry to Naxos. If there’s a direct ferryon the day you areive, I’d go to Koufonissi. Or Folengandros

[PeteM]

jj wrote:

If you don’t like Santorini prices, don’t go to Santorini. As others have said above, there are many islands in the Cyclades. All are beautiful, but not all are expensive.

Personally, I’d head straight to the port and grab the next ferry to Naxos. If there’s a direct ferryon the day you areive, I’d go to Koufonissi. Or Folengandros

This isn’t particularly helpful, @jj, is it? This is a forum where people freely share ideas – there is no obligation to respond.

I suspect I will not be a fan of Santorini, but I would like to visit once. We stayed at an excellent and well located hotel in Mykonos last year, a similarly expensive island, for half of the Santorini Sky cost. I have no great desire to return to Mykonos, but am glad I got to see it and travel around. I found the Mykonos hotel through a friend’s recommendation, so trying the same route…

[omicron]

While Santorini does indeed get incredibly crowded and expensive during the summer and you can have a just as good time on many of the other nearby islands, it is also absolutely unique and something that is really worth experiencing.

Last year we took a flight from Athens to Naxos, stayed there for 4 nights and then onwards to Santorini with the ferry (2 hrs ish) from there for the 2nd half of the week. That gave us the opportunity to experience a more relaxed but still incredibly beautiful greek island, but also the drama of Santorini.

If you want to stay in Fira or Oia, I’d say anything less than 200pn would be really good deal in the summer!

[jj]

@PeteM, I’m sorry if I offended you. I travel to the Cyclades regularly and was trying to be helpful by having the kind of open conversation I’d have with a friend or colleague.

I won’t bother again.

[PeteM]

jj wrote:

@PeteM, I’m sorry if I offended you. I travel to the Cyclades regularly and was trying to be helpful by having the kind of open conversation I’d have with a friend or colleague.

I won’t bother again.

I am not sure if “If you don’t like Santorini prices, don’t go to Santorini” equals “trying to be helpful by having the kind of open conversation I’d have with a friend or colleague”? 🙂

[Richie]

I agree with @jj.

Stay the last 2 nights of your trip on Santorini so you can enjoy the pavement rage, elbowing and cheap cocktails just before sunset.
Once you’ve seen a good Santorini sunset, you don’t need to go again.

The ferry services from Santorini are very good, website gtp.gr is helpful.

[NorthernLass]

Santorini is definitely on my list for the Minoan and other archaeological sites. The impact of the eruption c. 1600 BCE was so extensive, it’s a must-do IMO. I do like the idea of seeing several islands via ferries as well. The scuba diving in the caldera is supposed to be good, which would suit my OH.

[strickers]

We stayed in an AirBnB in Fira, it was set back in a residential area but allowed us to enjoy the town without spending a fortune. We walked (how I’m missing being able to do that at the moment!) to Oia one morning with a very early start so as to miss the cruise ship hordes, catching the bus back as the masses arrived. Have a look at cruise ship schedules and try to deconflict as much as possible. We then moved to Akrotiri for the last few days, this was lovely and quiet, we stayed at Apanemo with the hotel running a minibus into the village throughout the day. Santorini Dave is a good website for info.

[BJ]

In May we were set for Athens, Naxos, Mykonis and Santorin until my partner decided planes and ferries were out. New plan is Hakidiki with hire car, train from Thessaloniki to Athens and then another car. Who knows how it’s going to work out, I’m not feeling all that enthusisstic but hoping for a pleasant surprise, I had my mind set on lazy days by the sea and passing long hours on slow boats.

[NorthernLass]

Things may have changed as it was 2010 when we were in Athens but driving was a complete pain, the traffic was so bad it took hours to get anywhere. Nearly 2 hours to get to Cape Sounion from Athens IIRC. We had been hoping to get to Delphi but gave up after that!
Hopefully someone with more recent experience has better info.

We are going to Athens again in October but will do an organised tour if anything.

[qc]

We will be driving out of central Athens towards Nafplio and on to Costa to take the ferry to Spetses in May and will report back.

Later when we return the car to Athens we will be either taking the ferry or flying to Paros – can’t quite make up our minds. The ferry as opposed to the fast boats are our preference but the early boat goes at 7.30 which means getting up to early and the later one arrives in Paros rather late. We are returning by ferry as the timing is better.

[jj]

@qc, if I were you, I would fly to Paros. The timing of the early ferries from Pireaus is grim, and you need to be at the terminal some time before departure. And the port isn’t a great place to spend the night, but you don’t want to have to travel from central Athens in the morning. The later ferry means you miss a day on Paros, so that’s not ideal either.

I almost always conclude that the best option is to fly to the Cyclades, but, like you, to take the ferry back.

[HampshireHog]

jj wrote:

If you don’t like Santorini prices, don’t go to Santorini. As others have said above, there are many islands in the Cyclades. All are beautiful, but not all are expensive.

Personally, I’d head straight to the port and grab the next ferry to Naxos. If there’s a direct ferryon the day you areive, I’d go to Koufonissi. Or Folengandros

Deary me Shhh please and don’t go mentioning my favourites again!

[HampshireHog]

jj wrote:

If you don’t like Santorini prices, don’t go to Santorini. As others have said above, there are many islands in the Cyclades. All are beautiful, but not all are expensive.

Personally, I’d head straight to the port and grab the next ferry to Naxos. If there’s a direct ferryon the day you areive, I’d go to Koufonissi. Or Folengandros

Deary me Shhh please and don’t go mentioning my favourites again!

PeteM wrote:

jj wrote:

If you don’t like Santorini prices, don’t go to Santorini. As others have said above, there are many islands in the Cyclades. All are beautiful, but not all are expensive.

Personally, I’d head straight to the port and grab the next ferry to Naxos. If there’s a direct ferryon the day you areive, I’d go to Koufonissi. Or Folengandros

This isn’t particularly helpful, @jj, is it? This is a forum where people freely share ideas – there is no obligation to respond.

I suspect I will not be a fan of Santorini, but I would like to visit once. We stayed at an excellent and well located hotel in Mykonos last year, a similarly expensive island, for half of the Santorini Sky cost. I have no great desire to return to Mykonos, but am glad I got to see it and travel around. I found the Mykonos hotel through a friend’s recommendation, so trying the same route…

Oh indeed I’d definitely ignore @jj suggestions and only go to islands that are very well known to our American friends with international airports

[PeteM]

I am really struggling to understand this attitude. I would like to visit Santorini. From everything I can see it’s a lovely island with plenty to do, as this thread confirms. It may suit some people, it may not suit others. I asked for accommodation recommendations on Santorini.

I appreciate there are plenty of other Greek islands which are quieter, cheaper, you name it. I hopefully have about 30-40 years more of travelling ahead of me, so I am sure I will visit them in due course and appreciate the suggestions.

Santorini works for this particular trip for me and my group. There is no need to invalidate my choice – I travel extensively, to many obscure destinations, and sometimes it’s nice to also see the more obvious choices.

I contribute to this forum a fair amount and if I can offer ideas an OP may have not thought of, I do it in a supportive, positive and non-dismissive way (I hope!).

[strickers]

@PeteM If it helps we are very glad we went, it is a lovely island. It’s ticked off the bucket escalator leaving us free to go elsewhere. I will reiterate however, to look at the cruise ship schedules, I just looked for May and there are only two days with no arrivals. There is one day where the capacity of the ships visiting is around 17000, whilst I accept not everyone will get off the ship most will, Fira and Oia on those days are rammed and it is difficult to move down the narrow streets.