Hotel Recommendations in Santorini, Greece & a Few Others Places in Greece as Well

Re: Hotel Recommendations in Santorini, Greece & a Few Others Places in Greece as Well

• lbow1984

  

  April 2011

  My fiance grew up in Greece.  (that's where we're going for our honeymoon too!) When he gets home from work I'll check with him and see if he knows of any that he would recommend (although I don't know if he's actually stayed in hotels there since they were living there).

  

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• lilmisstex member

  

  April 2011 edited April 2011

  Okay, that would be great!  The advice of somebody who actually lived there would be great as well.

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• lbow1984

  

  April 2011 edited April 2011

  Okay he's got nothing hotel wise that he remembers, but his aunts and uncles all still live there and his mom is goes there about once a year to see family.  We're having Greek Easter (falls on the same as American Easter this year) with them Sunday so I'll be asking her and I'll try to let you know on Monday. 

  

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• MrsEAB

  

  April 2011

  When I went to Santorini with a friend, we stayed at Vedema Resort, which is in a small village on the opposite end of the island from Oia and Fira. I actually loved that it was in a small non-touristy town. Oia and Fira's small streets and walkways are crowded with tourists that flood off the tour buses and cruise ships. Vedema was nice, but it was not luxurious by American standards, even though it is a Starwood Luxury Collection property. Since you've traveled extensively through Europe, I'm sure you know by now that European hotels are not at all as plush as American hotels of the same class. That said, Vedema is one of the nicest hotels on Santorini, and it was very expensive. We got free accommodations because my friend is a travel writer and had our trip comp'd. Dream job, eh? I wouldn't have stayed there if we had to pay for it - just way too expensive.
  
  In Athens we stayed at a great little gem of a hotel, right in the Monastriaki district, called Fresh Hotel. Nice new hotel, rooftop pool and lounge chairs, and tasty breakfast setup.

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• [Deleted User]

  

  April 2011

  My fiance and I just got engaged in Santorini this past month. We stayed at the Pension George and it was wonderful, we're both students so we stayed in one of the cheaper rooms but they have bigger rooms with kitchenettes. All the rooms have balconies which is a bonus for lounging outside when you come back for the day. It is styled like typical buildings in Santorini: white walls and blue roofs. There is a pool that just opened as we were there last weekend and it seemed nice as well. Helen and George who owned the place were also really helpful, they offer free airport or ferry pickup at any time of the day (we came it at about 2am and left at 6:30 am a few days later), and they even gave us complementary champagne when we got engaged! I'm also an avid traveller (Jeff and I have spent 2 months travelling Europe this year), and found this place quaint, comfortable, and friendly. One of the best places we've been this year. I wish I could spend my honeymoon there!
  
  The Pension is located a 20 minute walk from Thira and there is a car rental place literally around the corner. We were there for 3 nights and rented a car one of the days so that we could better explore the island. If you're looking for somewhere quite to spend a honeymoon I couldn't think of anywhere better, we wanted to spend weeks there.

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• kimberly.sambrook

  

  May 2011

  Hi lilmisstex-

  
  

  My fiance and I went to Santorini two years ago to celebrate my graduation from my MBA program and we stayed at the Remezzo Villas in Imerovigli.  I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS PLACE!  We sent a couple that we're friends with there about a year and a half ago, and they loved it as well - it's just absolutely wonderful, incredibly romantic, and the perfect place for a honeymoon (check out their honeymoon suite online).

  
  

  The hotel is located in Imerovigli, which means you're centrally located on the island and we found that to be great.  Ia is the town that's well known for going to watch the sunset, but instead of ever going up there, we just watched it from our private balcony overlooking the caldera every day (with a bottle of wine we bought from Vasili, the owner).  The view was pretty much the same, but we didn't have throngs of crowds there - just the two of us.  It also was great as there were restaurants within walking distance and we rented a Smart Car one day to tour the island (highly recommend!).  You can go to the red sand beaches and the black sand beaches, and then we drove up to Ia.  

  
  

  If you've got a full week in Santorini, you could split your time between Ia (2-3 days) and Imerovigli.  While on the island enjoy some wine tasting at one of the local wineries and also consider doing a sailing trip in the caldera if you don't have a tendency for sea sickness.  

  
  

  Enjoy - you will love it and it is amazingly beautiful!  

  
  

  As for Athens - I did not like the city at all.  We had two days there, and that was more than enough for me!  You need one day to do the Acropolis and the Agora (though the museum was closed when we went, so you might need one more day to do that), but I'd advise booking some trips out of Athens (you can do day trips to nearby islands from the ferry, or go up to Delphi) as I really think Athens disappoints outside of the Acropolis area.  In the Acropolis area, keep a close eye on your wallet / belongings as there are plenty of pick-pockets around and also plenty of people hocking junk (pirated DVDs, toys you don't need or want, etc.).  We stayed at the Eridanus Hotel in Athens which was in the Gasi neighborhood - hotel was very nice, neighborhood was okay - you might want to be closer to the Acropolis, but the hotels there all seemed kind of crappy or extremely over-priced.  

  
  

  Good luck and enjoy Santorini - it is impossible not to! 

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