For our last country of the trip we headed to Santorini, Greece. Mrs. ATX Jetsetter decided she wanted to handle the hotel as she had a specific view and amenities in mind so I headed into this visit mostly blind. Though I had been in contact with the hotel to arrange our airport transfer, and confirmed our inbound flight from Athens with them a few days before departure.
Booking
For our stay in Santorini, we decided to stay in the town of Oia rather than the main town of Fira. Since Oia Mare Villas is not part of any major hotel chain, we booked our stay directly with the hotel via their website, paying roughly $400 per night.
Transfer
As part of our room rate, we were entitled to a complimentary transfer to/from the airport. Since our flight arrived late at night, the hotel contracted out our pickup instead of sending their van and driver. We found him waiting for us at the arrivals area of the Santorini airport and he escorted us to a nearby parking lot and our waiting van.
Once we loaded up, the drive was rather quick on a well maintained, two lane, road that connected the airport to various locations on the island. Oia is carved into the cliffside on the northern end of the caldera and therefore roads are limited. Once we reached town our driver took us to the post office, which is as far as vehicles can go in Oia and therefore a large meeting place for various groups. Upon arrival at the post office, we were met by a porter from the hotel. He thankfully took Mrs. ATX Jetsetter’s giant bag of bricks, leaving me to contend with only my carry on and backpack as we navigated a series of tight, winding pathways down to our hotel.
Location
The hotel is located down a series of narrow paths and stairways overlooking Ammoudi Bay. Thankfully, the hotel is higher up on the cliffside than others, which helps to shorten the walking time to the main path through town and the road leading to the rest of the island. The hotel, like much of Oia, is built into the hillside, and there were a variety of ways to get to each room. I was glad to have our guide with us since we were going down in the dark.
Lobby/Check-In
Since we didn’t reach the hotel until after midnight, reception was closed when we arrived. Our guide had the key and let us into the room and instructed us to check in with the front desk the next morning. We stopped by the lobby after breakfast to finalize our check-in and also arranged for them to check us out the night before departure since we had a very early flight. The staff working the front desk could not have been more helpful. They spent tons of time assisting us with various restaurant and massage reservations and gave us a detailed overview of the town.
Room
Our porter showed us into the room and got us acquainted with the basic features before leaving. The room was made up of one large space consisting of a sitting area in the front, which housed a couch and a chair with a large coffee table. Adjacent to that was a wet bar which housed a mini fridge and coffee maker, closet space, and a TV stand.
Further back in the room was the king sized bed, which was flanked by a set of bedside tables, and a bench seat located at the foot of the bed which primarily was used for our luggage. Given that the room, and the town as a whole, was carved into the cliffside, the only natural light came from the windows on either side of the front door.
Just off the bedroom was a spacious bathroom with a large, but oddly shaped shower, toilet, and a decent sized vanity. As strange as the shower was, the design was well thought out enough that, even without a curtain, the bathroom floor did not get wet when the shower was in use.
Outside of our room was a small patio that also served as the entrance. Out here was a hot tub along with a built in chaise lounge as well as a small table.
Property Overview
The next morning, we awoke to some amazing views out over the water.
The hotel has only 14 rooms and a few terraced common areas. The upper portion of the common area housed the pool, reception, tables and chairs as well as the breakfast buffet each morning.
Down on the lower level was another section of lounge chairs.
Breakfast
The daily breakfast spread was tucked back behind the pool and was set up in a hallway type area. The space was pretty busy both days so I wasn’t able to get a good photo of the setup, though it was a fairly standard continental breakfast with fruits, eggs, cold cuts, cereal and pastries available.
Summary
Oia Mare Villas was the perfect location for us during this trip. It was close to the main area of Oia, but off the beaten path enough that it was nice and quiet. The room was clean and spacious and the outdoor area was a great place to relax and unwind. We already want to return to Santorini and would definitely stay here again.
