9 High Maintenance Days
 

We are high maintenance travelers coming from Washington DC Sept 11th - Sept 20, 2014 Here are our likes, and we appreciate your recommendations.

We all prefer 5 star ( American 5 Star standards ) hotels in the city with great views. No car preferably. No more than $400/day

A typical day for us : Coffee, Sightseeing, lunch, shopping, drinks, more drinks, dinner, and more drinks, We are in our mid-late 40's almost 50.. so no nightclubs for kids. Two couple celebrating 15 year marriages, We like to have fun and party

Our wives love to go shopping ! We don't mind chasing them for a little bit, then we get bored, and want to sit outdoors at cafe's where we can smoke a cigar, drink Belvedere Vodka and people watch.

We all love food and culture, so we need recommendations for lunch, dinner and sights that we must visit in each town.

<< we need recommendations for lunch, dinner and sights that we must visit in each town. >>

You'd need to say what cities/towns you'll visit before recommendations can be made.

Yes, where. At least the OP is upfront about being high maintenance travelers :-)

What is a high maintenance traveler?

Rich? Self indulgent?

Wish I were the first. Am unashamedly the second.

If you are truly high maintenance I would plan on more than $400 a night for a hotel. If you mean $400 a day total - that is not 5* travel.

We typically do one special dinner in each city we visit - and allow $300 just for the dinner. And for some special holidays we have done 5* hotels - and depending on the city it may be as much as $800 or $900 per night.

Just taking a guess here but it sounds like perhaps you would be interested in an island like Santorini where you can happily pay your budget for accommodation for that caldera view. You could perhaps combine that with a second island Like Mykonos. These two islands are the most hyped locations and will take every euro of your budget. For towns on the mainland you might consider Nafplion and of course Athens.
You can actually spend far less on other islands and still have luxury and actually get to mix with local Greek population but based on your self assessment at least these 4 suggestions are something for you to consider.
Here are images of Santorini Nafplion and Athens. We get to enjoy these inexpensively but the sites are all the same.
Santorini http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632154800782/
Nafplio and Peloponnese http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094108982/
Athens http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632121475515/

Let us know if any of this interests you and we can start to make some detailed suggestions.

I can get a 5* hotel in Washington for $400/day. Greece is bankrupt ! So we should be able to get a room close to those prices. We were thinking Mykonos, Santorini and another island like Naxos. We thought about touring Athens on our arrival and last day.

Do those dates include your travel days...i.e. do you arrive in Athens 9/11 or 12? I'd fly directly to Santorini on arrival, stay 3-4 nights, ferry to Mykonos for 3 nights, then 2-3 nights in Athens.

It is the best use of your time not to split your Athens stay.

Greece isn't bankrupt, and that has nothing to do with 5* hotel prices, anyway. Greece uses euros, the same currency as in 16 other Eurozone countries. At the current exchange rate $400 is about €295, which should be enough to get you an ordinary room at the Grande Bretagne in Athens.

It will still be high season on the islands, and 5* rooms on Mykonos and Santorini are very expensive. Consider the Mykonos Grand at Agios Ioannis on Mykonos, but expect to pay over €300 for a sea view room. If you want the very best caldera view hotel room at Oia on Santorini, you may have to pay over €500. You don't seem too concerned about expenses, so go for the best and have a good time. :-)

We have very good friends who are high maintenance travelers.

They find it best to take high end tours or "non tours" worked out with travel consultants. The hotels re generally better value than you can book yourself, there are private guides if you wish, and the manage transportation from place to place, allowing you to focus on having fun.

295 Euro/night won't go far if you're truly looking for luxury accommodations. Of course, it would be helpful to know what city/islands the OP was wanting to visit.

Champagne tastes, beer budget OP detected.

Two luxury hotels in Santorini are: Katikies and Perivolas, but you won't get them for $400/night. Easily $600-$700/night and up in season.

$400/night at The Grande Bretagne will get you-maybe- their classic room which is tiny and has no view.

I'm telling you this only because you have an unrealistic impression of hotel rates in Greece.

And I would cross Naxos-one of my favorite islands- off the list. I think you'll find it way too quiet and laid back after Mykonos and Santorini.

You do know that your description of your party is completely obnoxious, don't you? The epitome of the 'Ugly American' tourist with absolutely no interest in the local culture apart from a couple of hours of compulsory sightseeing each morning.

<i>I can get a 5* hotel in Washington for $400/day. Greece is bankrupt ! So we should be able to get a room close to those prices</i>

That's a daft statement. Private businesses catering to high-end travelers are not constrained by the financial conditions of the forum country (assuming you mean "bankrupt" as a colloquialism - which would fit the U.S. too) and instead are better served by soaking those who can afford their services. On the contrary, because there is little competition and small demand for such services in a poorer country, the downward price pressure that a 5* US hotel faces would be absent in the forum country. Have you not seen a supply/demand graph in your lifetime?

Evidently you have no concept of actual pricing for luxury services because even the scantest research would reveal that $400/night won't net you American-quality 5* services in sub-Saharan Africa, all (or nearly all) of which (other than South Africa) is in the bottom half of per capita GDP. The country's relative wealth does not correlate to prices for high-end services.

If you don't believe BigRuss, here is an example: The Kigali Serena in Rwanda was, under former ownership, <i>Hotel Rwanda</i> in the film of the same name. Today a standard room in that hotel, including 23% VAT, would cost about $400 per night. That's nearly what the average Rwandan earns in an entire year.

5* in New York -- presuming you mean real five star, such as the Pierre, Carlyle, Sherry-Netherland, etc, -- will cost way north of $400!

Thank you, cathies, for stating what many of us have failed to say.

Maybe the OP is a troll. They certainly do not seem refined.
400 per night in DC would not be a true 5 star hotel. Tripadvisor
gives 5 stars to the Hampton Inn. I am not bashing the Hampton,but its not high cotton.

Wow everyone!

We usually grumble if someone doesn't tell us their budget and what they like to do.

seanzo, told it all and asked for advice. It's nice to know that $400 isn't high end enough for some of you but why be churlish?

What difference does it make if he has no interest in culture?

They want to eat, see the highlights and skip the art and spend money. So what if he came out and just said it? It took so few words and he's up front. WWK, you certainly know the price of these hotels and what you would get for them.

If I did any of the things the OP likes, I would answer him gladly.

Sorry seanzo, I don't spend that much on hotels and when MH and I travel we only really care about art and architecture and do little shopping.