Athens, Mykonos and Santorini
 

Dears Fodorites,<BR>next week my wife and I are going to Greece and I have some doubts that I hope someone can help me:<BR><BR>1) Athens: beetwen Amalia Hotel (110 euros)and Divani Acropolis (149 euros. Amalia location seems perfect but I cannot find any reviews of this hotel. Divani seems very good but not so good location.<BR><BR>2) Mykonos: Belvedere (205) and Semeli (140). Does Belvedere worth the diference? Both locations seem to be perfect for Mykonos.<BR><BR>3) Santorini: Volcano View Villas (104) or Esperas (150)? I'm a little bit confused about the diference beetwen the VV Hotel and the Villas. I always suppose that they have the same location. Am I right or wrong?<BR>Esperas werbsite is not so famous and attractive but I read some good reviews in this forum. As i'm going next week i'm just affraid of Oia and the Esperas location to be a little far from everything.<BR><BR>Many Thanks,<BR><BR>Luis <BR>

Luis, if you do a search on this forum you will see that Esperas is recommended highly here. I myself have stayed there last spring and found that it meet all my expectations. The only gripe I have is that the bathroom was small, I mean SMALL but then most bathroom in europe are. That might just be because we had the studio. It was the only place on our visit to Greece to be provided with a plug-in device to ward off the mosquitos. Believe me you will need that or be biten alive. Since I haven't stayed in any of the other places you mentioned I leave that to someone that did.

The VV website says Hotel and Villas. We stayed there in May of '97 in a studio. I cannot imagine a more spectacular view of the caldera. To wake up and walk out onto your private patio overlooking the caldera was breathtaking! It was a 5 min. ride from town; the hotel provided a shuttle back and forth during the day, on the hour, I believe. Great location, we thought. No mosquitoes in May during our stay.

Raineydae, how about Esperas location?<BR>Do you think staying in Oia is better than in Fira?

Esperas is at the tip of Oia; therefore, a spectacular view of the caldera and sunset. But then again, any view of the caldera is beautiful. It so happens that I stayed at both Fira and Oia during my visit. It all depends on what you prefer, to party or to relax. Oia is more laid back. Busing btwn the two towns only takes 30 mins. and under 2 euros. But I did find Oia to be more charming albeit smaller. Did notice that when high season started (and you can tell by the cruise ship docking and unloading the tourists) that the shops jack up the prices. I swear the prices changed overnight. I found it quite funny at the time.

I can't attest to either hotel, but I prefer Fira. You need to be sure to visit Oia though. We spent 5 nights in Fira and only one day rented a car to drive the island including Akrotiri and Oia. Oia, like the earlier post said is more quaint which to me translates to less restaurants, less shopping and quieter. Both are beautiful. I keep a picture on my desk at work of my wife and me sitting at a restaurant overlooking the sunset over the caldera. 1/2 the people who come to my office think it's a fake because it's so spectacular.

I decided that I will stay in the Semeli Mykonos, maybe i will stay 2 nights in the VVV in Fira and 3 nights in the Espera.<BR>But i'm still needing help about Athens.

Luis: It has been several years since we have been to Greece, so things may have changed. We stayed at the Divani Acropolis and liked it very much. It was a busy hotel, with tour groups coming and going. I remember a small grocery store a block or so away that we shopped at. Bought cheese, bread, grapes, wine, olives and had a superb picnic on our balcony, with a clear view of the acropolis.<BR><BR>It had a rooftop cafe and probably served the best included breakfast we have ever had in Europe. Also had a pleasant bar that we visited one evening. The one negative I remember was a less than friendly/pleasant staff (desk and some of the bellmen). Didn't make much difference to us, but does to some people.<BR><BR>It is walking distance of the plaka and several blocks from a main thoroughfare (I forget the name) where we used an ATM several times. We much preferred this location to the hotels around Syntagma, with lots of traffic, etc.<BR><BR>Assuming it is as nice as I remember, we would definitely stay there again.

my problem is that no-one seems to know Amalia hotel in Athens. Is it possible?

Unless you absolutely have to have your room booked in advance for Santorini, and if you have a sense of adventure, wait until you get there to find a room. Next week there will be no problem with walking into a hotel. The season hasn't started yet and you will be able to get a good price and have your choice of locations. I recommend you make your way to the beautiful clifftop settlement of Oia on the north end of the island, either by taxi or bus. Walk into the center of the village from the bus stop and you will be able to see several fantastic places to stay there, and if you walk along the main pathway through that part of the village you will find more tucked away everywhere. Enjoy!

Thank you for your replies, but is it possible that no-one knows Amalia hotel in Athens?