Hotel help Athens, Naxus, Santorini
 

We would really appreciate some recommendations for hotels in these cities. Our budget is about $200/night (total). Has anyone had experience with hotels booked by Fantasy Travel?

By total I mean for 2 people, as I noticed that a lot of prices are quoted per person, not per night.

Tannie, it would help if you could give the dates of your trip; it makes a difference.

Great point travelerjan :) We are still undecided between 2 options:
Aug 25-Sept 5
Sept 15-Sept 25

We just got back from Naxos. We stayed at a boutique hotel, NISSAKI BEACH, which is right on St. George's beach, and only a ten minute walk from town. The summer rates are over your stated budget, but check to see if they go down in the fall. This hotel was one of the highlights of our trip. Great location for exploring Naxos Town, gorgeous rooms, great food right on the beach, and wonderful staff.

IF it's too expensive, try HOTEL GLAROS, literally just across the tiny street from Nissaki. A poster here on Fodors STANBR, apparently stays there when in Naxos, and highly recommends it. It looked really nice and has great reviews on tripadvisor, too.

I enjoyed the Herodion Hotel in Athens. How many nights do you plan to stay in Athens? I ask this because we stayed here twice, once only for a night and got a darker/smaller room, and then again for a week and got a much nicer room higher up. http://www.herodion.gr/rooms.asp ps The Cretan Dakos in the restaurant or bar is very yummy! The roof terrace is amazing. and it is close to the Metro stop Akropoli.

Which village on Santorini do you prefer? That's also an important piece of information.

Forgot to mention, that I have heard very good reports about ATHENS GATE in Athens.

Thank you so much for the ideas! In santorini, I think we would like to stay in Oia, but are open to other ideas as well (we have yet to do enough research on the island to know for sure). Thank you again for all of the help!

Oia: Strogili Houses, Rimida Villas, Filotera Villas, Delfini Hotel, Old Oia Houses, Lena's House, Casa Sofia, Villa Kallisti, Lucky Homes, Fotinos Houses, Thea Studios.

I stayed at Strogili houses in Oia and liked it a lot, and I would also look at Delfini hotel, Aris Caves, and Rimida villas (which shares a very nice pool with Strogili).

In Athens, the Electra Palace is great, but will probably be over your budget.

In Naxos, we stayed at the low-budget Hotel Galini which is a good value for the price, but didn't have the "sea view" that we were led to believe. If you have to lean over your balcony and contort your body to see a tiny glimpse of blue water, that's not really a "sea view" imho. But if you really want to go cheap in Naxos to save for the pricier islands (Oia in particular doesn't come cheap), it is almost on the beach and the people who run it are very nice. But I'd spend a little more for a nicer view, and the Glaros is nearby iirc. I liked the location of St. George beach b/c the walk to town was all of 6-7 minutes.

We just came back from Santorini and stayed at Imerovigli at a beautiful little hotel called Anthonas Apartments. Beautiful apts overlooking the aegean and the owners are most gracious, warm and helpful. Small complex of 5 apts built in 2005. Beautiful gardens and an inground pool; We paid 115E for our stay during the second week of June and breakfast was included, which was served on your patio.

This hotel is by the bus stop, so busses to Fira and Oia are on a regular schedule.

Wherever you decide to stay, you will love Santorini.

Hotel options for Naxos with ocean view of St George beach and considerably under your budget would be Hotel Glaros. It is beside Nissaki and about 50 meters from Galini. Galini has a few rooms with ocean view but for the most part no but it is well located to enjoy the beach and an easy walk into Naxos town. Another hotel well below your price range is Hotel Spiros. It is in the second row of hotels just down from the beach. It too has some limited ocean view has kitchenettes and a pool.
I took pictures of all 3 hotels in June this year.
Galini
http://travel.webshots.com/album/577944630zjGouH
Spiros
http://travel.webshots.com/album/577937409BloLVg
Glaros
http://travel.webshots.com/album/65008339YYjlTb
All 3 of these hotels are small and family run so you get very good friendly service during your stay.

I was in Santorini not too long ago and its pretty quiet compared to last year, but hotel prices are still kind of steep for certain places. I would recommend Parissa beach, which is beautiful and has more reasonable prices. Also, definitely rent a car in Santorini. Sept 15 is more out of season and you might get a better deal. I went through an agency so I don't really know the exact prices, but it was pretty reasonable.

Thank you everyone for the ideas. We are going to explore our options, and I am sure I will have more questions once we narrow it down :)

Does anyone have any experience with Nissaki Beach Hotel in Naxos City? Looks beautiful, and has great TA reviews...

tannie,

I guess you didn't see my post above? Just returned from there last week. The hotel was fantastic- a highlight of our trip.

So sorry Weadles! The hotels are all swimming in my head :) Thank you for the review...the hotel looks beautiful online. I just emailed them to check on the availability. It looks like their website lists 2008 rates, so we will see what they are for 2010.

No problem, Tannie. We paid E200 for a suite, very large room with private terrace overlooking the bar, and nice view of St. George's beach. It was our wedding anniversary, thus the splurge. Son and daughter were in a smaller room on the other side of the hotel, which was still very nice with private balcony overlooking the beach. You're going to love the hotel- wonderful location, rooms, food, and staff. I just posted a tripadvisor review last night.

As long as we can book in the next day or two to ensure availability, I think we will be staying in the following hotels:
Athens: Athens Gate
Santorini: Delfini
Naxos: Nissaki Beach

Just a few quick questions about Santorini hotels. When comparing Delfini and Filotera, do any drastic differences pop up between the two? And in regards to Delfini, we plan to stay in a studio in complex C. Does anyone have any experience with complex A or B? Or know a little more about them? Thanks again for the invaluable advice!

There really are no significant differences between Delfini and Filotera, and they're basically next door to each other. Complex C is a bit further away from the main hotel area but still in a very quiet part of the village, and there is a slightly wider view, although not by much and the view from A&B is still excellent.

Thank you! And C is where the pool is right?

Yes.

Many of the hotels mention both sea view and caldera view, including Delfini. Which is it? It looks beautiful but I'm curious what the view is of.

Paule

Hmm good question. I guess I assumed you could see both from your room. But then again, I have limited knowledge. But thanks for asking the question; it will be helpful in our decision making.

You want the caldera view. The "sea view" is facing the other side of the island, away from the caldera, which is where the volcanic crater is, and why Santorini is unique in the first place.

Have you looked at a map of the island? The caldera is the crater in the middle, where the volcano sank into the ocean all those years ago. You can see how the islands circle the caldera. The dramatic cliffs were formed when the volcano erupted and part of the island sank into the ocean.

I'm not sure if the hotel has 2 views -- I got the impression that the description was a bit loose. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm hoping Brotherleelove will clarify what the view is of. Or if there different views.

Usually if the view is called a 'sea view' I will check to find out if it's actually into the caldera or not, as it can be misleading. If it says 'caldera view' or 'volcano view' that means what it says. Most of the time if a hotel website has a photo gallery you will be able to tell. No hotel with a view of the caldera would fail to show it at least once. And if it has a sunset view that would be apparent in the gallery as well.

Rena's email (owner of Delfini) states that "All of them have magnificent view of the Caldera and the Volcano" so I am assuming she means exactly that.

Has anyone stayed in a studio in complex c?

re santorini

we booked an apartment in fira
but it was on the dryside
sure there were water views lol but they were so distant and the sea haze obscured them anyway

we got to oia and nearly decided to cancel our booking and just pick something up there
in june we still had plenty of choice and we shouldve just waited til we had arrived and then wandered around
but you know how it is...
most of us are anxious to get the accommodation nailed before we go for peace of mind

oia is beautiful
yes there are the areas down south like perissa but they just dont compare in my opinion

you can get around santorini with ease...lots of comfortable and cheap buses take you all over the island but in some places you might have a long wait to connect

do the oia to fira walk
it is an easy walk
i did it in flip flops and the photo opportunities are boundless
lots of little villages to stop along the way and rest if you need to

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