My wife and I are planning a trip to Greece (Santorini) in late April/early May. I've read several posts about hotel suggestions, but I haven't seen anything about Katikies. It looks slick on their website(http://www.katikies.com)--does anyone have any info?

Hi,
We stayed there a few years ago. It is a lovely upscale hotel with the "to die for view". The pool in an infinity pool and wonderful swim in or to sit by. The furnishing are elegant simplicity. You will love it.

yipper - we are planning to stay at katikies in a few weeks. are there many many steep steps leading to the hotel? my parents are in their 60s and their knees sometimes hurt from climbing stairs. thanks in advance!

We just returned from Santorini this week and stayed at the La Perla Villas which is adjacent to Katikies. Some of the Katikies villas were even below us, and we were 70 stair-steps down from the main road - though some were higher up on the cliff. You might want to contact the hotel and request a villa higher up on the cliff. The hotel looked elegant and is a member of the "Small Luxury Hotel" chain, which I have found to be absolutely first rate.

I was in Santorini in August and stopped by to pick up a brochure and just 'have a look'. Katikies certainly does look lovely albeit I was surprised by the roadside location. I saw people reclining by the infinity pool in what looked like double futons. Very nice.

We stayed at Esperas. I was torn between Esperas and Katikies and having seen both, I'm glad I stayed at Esperas. The location is simply wonderful, with a full view of the setting sun (I don't think Katikies has that). It is very secluded and private. Every night we opened a bottle of wine, sat on our balcony and toasted the setting sun for about 2 hours. I have never been so relaxed.

I'm sure Katikies would fit the bill though!! It does look very luxurious and is probably the best on the island. I got no attitude from the smiley doorman when I asked for the brochure.

Good luck

I have read in several reviews that Katikies can be noisy from adjacent rooms at the hotel....that is a risk I am not willing to take especially if it is in a printed review....so i chose Esperas for our up coming stay.I have heard amazingly nice things about the hotel and they have great communication.

Allypally: Do you have any specific room recommendations for the Esperas? What type of room did you have?

littleandlewis, you are in for a treat! I don't know where to start. First of all, the female manager is called Yvonne and she is originally from Holland. She is completely fluent in English, as is the bartender Julian, who is Romanian. The staff are wonderful - they are there if you need them but otherwise they just let you get on with it. Julian keeps the cocktails coming with a smile and plays funky (but low volume) music to create a nice vibe poolside.

Our room was one of the suites. The only reason I chose it was because I wanted a jacuzzi bath. This was my one major holiday of the year and I wanted to spoil myself!! Basically, the suite had two rooms, plus the toilet room (which also contained a marble shower which was great for freshening up). We had a little kitchenette, which was great for storing our wine and snacks for the inevitable sundown (Santorini wine costs about 4 euros a bottle!!). The living room had a sort of bench with cushion and also a table with chairs in case you felt like entertaining, which we didn't!

Our bedroom had one of the most comfy beds I have ever slept on. I have seen this before and am thinking of getting one myself but basically the bed had a feather cover over the main mattress so very cosy indeed. The jacuzzi was down some steps off the bedroom and had wonderful views. Overall, the room was very typical of a Greek hotel room in that it had a sort of luxurious simplicity, if you get what I mean. I slept like a baby every night. In fact, when I woke up on my first morning, I had to remind myself where I was because I couldn't hear or see anything!! I guess because it is a cave you are insulated. The one thing that puzzled me about Katikies was their location. They charge an awful lot of money for their rooms so I was really surprised when I saw that it ran off the main road and that you could spy on the guests. I took photos of the hotel from high up and it was not private. Forget it if you're famous - the paparazzi will definitely see you!! And does it have a view of the sunset? I didn't think it could, considering its position. There is nothing like saluting that ball of fire as it dips into the sea...

The only minor complaint I have about Esperas - and this is so minor - is that I thought the breakfast could be a little more 'wow'. But that is my personal opinion. They had nice touches like 'honey from Crete' and mini chocolate pastries. I didn't like the coffee. It was a simple continental breakfast. Don't know what I was expecting, to be honest, but it did not detract from what I thought was one of the loveliest hotels I have ever stayed in. It is very secluded, around lots of bends and turns and down lots of steps. Oia is so gorgeous, I cannot tell you. You will love it. I took 1,000 photos in 7 days on my digital camera.

When are you going?

AP

Dear Ap: You are so kind for taking the time to respond with such a great report. Thank you. I REALLY cannot wait now. Unfortunately we are not going till Spring 2005 ( we were going next year but decided to postpone until after the Olympics) I love the description of the room. We were planning on taking a Superior Traditional House at 202 a night ( i think there may be an internet deal to lower that price) Would the suite be worth the extra 50 or so Euros a night? May I be so bold to ask what you paid for your room? If you want you can email me direct at: [email protected]

Look forward to hearing from you. david

Hi David, no worries - we paid 296 Euros per night. To be honest, I think we paid the extra for the jacuzzi tub which is actually just a normal tub with jets (not round or oversize). If you can live without the jacuzzi, then don't bother to pay the extra.

Have you seen this excellent site? This is the exact room we occupied:

http://www.idomemories.com/honeymoonsuite/

The photos on the web do not do justice to this place. It has to be seen with your own eyes!!

AP

To Jellybean,

The staris at the Katikies are an issue if you have bad knees. We had 2 different rooms there. One was not that far down the hill (above the pool). It was not a bad climb to street level, but the other room we had was below the pool level. It was a challenge going up the stairs. Even my sister-in-law, who plays a lot of tennis, said the last few stairs were real **** breakers. We also stayed at the Esperas. It is a wonderful hotel. It is not quite as elegant as the Katikies, but it has much better terraces. The terraces are every large. Also it was easier to walk to street level. My only preference for the Katikies is that infinity pool. It is magical. Other than that I would say the Esperas is also an excellent choice.

Yipper, I gotta say, Katikies did look very nice. What were the bathrooms like? I'm only asking because we want to go back next year and maybe stay one night for a treat!

AP