dsg15

Hi all-My husband and I are going to be in Santorini at the end of June for 4 days. I have PORED over these posts as well as the ones on trip advisor and thorn tree and am still not sure if we should stay in Oia, Imerovigli or Fira. We are a young couple really looking to relax by the pool with drinks and a great view of the caldera (and sunset if possible), have some good meals at night, but we definitely don't NEED a party-town. We don't mind long walks-to dinner/shopping or up/down to the hotels. Absolute max we can pay is 400 Euro/night. I have contacted many of the hotels recommended on these posts and there are open rooms, we just need to make a decision. Please help (with village and hotel advice)!?!

brotherleelove2004

Which hotels are open for you?

dsg15

Hi Brotherleelove. Thanks for checking in, seems like you are the man with the plan in Santorini.
As of today hotels that have told us they have availability
-Strogili houses
-Volcanos villas
-Majestic
-Iliovasilema
-Astra apartments(maybe)

What do you think?

dsg15

ooops. Also Honeymoon Petra Villas has a room. I read a negative post about them on trip advisor....mold all over one of the rooms. Any thoughts on that one?

luvtotravel

It's been a while since I was there, but my vote goes for either Oia or Firostephani. I stayed in Imerovigli my first time around and found it too isolated and inconvenient.

On my second visit I stayed at Sun Rocks Villas in Firostephani and loved it (room #31). Although they've since renovated and gone perhaps a bit more modern than I like. www.sunrocks.gr

dsg15

Thanks luvtotravel.
Were there any specific hotels in Firostefani you(or anyone)can recommend? Also wondering-how are the views from Firostefani?

brotherleelove2004

I agree that Imerovigli is a bit inconvenient, unless you deliberately want to be that far removed from the island's commercial centers. It's no secret that I'm VERY partial to Oia. There are plenty of great restaurants, shops and galleries. Strogili and Volcano's Villas are excellent options although I'm not sure about the sunset; I don't know for sure if it can be seen from these two, although V.V is better-situated for it. It all depends on the position of the sun when you're there, and I'm not familiar enough with that to be able to even guess.

My main concern about Majestic is that the main road from Fira to both the ferry port and the south end of the island passes right by in front of this hotel, meaning that if you have a room that looks out into the caldera you will be distracted by lots of traffic and all the noise that comes with it. If you prefer Fira then Volcano View Villas is a better choice.

dsg15

Thanks for the input-
We don't need to be so removed from everything-we definitely want to take advantage of all Santorini has to offer. By staying in Imerovigli we thought we could be close enough to take advatage of both Oia and Fira, but it seems like maybe we'll get a more peaceful,rounded Santorini experience by staying in Oia. If you had to choose 1.Volcano's Villas 2.Strogili 3.Esperas (I have an email in to them right now). Or anyplace else in Oia??(Katikes, Ikes booked).

luvtotravel

As I mentioned, I loved Sun Rocks Villas. The hotel is built into the cliff. We had a great suite.

I haven't stayed in Oia, but hope to one of these days. One of the things we liked about Firostephani was being able to easily walk into Fira, yet it's in an area that is quiet and peaceful.

It's not likely that you'll go wrong with any of your options.

samtraveler

Definitely stay in Oia! Don't even consider the others. Oia is paradise, and yet there are enough shops and restaurants to entertain. We even shopped and dined will into the late night hours in Oia, everything in June is open late. Stay in Oia!

Esperas is a fabulous choice. I could really go on and on about how great this place is. The setting, the view, the wonderful staff, the nice pool/deck, the great little restaurant, the nice bar and food service on the pool deck, the charming rooms, and on and on. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

brotherleelove2004

Your choices are going to be limited since you've waited so long to book a room. Esperas is an excellent choice and you can watch the sunset from there. Others to check: Aspa Villas, Olympic Villas, Nostos Apartments, Caldera Villas, Rimida Villas, Kima Villas, Filotera Villas, Atrina, La Perla Villas, all with pools. W/O pools but still very good: Aspaki Suites, Chelidonia Villas, Delfini Hotel, Lava Oia's, Old Oia Houses, Aris Caves, Lena's House, Thea Studios and Fragkiskos Traditional Houses.

cheryllj

I just got back from a visit to Santorini and I was very glad I chose to stay in Oia.

I visited Imerovigli for a brief time and it felt a little too isolated for me. Oia is pretty quiet but Imerovigli was *dead* quiet - I didn't see much in the way of shops and restaurants and it's really for people who want to be AWAY from it all.

We loved Oia so much -- and had more than enough restaurants and shops to keep us happy -- that we never even went into Fira at all in four days. We drove through it on the way to our hotel in Oia and my friend turned to me and said "thank God we aren't staying here." We had just been in "crazy" Mykonos town and Fira seemed similarly crowded and frenetic.

I didn't visit Firostefani so can't speak to that. But I can't imagine anyone not loving Oia unless they really want nightlife.

Oia is <i>quiet</i>. At 10-11 at night, people are eating dinner or walking back to their hotels (shops stay open pretty late - some til 12) but there are no crowds, no thumping disco music and there is sort of a tranquil hushed feeling. It's gorgeous and peaceful.

I stayed at Strogili and thought it was a great choice for our budget, but if I could afford Esperas, I'd stay there. It's at a significantly higher price point iirc.

I would choose the location of Strogili over Volcano Villas b/c VV is just a little too far a walk out of the main village for my taste. It's not super far but it feels like a hike late at night, especially if you're walking back from the Kastro area, at the other end of Oia (prime sunset viewing area, near Esperas).

dsg15

Thank you all so much for the advice. We are going to stay in Oia....it really does sound perfect for us. As of today we have found a room at Canaves Oia (just hit our 400 Euro max-ouch) and I can't wait!
Thanks again!!