Santorini Hotel - less expensive
 

Can anyone recommend a lesser expensive hotel for one person in Santorini. I will be there 2 days, 1 night in late May/early June. Hotel doesn't need to be fancy, just clean and functional. And not to far/steep a climb. Also looking for the same in Mykonos, but will post separately.

Thanks folks!

Rick in Maryland.

The Lauda Traditional Rooms and Apartments and the Anemones Hotel, both in Oia, have good prices. But in late May you don't need to make reservations. Just go to the village of your choice and ask in the travel agencies and tourist shops for rooms (domatia) and you'll eventually find what you can afford. It's a buyer's market in May so if you take the time to search around you'll do well. The highest concentration of rooms will be in the main village of Fira but they're
really everywhere on the island.

Try the Santa Margareta hotel in Fira short walk to the center of town they will pick you up and drop you off from the airport of port for free

Aethrio Hotel in Oia is dead centre of town next to the main church - no steps to climb and you get 360 degree view from the roof top bar. Has good swimming pool but much cheaper than some of the fancier cliffside Oia hotels with similar facilities.

Hotel Keti! It is a fabulous place. I believe the rates at that time of year would be about 55 Euros. The bonus is it's built into the cliffside so you have an incredible view of the caldera for a fraction of the price you'd pay in more fancier, expensive places. www.hotelketi.gr

Okay, so if I stay at Hotel Keti -- is there easy access to a nice nearby swimming beach to cool off? Or is it worth the extra money to have the pool available at the other hotel?

I have never been there, but the heights and the steps and stuff make it seem as if getting from the Thira hotels down to a beach could be an ordeal. Yes? No?

Thanks again.

Rick in Maryland

rick--

Everyone on this board has different opinions... so for what it's worth, here's mine: save the $$ you'd spend on a hotel with a pool and put it towards a rental car or motor bike. The beaches in Santorini, I thought, were fantastic-- far better than Mykonos and each with a unique feel to it (and that's coming a California girl). Why sit by a pool when you can spend the day at a beach??

My favorite beach was the black sand beach at Kamari... I only got to spend one day there, but I just loved it. It's not like Kauai black sand, but it's worth a visit nonetheless.

Having a car in Santorini made a huge difference... if $$ and time is tight, eat gyros 3-meals a day, stay at a pool-less hotel, and have the time of your life running around the island in a wannabe-Jeep (ie: a Kia or Suzuki or something like that.) And with a car, you have no reason to miss a single sunset in Oia (a must-do, many times!)

Anyway, there's lots to do-- you'll love it. And PS: the cliffs are managable in the hotel areas... if at any point you want to go from top to bottom-- there are always donkeys (we walked, but it was a battle of wills among our group...if I went again, I'd pay the 3 euros and take the donkey!!)

Got to run... I'm off to Ecuador in a few hours... got any tips for that?? Just kidding ;)

PS: MD, huh? I went to Loyola...loved my time in MD!

Rick, I don't if this is your style or not but I took a bus into Santorini from the airport. It drops you within minutes of most of the hotels in Santorini. I hated my hotel there, so I went looking for something else and found a much better room that way. I think I stayed at a place called Iriana but my notes don't say if it was hotel iriana or some other wording. It was right on the Caldera and around $75 for a single.

The bus station is right there and you can take a bus to any of the beaches very easily.

Hi I agree with Rick re; pool vs beach but in May/June the prices are very reasonable for hotel with pool. My preference in Thira was "The New Haroula" (02860 24226). It had a pool, nice gardens and about a 10 min. walk to the centre. It was very reasonable. Yes it is up hill but nothing like the steps up the caldera from the pricey hotels cliffside. I stayed at Hotel Lucas on the cliffside right in the centre of Thira and half the time the electrical power was out and the climb was very steep.
For cheap, clean, fridge, some with TV and balcony, across the street from New Haroula is Summertime Pension. The owner is a bit slick but will negotiate on price but make sure you know what you are getting. She may try to charge extra for heating/air cond. unless you have an understanding of what the price includes.
In Mykonos town, I found Hotel Carbonaki. The owners have several properties to meet wants. They have a decent hotel but I stayed in an apt. across from the hotel and had a full size kitchen and a loft bedroom. My friends stayed in another apt. down the street which was even better and we were able to use the facilities of the hotel. 23 PANACHRANTOU ST. 0289 24124 www.carbonaki.gr

Rick, there are no swimming beaches close to Fira. The beaches are on the other side (east side) of Santorini. The whole point, IMO, of Santorini is to be on the west side, looking at the caldera and the magical view. Get a place with a pool if you think you'll need to swim.