I am looking for some advice on where to stay in Santorini. As I am having the usual Katikies/Perivolas/Esperas dilemma, I thought I would check out accommodation in Imerovigli, outside of Fira. I have seen Pantheon apartments and Astra apartments. Both have the option of private pool, which really appeals to me (looking for lots of privacy). But I am told that Oia is THE place to stay on the island. Can anyone help?

Imerovigli has some very good accommodation including top end stuff, and I would say better value than Oia, but Imerovigli seems to have little night life - very limited in restaurants for example and not much of a town centre, as a lot of it is relatively newly built. Oia has much more of a centre with shops etc, so far more atmosphere.<BR>The 2 best places we saw in Imerovigli were Honeymoon Petra Villas and Kallisto Hotel. I suspect you will find them better priced than Katikies. Petra is really well laid out for privacy. Kallisto larger rooms have great space compared to what we saw in Oia.

One nice thing about Oia is that wherever you are, you can walk to all the shops and restaurants. In Imeroviglia, if not on the side by Fira, you could be far away from everything. I spent ONE night at an awful place called Rocabella, I think, then moved to Oia.

A group of 4 of us stayed at Astra and really enjoyed it. We appreciated that we were away from the big areas but close enough to walk to Fira if we wanted to. Also, we rented a car for a day and also got to see Oia, so we got the best of both.

It depends on the desired atmosphere and whether you have time to be leisurely. We stayed in Imerovigli for 5 days in a lovely hotel overlooking the caldera with a private pool. Imerovigli is a quiet town away from the commotion of Fira and Oia. However, it is an easy 20-30 minute walk to Fira along a path on the caldera rim. This was a great way to discover the island and to appreciate the local flavor. We took a cab to Oia to watch the amazing sunsets (I think you can walk but it's pretty far). Oia is much busier and more dense than Imerovigli but it's definitely an attractive area. One thing to consider is what view your accomodations in Oia would have -- do they face the sea or the caldera? I thought the caldera view available in Imerovigli was particularly unique.<BR>But, if you have less time and you want to be more central to restaurants, bars (one of the island's main activities is watching the sun set in Oia), then maybe Oia is better. Either way, try restuarant 1825 in Oia, it was great.