Oia Hotel Santorini Greece
Friends asked why our photos had such a clear blue sky without any clouds. Our reply was that heaven is above all clouds. We had booked 2 nights at Canaves Oia Hotel, but were very pleasantly surprised to have been upgraded to the more upscale Canaves Suites wing of the hotel. Not only that, but we were allocated the Infinity Pool Suite (Room 25), which I understand ranks amongst the best rooms on the Suites side of the hotel. This suite typically costs 3 times of what I had paid, and would probably be beyond what we would be willing to pay for a hotel room. But it was a truly incredible room, with a lovely caldera view, a private infinity pool/jacuzzi (not really big, but already a super bonus), a walk-in wardrobe, a huge bathroom (with a shower compartment which you could literally walk about in) and a very spacious living room area. I realise there may be even better hotel rooms in this world, but it was the kind of room that most people can only dream of. It certainly was more than enough for us. Room aside, the service was absolutely top drawer, from Mr Thanassis, the manager, to Anna at the reception to Jenny who was waiting on us at the 2 restaurants, service could not have been any better. A thousand thank yous to all of you, as well as to those whom we may have forgotten to mention, for making our stay one of the most pleasurable in our lives. We had a Greek Night degustation dinner at the poolside restaurant on our first night, and dinner at Petra Gourmet Restaurant on our second night. The latter has a capacity of only 3 tables and as it happened, on the night when we had dinner there, there were no other tables booked, so the staff took the trouble to remove the other 2 tables such that ours was the only table on the dinner terrace. The intimacy of the ambiance was really something else. It was like we were a couple lost in a world of our own. It happened because the staff made the effort to make it so, and also because of the beautiful design and setting of the hotel. Food-wise, dishes were a mix of hits and misses. Some were really good, whilst others bordered on average. We had dinner at Andronis Suites the night before, and I would say the food there was really excellent. Every single dish we ordered there was a unique concoction surpassing all expectations. This comes from someone who loves fine dining and has sampled more than my fair share. Mr Thanassis also recommended us to take the Catamaran Cruise. The company running the cruises also belongs to the owner of Canaves Suites. Take this cruise, it was truly memorable for us. No regrets whatsoever, well worth the money paid. We are not folks who will (or can afford to) book the most expensive suites of hotels, but we have stayed at many luxury hotels and we can categorically say that Canaves Suites was our best experience so far. There was absolutely nothing we could have faulted them on. Beautiful setting, beautiful rooms and top notch service, pampering you to every last detail. What more could anybody ever want? Many reviews on Santorini hotels are clouded by the customer's Santorini experience. Many give super high ratings to very average hotels purely because they had a wonderful time in Santorini. But it is hardly possible not to have a wonderful time in Santorini. Almost every single room built on the cliffside has a caldera view. Therefore, a hotel review must focus on what makes that particular hotel special, which makes it stand out from the rest of the average ones. Rest assured this review has been made with this in mind. I will be definitely be staying at Canaves Oia again, next time I am in Santorini.
