the best hotel we'll ever stay

As we've grown older, Matt and I have begun to seek out hotels with a cool vibe.  Sure, we tend to stay in the same brands over and over (Have we stayed in every Aloft in the world?  I think so.), but we're no longer content to stay in a crappy motel when we could include a nice hotel stay to our travel experience.  While we don't always splurge (Aloft are cheap, right?) our honeymoon was a time when we really went above and beyond on the term "nice hotel".  I hate to admit this, but Matt found our Santorini hotel by Googling, "best hotels in Oia", and in this particular case, the internet did not disappoint.

Getting to Oia from the US, takes a few steps.  We flew from Athens to Santorini at the crack of dawn and then pre-paid a driver to great us at the airport and drive us to the other side of the island.  It's not a large island but the roads are winding and drivers venture up and down the cliffs, so it takes longer than expected to go short distances.  The entrance to Oia is small and narrow and our driver left us at the top of the cliff with a man from the hotel who had come to meet us.  He took our bags (all of them at once!) and led us down the road to the hotel.

The hotel reception was at the top of the cliff, right off the main road in Oia.  The space was beautiful and the view down to the ocean was mind blowing.  From the reception area, there were white stairs leading in various directions.  Floors were built into the cliff and each level had a few rooms that were visible as you made your way down the steps.  On our descent, we passed one of the main pools, as well as a bar, and a private dinning area.  Going down the cliff a bit more, was the main landing that housed another common area with a pool, the main restaurant, and the stairs that lead down to our suite.  Keep in mind, one guy was carrying all our bags down these stairs!  We each had a large suitcase, plus a few other smaller bags.  I don't know how he did it all at once.  Did I mention it was about 90 degrees?

Our room wasn't ready when we first arrived so we changed into our bathing suits, hit up the pool and enjoyed fruity umbrella drinks with a view.  Most mornings of the trip, we would head up to the pool to participate in the buffet breakfast and then claim our spot on the lounge chairs.  The food was so incredibly beautiful (and delicious) and the hotel restaurant was also a champagne bar.  Very fitting that we spend National Rose day in Santorini!

When our room was ready, we headed down the stairs to our suite.  As you scroll through these picture, imagine how we felt as we received the tour.  I'm pretty sure I was either crying, or saying, "oh my god", the entire time she showed us around.  Our room was two stories with the living area downstairs and the bedroom lofted above.  There was a massive walk-in close, and eating nook where we had room service one morning, and a bathroom that made me actually want to get up and get ready each morning!  Everything was minimal and white, with pops of blue.  Exactly what you'd expect from a 5 star cave on the side of a cliff.

The room was incredible, but of course, we really didn't spend much time inside. What really made the room so spectacular, was the front porch.  The patio scanned the entire length of the room and had unobstructed views of the sea.  We had famous Santorini cherry tomatoes and beautiful flowers growing right next to our patio table. We had our own private dip pool where we spent hours and hours drinking wine and watching the sunset.  There was even a gorgeous baby blue door that made the entire suite completely private.  I will forever and ever remember that patio as being one of my favorite places on earth.  I feel so blessed that we were able to spend time in this magical hotel.  Thank you Matt Gers for finding this incredible gem.

Katikies, you took "room with a view" to a whole new level.  Thank you!