Theoxenia

With a blink and you’ll miss it entrance on Ipapantis walkway, this hotel ended up being an initially unrecognized blessing. Their courier met us at a drop off point and took our luggage- which saved us the hassle of finding the entrance. Our room came with an amazing view, but it was situated right above two very loud restaurants. Thankfully, with the windows closed, the room is basically sound proof. And the street music doesn’t start until almost 10am, so we were able to enjoy our continental breakfast with windows open, enjoying breath taking views and the cool breeze off the water. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Our room was a little tight, but worth it for the view (room 6- not all rooms had our view). The hotel is kept very clean, despite some shared balconies (never know other peoples’ cleanliness habits). Definitely worth it to stay here if you want easy central access to the shops and popular restaurants in Fira.

The cab from the airport can’t take you directly to the hotel because some of the streets are closed off to cars. Expect to haul your suitcases a few blocks from the taxi stand/drop off area. The front desk is up a flight of stairs but the staff kindly helped us with our luggage. There’s no elevator and quite a few flights of stairs to some of the rooms so if you have limited mobility this isn’t the place for you. At the front desk they are kind enough to give you information about what to do on the island. It’s also apparently not recommended to drink the water in Santorini. Showering and brushing your teeth are fine though, and we didn’t experience any issues during our stay. The rooms were large and clean. One of the hotel’s best features is the balconies to watch the sunset - much better than fighting the crowds at the viewing spots to get a good picture! However, one negative is that a nearby club plays loud music well into the night so I needed to play white noise to block out the sound.

After many collective hours of researching accommodation options on Santorini, my wife and I made the easy decision to book a three-night stay at Theoxenia Caldera Hotel, and within an hour of having checked in, it was obvious we had made the right choice. Manager on Duty Chris has a great wealth of knowledge about Santorini, and he provided us with advice on things to do (and to avoid), and well over a dozen recommendations on restaurants, points of interest, etc. The service we received from Chris, and afternoon manager Alex was truly outstanding…we didn’t ask for much, but when we did, nothing was too difficult for either of them. Thank you Chris, ad thank you Alex! Our room was on the top floor, with a wonderful view (see photos) of Santorini (all the way to Oia) and the Caldera. The room was spacious, very clean and well maintained. Most importantly, the bed was comfortable, and there was a choice of pillows, with the soft one being perfect for me – so much that I wanted to take it with me, but resisted the temptation to do so. Breakfast was served to our room daily. To call it a “Continental Breakfast” would be an understatement, because the variety of items on the tray is extensive: orange juice; fresh fruit (pieces of apples and oranges); Greek yoghurt; boiled eggs; cake; spinach and feta pastry; bread “to die for”: crispy crust, soft and warm inside. There was too much food for my wife and me, so we requested more fruit, no cake, and no eggs. Andreas picked us up and dropped us off at the Ferry Port, taking the heaviest two bags off us, and taking them up all the stairs to our room, then down again when it was time to check out. For both ease and convenience, it was well-worth the price we paid for the transfers. Thank you Andreas! If you're considering booking Theoxenia Caldera Hotel, don't wait...DO IT!