Where To Stay In Santorini Greece: Best Hotels & Apartments

We have visited Santorini and we pretty much just fell in love the moment we landed in the most beautiful island of Greece called Santorini. If you want a romantic getaway to an exotic island locale in the Mediterranean, filled with rich history, great people and perhaps the most scenic vistas imaginable – go to Santorini!  Your time vacationing here will be well spent and would allow you the opportunity to experience the “celebrity lifestyle”… if only for a few days. Naturally the perfect vacation requires the best accommodation and this can often be quite the debacle for the tourist. If you are not one of the many tourists visiting the island by travel liner or boat then you would ideally want a place to stay that offers you the best of views, attractions, amenities and food. There is so much to do in Santorini and at the same time there is hardly anything you want to do at times.

Perhaps the best way to approach this topic of Where to stay in Santorini is to share our experiences with you in this post.  In this post, we would like to write reviews of our favourite hotels and apartments that we’ve stayed at previously.  We usually book most of our hotels with Booking.com/Santorini, as it’s one of the most reliable booking system and we always have good experience with them.  Booking.com also has free cancelations for most hotels and apartments and it makes so much easier to plan your trip in advanced as whether your travel plans might change or not. You can read more reviews about how to save money on hotels and apartments using Booking.com.

When visiting a place like Santorini you could either go all out on your credit card or mix-and match your experiences to your budget. We chose the latter, as Santorini was one of many destinations on our journey and we really wanted to experience as much as possible in the time we had there.

Where-to-stay-in-Santorini-Greece-Best-Hotels-Apartments-Deals-Discounts-1

Below, you’ll find the best hotels and apartments located in Fira, Oia, Imerovigli and within Santorini.  These hotels have the best reviews and are trusted.  Read more below:

Fira Hotels

1. Hotel Sunrise

Hotel Sunrise Review

Where-to-stay-in-Santorini-Greece-Hotel-Sunrise-13Facility, Beds, Comfort, Cleanliness & Staff

One of the best hotels we would like to recommend you to stay is the Hotel Sunrise, which is very close to Fira (within walking distance).  Not only this hotel is right in the centre of Fira it’s also very affordable, clean and fully renovated.  It’s run by a very helpful and friendly Greek family.

We landed in perhaps one of the smallest airports on the planet and we were greeted with the usual hum and drum and baggage delays that plague all travelers. Once through, we were met by one of the friendly owners of the Hotel Sunrise (they pick up guests from the airport for free) and driven to the hotel. We discovered later that the driver was actually the owner of the hotel and the hotel was a family run business.  We arrived an hour early prior to our check in time so we were seated in the reception catered with comfortable couches and a television to watch. Once our room was cleaned and ready, one of the owners even assisted us by carrying our heavy luggage upstairs as I can’t recall there was a lift in the building. But it wasn’t bad as the stairs were only a few.

The hotel surprised us in that it offered a lot more than we bargained for and our room was in the second floor had its own balcony which overlooked the mountains and sea. Once we freshened up we spent the rest of the evening exploring Fira on foot and generally hunting for the best places to eat – after all what is the point of travelling if you don’t immerse yourself in the local culture…and what better way to do than that with the local food and drink. Fortunately the hotel was close by to a lot of restaurants and takeaways in Fira. Much to our delight we even found an Obleix themed kebab place which modelled after the iconic characters in the French comic series Asterix.

On the second day, we were roaring for adventure and eager to see everything we could on the island.. and what better way to do that, than by quad bike. Renting bikes and cars is very easy on Santorini and we found a great rental outlet which was across the road from our hotel. With perhaps the shortest quad-bike driving instruction in history (only 2 minutes around the block with instructions in broken Greek accented English) we were on our way. To try and summarise the “excursion” in a few paragraphs would do the experience injustice so perhaps these photos would suffice:

[left]Overview:

  • Location is exceptionally good, as it’s very close to Fira centre just a short walk from Hotel Sunrise.
  • Very close to the bus stop, which allows you to get to the other islands of Santorini and to Oia as well.
  • Very close to restaurants, cafes, supermarket, pharmacy, mini hospital, motorcycle and quad bike rentals, car rentals.
  • Offers an outdoor swimming pool with outdoor furniture.
  • Offers fully conditioned bedrooms with private bathroom and balcony.
  • Offers breakfast with your booking.
  • Offers free cancelation in most booking.
[/left] [right]Facilities:

  • Offers Wi-fi in all bedrooms
  • Free breakfast but make sure to choose your booking with free breakfast.
  • Outdoor swimming pool.
  • Private terrace or balcony
  • Satellite Channels
  • Television
  • Bar by the reception
  • Lots of free public parking at any location
  • Room service, Cleaning Service
  • Luggage storage,
  • Fax/photocopying
  • Non-smoking bedrooms
  • Airconditioning
  • English and Greek languages
  • You’re allowed to park your bike outside the hotel[/right]

Book Now And Save Up to 80% on Hotel Sunrise Discount

Accessibility

Staying at the Hotel Sunrise, we were able to access and see Fira just by walking and of course we also got to see most of the island on the bike over the next three days – all of Fira and Oia. Oia is breath-taking. I once read a quote that was something along the lines of “judge life not by the breaths you take but the moments that take your breath away”… or something like that. Oia is one of those places that does that to you. We also found interesting places to eat (one restaurant in particular which served just about everything from Greek cuisine with a face). At night we would park the bike at the hotel. The hotel staff were very friendly and accommodating and allowed us to park the bike in the hotel as the rental place had closed long before we got back at night.

Hotel Sunrise Facility, Beds, Cleanliness & Staff

Each night in our hotel room we recounted our adventures and used the free wifi to upload the pictures and messages online. I really can’t fault anything about the hotel. Santroni was blazing hot when we were there.. as in a “bald man better have a hat or cap on or his brains will be well done” hot and thankfully we were able to sleep with the balcony doors open at night. The beds were comfortable and we used the minibar to chill our bottled water. The hotel also had a pool but we didn’t dunk ourselves as we preferred the beach instead.
Like I said initially when you travel you really have to decide on what type of experience you are looking for and more importantly whether your budget could cater to that experience. You could certainly opt for the tour de force in Santorini and splurge on accommodation – the island is geared to tourism and has options for all travellers and budgets or you could take a more balanced approach and opt to see and do a lot more (though arguably if you can splurge on accommodation, you could probably enjoy everything else the island has to offer).

The sunrise hotel was a great choice for us. The location was perfect and the staff were very friendly and helpful. We were even presented with a lovely parting gift from the owner as a remembrance of our time there. We have already decided to visit the island again in a future travel adventure and we would definitely be staying in the hotel Sunrise again when we do.

Everyday our room was cleaned by the cleaners even if we were still in the room they were happy to wait for us until we would come out for the day.  They do really make an effort with the cleanliness of the hotel and meet their guests satisfaction.

The air conditioning was working perfectly fine although we hardly ever used it as we left the windows opened.

Safety

The location of the hotel is fairly safe as even some nights we were back in the hotel quite late at night and felt even safe.  My fiancé even walked up to Fira centre at 12 midnight just to get something to eat as we felt hungry.

Noise

I guess it really depends which room you will stay at Hotel Sunrise to describe its noise.  From where we stayed it was quite noisy at night time because our room is right in front of the main road in which cars, motorcycles, quad bikes drive pass and people walking pass by.  When leaving our windows open we could hear everything including the noise from the bars and restaurants next door.  But when closing the windows all the noise kinda subside though we could still hear some slight noise but not as loud as compared to having the windows opened.

Wi-fi

On our first day at Hotel Sunrise, the wi-fi connection wasn’t that great.  It was very slow that we could hardly access our emails or even browse the internet to source for information when we had to.  Fortunately, by the second, third and fourth day the wi-fi connection slightly improved allowing us to upload photos to our social networking sites, blog and access our emails.


Breakfast

We booked a room that includes breakfast per night although we can’t comment about the quality of the breakfast service because we were awake at 10am in most days and never made it to eating breakfast at the hotel.  But needless to say, there are plenty of restaurants and cafes just next door and around the corner if you ever wake up too late for breakfast.

Value For Money

Hotel Sunrise is worth the money considering that we paid around $80 per night during high peak season (July) in Santorini, which also included breakfast, wi-fi, free cancellation 4 days before check-in and all other facilities.  Please note, Hotel Sunrise also just got recently renovated early 2014 so when we arrived our room and the entire hotel was freshly painted, with new design, new furniture, and all other things were added which makes the hotel feels and look completely fresh, clean, and greek style.

Overall

Hotel Sunrise is a brilliant hotel, affordable, clean, has great staff (owned by a Greek family) and most of all its location is perfect as it’s very close to Fira centre, bus stop, restaurants, cafes, Pharmacy, mini Hospital, Quad bike rentals, Car rentals all other accessible things that you may need while in Santorini.  As mentioned above you’re getting good value for the money and I would highly recommend this hotel.  There’s no doubt we would be staying at Hotel Sunrise again on our return in the near future.

[left]Cons

As mentioned above:

  • Wi-fi Internet connection was very slow from our bedroom especially on our first night but the following nights it slightly improved.
  • Quite noisy at night from our bedroom because we chose to stay right above the entrance of the hotel where it’s also very close to the main road, footpath, restaurants and cafes nearby.
[/left]

[right]Pros

As mentioned above:

  • Very close to Fira (accessible by foot)
  • Across the road, there’s a quad bike rental, which we highly recommend to use a form of transportation to get to Oia to some other towns in Santorini.
  • The  terminal bus stay is just around the corner by Fira.
  • Lots of restaurants and cafes nearby.
  • Hotel Sunrise is newly renovated, fresh and clean.
  • Very affordable hotel even during peak season.
[/right]

Click here for more information, reviews and the best Hotel Sunrise Price and Discount!

[line][line]

2. Astir Thira Hotel

Overview:

Astir Thira HotelAstir Thira Hotel is a 3 star hotel located at Main Street, Fira, Santorini and 301 meters away (10 minutes walk) from the main square of Fira.  The hotel just recently being built, quite new with luxurious and comfortable bedrooms to choose from before you arrive in Santorini. It’s owned by a family with a goal to help and assist every visitors.  They also have their own friendly personnel to assist all the guests.  Astir Thira Hotel has easy access to all tourists attractions, rental services, tourists services and of course their friendly atmosphere with traditional island architecture and facilities.  The hotel is quite new with its utmost cleanliness in which these high quality services are their priorities.

Facilities:

Astir Thira Hotel offers various types of Bedrooms to choose from:

Room Type Max
Special Offer – Double Room 2 Show prices
Double Room 2 Show prices
Triple Room 3 Show prices
Double Room – Volcano view 2 Show prices
Triple Room – Volcano view 3 Show prices
Family Room 4 Show prices

Astir Thira Hotel also offers other great facilities such as:

  • Free Wi-fi Internet connection in all Bedrooms and public areas.
  • Room Facilities: Air Conditioning, Sea view, Landmark View, Volcano View, Television, Satellite Channels, Radio, Safe, Iron Desk, Heating, Soundproof, Wake-up service, alarm clock, refrigerator, minibar, bathroom, toilet, free toilietries, wardrobe, bathtub, hairdryer
  • Most bedrooms have a balcony overlooking the swimming pool, sea view, landmark or volcano view
  • Outdoor: It has a swimming pool for you to enjoy and relax after a long whole day of sightseeing around Santorini, Neighboring Landmark and Sun-deck.
  • Activities: You can Hike and rent a bicycle
  • Food & Drink: The hotel as a a kitchen, where you can eat inside for breakfast.  It has a bar and snack.
  • Services: Bagage storage, 24 hour front desk service, car rental, check-in/check-out service, tour desk, photocopier/fax machine, honeymoon suite
  • General: Astir Thira Hotel has various public and private non-smoking bedrooms, family rooms, safe to store your passports, important documents and cash, all air conditioning rooms and sound proof rooms.

Reviews:

Astira Thira Hotel has a review score of 8.2 based on 178 reviews, some of which are:

Pros –

  • Guests are happy and satisfied with their service, as the staff are friendly and helpful, which offers services almost like a 5 star hotel.
  • The cleanliness of the hotel is well maintained.
  • The hotel is not right in the centre of Fira, which means it won’t be as noisy.
  • Breakfast is quite good.

Cons –

  • Some beds are quite hard, which is quite difficult to sleep.
  • Some rooms don’t offer a nice view.
  • Noise from the main road can be quite loud.
  • Night rates are quite expensive as compared to other hotels within the area.
  • Breakfast is very basic.

Click Here Fore More Information, Reviews, Discount Prices and Free Cancellation On Most Rooms!

 [line][line]

3. Porto Fira Suites

Overview

Porto Fira SuitesThis magnificent traditional suites is situated on the edge of the cliff of Fira Square, which offers stunning panoramic views of the sunset, sunrise, ocean, Fira Bay, the volcano and the square of Fira.

I love the fact that the Porto Fira Suites is right in the centre of Fira Square, which means you can easily walk out at night for a romantic dinner along Fira square restaurants or have your breakfast by the balcony and watch the sunrise while rising.  The Porto Fira Suites is very close to the old quarter of Fira within walking distance (3 minutes).  It’s also accessible to boat excursions to the volcano and to the island Nea Kameni.  It’s also easy access to the terminal bus station, rental cars, and quad bikes.

This suites also offers king size beds, Wi-fi wireless internet, and satellite TV.  The suites also provide furnished furniture, balcony or terrace, which overlooks Santorini’s well known sunsets.

No need to worry about your transportation from and to the airport as they provide an airport shuttle service with helpful staff that will assist you throughout your stay.

Amazon Associates Disclosure: FashionTravelAccessories.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking FashionTravelAccessories.com to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, Amazon, endless.com, myhabit, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com.




Fashion Travel Accessories & Paris Chic Style Facebook PageFashion Travel Accessories TwitterFashion Travel Accessories PinterestFashion Travel Accessories Instagram


Amazon Associate Disclosure: FashionTravelAccessories.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking FashionTravelAccessories.com to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com.

More from Fashion Travel Accessories
Best Luggage European Travel Bags – Best Lightweight Luggage
Have you been searching for the best luggage European travel bags?  Well,...
Read More
Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *