During our recent vacation to Santorini, we stayed at the Katikies hotel in the quaint mountainside village of Oia. Before the trip, we spent a lot of time debating whether or not this hotel was worth the expensive room rate. It came highly recommended by both friends and travel magazines, but the limited photos on the web site didn't give us a clear indication of what the rooms or property would actually be like. However, when we arrived at the hotel, we quickly realized that no photos could do this hotel (or the absolutely stunning panoramic views from Oia) justice.
The hotel is literally built into a cliff, and to get to it, you need to descend down a set of steps to reception (and even more steps to the rooms, pool and hot tub). Upon arrival, you are greeted with a glass of champagne, and, soon after checking into your room, the staff delivers a bottle of white wine and a fresh fruit platter. The turn down service, complete with gourmet chocolates, each night only adds to this hotel's exemplary service.
We booked the most affordable room available at the hotel, and quickly realized that you can't go wrong with ANY of the rooms at the Katikies. They all have semi-private balconies that overlook the cliffs and the ocean. A full breakfast (along with a glass of champagne) is included in the room rate and served on your balcony - giving you time each day to fully soak in the views before heading to the pool, into town, or out to explore the Island. One morning, we slept through the breakfast time period, and the hotel readily accommodated us by serving it anyway. We nicknamed our room "the cave" because it's literally a stone cave with rounded ceilings built into the side of the cliff. Although it wasn't enormous, we thought it was really cool, and, most importantly, very quiet. The queen-sized bed was surprisingly comfortable, and we got great rest all three nights that we were there.
The beautifully white-washed hotel offers many wonderful features, highlighted by the infinity pool. In addition to the main pool area (which sometimes becomes crowded), there are two other pools, including one that is build into a partially enclosed cave. There are also plenty of comfortable lounge chairs with umbrellas near all of the pools. After the hot sun went down, we typically enjoyed a dip in the hot tub, which was also situated cliff-side on it's own level with an outdoor canopy bed for "resting." No one was ever in the hot tub, so it felt like our own private oasis.
We had a private wine tasting at sunset, which we will write up in a separate post.
All in all, the only way to describe this hotel is magical. And you truly have to see it to believe it.
A&T Ranking: 10/10
Wodering if you ever posted the private wine tasing at sunset
We are going to Katikies in Sept. and we too noticed not a lot of pictures etc., but are very excided about our trip and visit to Katikies
ANy info you could supply would help
Thanks
Posted by: Cheryl | January 25, 2009 at 06:53 PM