When: 9th Sept to 17th Sept Where: Santorini, Greece Stayed: Tholos Resort
Ahhh Santorini – land of the honeymooners, no flushing of toilet paper, no drinking of tap water and the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Geographically, the island is fascinating. It sits about 200km off the mainland of Greece in the Aegean sea and is essentially the product of a series of volcanic explosions which resulted in a giant caldera. The main part of the island slopes downwards into the sea (about 300m above sea level) with small white washed villages nestled into the layers of lava around the edge of the caldera. The outer parts of the island have a range of beaches of varying colours depending on which geological layer is exposed – red, white or black. All of this is very interesting, however for me, let’s be honest, really what the geographical layout means is a CRACKING view.
We stayed in a resort called Tholos in the beautiful town of Imerovigli. It is also known to many as the ‘Balcony to the Aegean’ – presumably because of its show stopping view of the sunset each night. After only a few minutes in the village, it was easy to see why all of the resorts and hotels in Imerovigli are built to provide stadium seating views out over the sea. Simply stunning. The town doesn’t boast the glitz and glamour of famous Oia – however it turned out to be absolutely perfect for what we were looking for. Peaceful and quiet with just enough restaurants in walking distance and a view to make you pinch your skin in a reality check.
The resort consisted of several apartments and studios built in the traditional Cycladic style. With the white washed walls built on different levels of the cliff, the steps to get between the different parts of the resort were almost vertical. Challenging to say the least at 34 weeks pregnant. However its somewhat precarious position meant the resort took advantage of the spectacular views of the volcano, deep blue Aegean sea and mesmerising sunset – so much so that it was easy to while away hours (day or night) simply staring at the view. The pool was perched on the edge of the resort and from our vantage spot on the sun-beds each day, we could very easily picture ourselves sliding straight from the pool into the ocean in one seamless move. After a particularly slow afternoon I was almost tempted to throw something over the edge of the cliff just to double check the view was real…gazing off into the distance in a trance like state it was easy to get a bit caught between dreamland and reality!
The location was absolutely perfect for us – the accommodation unfortunately was not. Without dwelling on a low point in the trip, Tholos messed us around to the point where we had to move rooms 3 times during our 9 day stay. Turns out, Tholos were running a little scheme which enabled them to have maximum occupancy by putting guests into sub-standard rooms (pushing 3 stars) before moving them into the luxury accommodation as advertised – but only after guests complained… Unfortunately every couple around the pool verified our theory which was extremely disappointing. Especially in light of the somewhat extortionate prices being charged… yes, Santorini is expensive but this took things to a whole new level. Nevertheless, the room we ended up in was lovely and once our blood pressure returned to normal (and we let go of our outrage at the injustice of it all) we lapped up the easy access to the pool and picture perfect views.
Eating in Santorini was un-doubtedly one of the highlights of our stay. Still can’t work out why the feta, olives and tomatoes taste SO much better in Greece…
With 16 restaurants within walking distance of our resort, we simply rolled from breakfast (hand delivered on our balcony), to the pool, to lunch, back to the pool and then out for dinner. Our favourites included La Maison with it’s traditional food in a more fine dining setting, Mezzo with its Greek Tavern type experience, Anogi for fantastic value for money, Bella Thira with Gyros that kept Justin returning day after day and Galini Cafe with mouth watering savoury pancakes decked out with the freshest local produce. All with views to send you into a staring trance of course!
In true honeymoon style we did very little other than to eat, sleep, swim and stare while in Santorini. This is exactly what we both needed after several years of pretty hard core travel. The mini excursions we went on were interesting but in all honesty, each time we left the resort we started day-dreaming about our position by the pool and whether it would still be vacant on our return… Famous Oia was beautiful in parts but didn’t live up to its hype for us simply because of the volume of tourists trampling through the village from dawn to dusk. It was impossible to appreciate the world renown sunset with elbows digging into your ribs and cameras being shoved in your face. Fira (capital) was chaotic and we couldn’t get out of there fast enough while our visit to the red beach and black beach (Kamari) while fascinating to see, felt far too much like tourist attractions and we couldn’t wait to get back to the relative isolation of Imerovigli and the peace of our resort.
Another time and another headspace we may have felt very differently about how to spend our time in Santorini, however serenity and relaxation were definitely the hottest items on our menu each day…anything that detracted from that didn’t stand a chance. After all, why leave your balcony when you have a private viewing of one of the most spectacular shows on earth around 7pm each night?! No brainer.
Cathy & Justin Abroad 