Back, and broke, in Dubai, ha ha.

Time to choose a few things to write about 🙂 Why not start with the highlight of our trip – Santorini Secret.

I had spent a lot of time on booking.com and tripadvisor reading endless reviews and scrolling through photos of hotels in Santorini. Other than Oia, all the other areas was foreign to me. Where should we stay?

After spending 4 full days in Santorini, we’re really glad we had splurged for that one night in Oia.  I do warn you though – please go with a loved one. Possibly the person you’re planning to spend the rest of your life with. Because, it’s just so, so, beautiful, and romantic. And you wouldn’t want to waste the memory with some girl or some guy that will just be a fragment of your past 😉

Here’s why we loved the boutique hotel, and our ‘Absolute Suite’ 🙂

On the 4th day of our Greece trip, we took Aegean 3352 at 6:00 am, arriving a short 45 minutes later in Santorini. The chap from Easy Rental was there on-time, and we picked up our little Fiat Panda, yay.

(a) It was nice easy drive in the early morning. We watched the sun rise as we drove along the east coast, cut over the hills onto Finikia, then there we were in Oia. Santorini Secret was on the left after Opera Art Gallery. You’ll park up at the back and your first impression is, what…the? Is this the hotel? Don’t fret, it’s just the back. You’ll need to walk onto the Oia walkway and ta da, there’s Santorini Secret 🙂

And boy, was the (b) view amazing, overlooking the caldera. We walked down few flights of stairs, to be greeted with warm smiles by the beautiful Elena. We checked into our rooms much later after a sumptuous brekky and a walk through the little streets in Oia, and was just wow-ed 😀

There in the middle, was (c) welcome wine, and treats (Santorini melitinia) Who doesn’t love good wine and sweet treats *rubs hands with glee* Hehe.

The room was (d) spacious, in the traditional cave-style with white-washed walls. We then spent probably the next hour taking a million photos, in a million different poses 😀 Which none will make it to my blog but is currently annoying all our friends on facebook hehehehehe *waves*

(e) The best bit was probably the private outdoor heated jacuzzi, which is amazing after a cold swim in their infinity pool. It would have been perfect if the pool was heated as well though…sigh, can’t have everything 😉

We opted to have their (f) home-cooked breakfasts both mornings, and it’s great to be able to choose absolutely anything from the menu. You can dine in their lounge, in your own private terrace or in your bedroom 🙂 Anything you want.

Apart from an (g) easy stroll through Oia, it’s a close drive to Ammoudi as well which is famous for its seafood and sunset views 🙂 If you did rent a car, which I do recommend, head down there for a bite. Mind you it’s a steep hill so if you see cars parked and backing up the road, just find a spot behind them to park. Otherwise if you carry on driving down, you’ll be stuffed and will struggle to do a 3-point turn on a slope and limited space!

We were too lazy to walk to Sunset Tavern which is the most famous one, which was also packed when we got there. However we thought we’ll give the underdog “Red Shark Tavern” a try and hmm, it was just okay, not exceptional – however the atmosphere was so romantic nonetheless with all the buzz, sunset, and lights 🙂

So if you’re planning to go to Oia, I don’t know about the other resorts, I do recommend Santorini Secret.

A few things to note – you do get tourists at the walkway staring down at you if you’re sitting on the far end of your terrace so if you want something extremely private you can opt for somewhere else. Other than that, and well, I suppose the price haha, it was perfect. The service, the food, the spacious suite and the heated jacuzzi. And the view! 🙂

Say hi to Elena if you do go. And ah, the boys that serve you in the dining area, they’re pretty eye-candy too, ha ha ha. Cheers to all that made our first night in Santorini perfect.

• Santorini Secret
• http://www.santorini-secret.com/ 
• +302286027337
• info@santorini-secret.com

Check out Mr Mustard’s antics in Greece here.