Santorini Greece Travel - Greek Islands, Aegean Cycladic islands

Honeymoon Petra Villas, Imerovigli, Santorini, Greece - Photo copyright Christine Collie

The Santorini Island village of Imerovigli on the caldera's highest point was our choice for a base from which to explore the island of Santorini, and we can recommend two quite different hotels in the village, each with its own charms.

The one-of-a-kind resort Honeymoon Petra Villas offers studios, apartments, and a spectacular two-bedroom, two-bath suite, all with amazing 180 degree views of the caldera far below and all with private terraces. The rooms extend back into the cliffside in traditional island style, the ceilings strengthened with modern reinforced concrete. There is a fabulous infinity pool with an adjoining swim-up bar, and a large dining area which doubles as a breakfast room and conference venue.

Much climbing of stairs is involved in negotiating the resort site, which clings to the very lip of the volcano's rim. Each of the rooms and suites is unique and they vary in size and amenities from the simple and comfortable to ultra-luxe, so it's best to specify your choice in advance - although even the simplest of them is unlikely to disappoint. This is a unique resort in a prime location on one of the world's most fascinating and scenically spectacular islands. It's hard to go wrong.

One of the things we enjoyed most about our stay was getting to know the resort's owner, Yannis Renieris, who counts himself the ninth generation of Renieris's to live and work on Santorini since the family arrived here from Venice, and who is a ubiquitous presence around the place. There are few on the island who have a deeper knowledge of its history and culture, or are more deeply committed to preserving its uniqueness in a globalizing world.

Yannis is also the man behind the Santorini Sailing Center, which offers island cruises aboard any of three state-of-the-art yachts: a 52-foot Jenneau, a 40-foot Jenneau, and a large and very fast Sunseeker motor launch. Each can be chartered individually or in combination with a stay at the Honeymoon Villa, for inter-island cruises. Yannis, a sailor of vast experience, normally commands the Santa Maria, the larger Jenneau; the other boats are captained by his seafaring sons. Book well in advance.

A completely different and much more predictable experience is offered by the Relais and Chateaux resort, La Maltese. The hotel offers the fine dining and tasteful amenities for which Relais and Chateaux properties are justly famous, in a Venetian villa newly renovated to include an underground spa. The views from the terrace and its adjoining rooms are across the caldera to the north and west, toward the pretty village of Oia, and the sunsets are world-famous.

Accommodations vary from standard, well-appointed and very comfortable villa rooms to several "traditional" Santorini rooms which extend back into the cliff face. We stayed in one of the latter, with a raised sleeping loft at the rear of the cozy, cave-like space. Our only complaint was a lack of night-time reading lights in the living area, a problem quickly remedied by the very helpful staff.

Dining was excellent. Menus were imaginative and inventive in their use of local products, and the food was invariably well-prepared and presented. Service, too, was of a high standard.

We learned during our stay that the villa next door (currently unoccupied) and possibly La Maltese itself, were involved in one of the more spectacular exploits of World War Two in the Aegean. The villas housed the military communications hub of the occupying German forces in 1944, which was taken out along with most of the occupying garrison by a handful of heavily-armed British commandos in a few hours of bloody nighttime fighting. Reprisal killings of Santorini citizens by the German occupiers are memorialized by a small cairn in the little square just to the rear of the villa.

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