My Honest IKIES Santorini Review – The Best Hotel in Santorini?
This post is my honest review of the IKIES Santorini hotel. Is it really one of the best hotels to stay at in Santorini, Greece?
This luxury boutique hotel is located in Oia, Santorini. It offers breathtaking views of the famous Caldera and arguably some of the best sunset views on the island.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the hotel and our room, the amenities, and the views. I’ll also share my pros and cons for staying here, and whether or not I think it’s worth the hefty price tag.
Spoiler alert, though: I did REALLY enjoy staying at this hotel!
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IKIES Santorini Overview
The IKIES Santorini is perched on the cliffside and offers panoramic views of the sea and the whitewashed houses that dot the landscape. There are only 13 rooms here, which are actually traditional cliff cave homes on the island that serve to protect from harsh winter conditions and earthquakes.
The IKIES Santorini is located in a rather secluded location, away from the busy tourist foot traffic of Oia, so it has a very quiet and peaceful setting. But it is still only about a 10 to 15-minute walk to the main shopping area and restaurants of Oia. The majority of the guests staying here are couples enjoying a romantic getaway. This isn’t a family-friendly hotel, and young children are not allowed to stay here.
My IKIES Santorini YouTube Video:
The Room’s at IKIES Santorini – What to Know Before You Book
Again, there are 13 rooms to choose from here. And rooms really isn’t the right word for it. These are large suites or villas that you will be picking from. The largest villa is the Collector’s Villa, which can fit up to 6 adults and features a private indoor/outdoor hot tub.
The smallest room is the Gardener’s Petite House for 2 people, measuring 20 square meters. My husband and I stayed in the Fisherman’s House, which is right next to The Gardener’s Petite House by the pool and is only slightly larger than the Gardener’s Petite House.
Photo gallery of our room, The Fisherman’s House.
We had two separate levels, with the bedroom upstairs, and a table and living room area downstairs. The bathroom was also very spacious.
Quick side note, though, don’t flush your toilet paper! The plumbing system in Santorini cannot handle it, this is will be the same no matter where you stay in Santorini.
Now, when it comes to choosing a room at the IKIES, it’s really going to come down to availability and your budget. With only 13 rooms and in such a quiet area, they obviously book up quickly. So you need to book well in advance to get your choice of rooms. Then, the price of rooms will vary based on the time of year you are booking. Summer will be the most expensive time, whereas spring and fall will be slightly reduced.
Things to keep in mind when booking a room here. When looking at the website, it looks like each room has a super private terrace area for you to lounge around in privacy, but that is not entirely accurate.
The rooms that are by the pool, like ours was, don’t have private terraces at all, as you’re sharing the area with the pool and lounge area. And where our table was located is right across from room #3. Their table was down past the edge of the pool (see photo below), which has a fantastic view, but everyone can see you when you’re eating your breakfast. It’s still quiet and relaxing, but it’s a bit hard to tell what you’re getting into from the photos on the site.
Now, the big villas do have far more privacy, as their terraces are blocked off, but people walking up and down the stairs to the pool or their rooms can still see into these terraces a little bit. I mean, it’s still relatively private, and there are only 13 rooms, so the foot traffic is quite minimal, but it’s still NOT as private as you might think. Just so you are aware.
The Service and Food at IKIES Santorini Review
One of the things I liked most about staying here was the private in-room breakfast that is included with your stay. You would make your breakfast selection the night before and give it to the front desk, and it would magically appear on your table at your selected time each morning. I LOVED this so much. I also thought the breakfast selections were wonderful. (I have video of this, which will be included in next week’s YouTube video. Stay tuned!)
There isn’t a sit-down restaurant at IKIES, but they do also offer in-room dining throughout the day. We had lunch and dinner here and were very happy with both of our meals. Plus, it was wonderful to dine in such a quiet spot with fantastic views.
The Service
When it comes to the service at Ikies, we couldn’t have been happier.
Everyone we interacted with at IKIES Santorini was so kind and helpful. The front desk made us feel welcome right from the get-go. They greeted us warmly, gave us a welcome drink and made fantastic recommendations for places to dine each night of our stay in Santorini. They also arranged our reservations and taxis if we needed them. The service at IKIES was reason enough alone to stay here.
IKIES Santorini also offers yoga sessions and private massages for an extra cost. This is nice, but we didn’t end up doing either while we were here. Instead, we chose to lounge around by the pool area when we wanted to relax. It’s great, as you can order cocktails and snacks right to the pool area! And while the pool is relatively small, there were never more than a couple of people down there, and most of the time, we did have the pool to ourselves.
What is There to Do Nearby?
Even though you are removed from the foot traffic of Oia, it doesn’t mean you are too far from all of the wonderful things to do in Oia! You’re only about a 10-15 minute walk from restaurants and the main shopping area of Oia. You’re also a short cab ride away from Ammoudi Bay, and the hotel’s entrance is right by the Oia to Fira hiking trail.
The IKIES front desk can also arrange a variety of activities and private tours for you, from private tours of the island to sailing excursions and more.
Pros and Cons of Staying at IKIES Santorini
Now some quick pros and cons of staying at IKIES Santorini.
Pros
- It’s very quiet and romantic; you’re very removed from the foot traffic that most hotels have in Oia.
- The staff is absolutely amazing, seriously we had nothing but incredible experiences every time we spoke with someone from IKIES.
- The rooms are spacious, even the “small” rooms like ours.
- The private in-room breakfast is a fantastic perk, especially if you’re like me and really don’t like buffet-style breakfasts.
- The views are outstanding! In my opinion, these are the best views of the caldera and the sunset, and you can enjoy them all from your private dining table or terrace.
Cons
- The prices are pretty steep. When we stayed here in mid-September, we paid nearly $700 a night to stay in the Fishmerman’s house. However, the prices really aren’t too outrageous when compared to other hotels in Oia.
- There are tons of stairs, especially if you’re staying in one of the rooms by the pool like we were. If we got to the top of the stairs and realized we forgot something in the room, we generally just left it down there versus going back down and up the stairs again.
- The rooms are very private compared to most of the hotels in Oia, but they still aren’t quite as private as they are made out to be on the website.
- The air conditioning wasn’t the best in our room; it was pretty stuffy, and we almost never had our window shades open because it would get WAY too hot if we let the sun in. We also ended up asking for another fan to be brought in to help with air circulation. (which the staff happily accommodated.)
- The bathrooms had a bit of an ant problem. If you had a damp towel on the floor and went to move it a few hours later, you’d find it covered in ants.
Final Verdict? Do I Recommend Staying at IKIES Santorini?
Yes! Despite the few cons that I mentioned, I 100% recommend staying at Ikies Santorini. Its prime location, impeccable service, and attention to detail set it apart from other hotels on the island.
While there are other hotels in Santorini that offer stunning views of the Caldera, I don’t think any match the level of intimacy and exclusivity that Ikies Santorini provides. The small number of rooms ensures that each guest receives personalized attention and a truly unique experience.
If you’re looking for a hidden gem in Santorini, Ikies Santorini is the perfect choice. So go ahead, book your stay, you won’t regret it.
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Thank you so much for reading my IKIES Santorini review! If anyone has any questions about the IKIES Santorini, please don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments section at the end of this post.
