Tholos Resort

On Santorini's popular caldera-facing mountainside, space is at a premium, and many hotels here are a charming mishmash of buildings. Tholos Resort has a more traditional hotel frontage when viewed from below, with pretty white arched rooms and pale blue woodwork -- although access from the pedestrian street is down steep stairways. The small reception room has a traditional Cycladic look, with dark wood furniture and natural stone, and the stairways are painted a turquoise blue which works well against the sea of white. Seating for the restaurant and pool bar is split over three levels, and the long narrow spaces ensure everyone gets a front row seat for the superb ocean sunsets. The hotel attracts mostly couples, groups of friends, or families with older children due to the steep stairs and levels.

Tholos Resort is in the laid-back village of Imerovigli, on the west-coast of Santorini between the busier resorts of Oia and Fira. Located on the lower levels of the hillside buildings, the hotel is accessed by several flights of stairs, and has excellent views towards Skaros Rock and the spectacular caldera. There are a handful of restaurants and shops scattered around the village, all within a 10-minute walk, and the hike to the medieval ruins on Skaros Rock takes about 15 minutes. It's about 10 minutes by car to shopping, dining, and nightlife in Fira, 20 minutes to the airport, and 30 minutes to the ferry port. All can be reached by bus, and the Imerovigli stop on the main road is a 10-minute walk away. Buses also leave for Oia to the north, where you can walk down to Ammoudi, a pretty fishing village and one of the island's top swimming spots, in 15 minutes.

The Tholos Resort's 12 suites have been given a complete face-lift for 2017 and now have a sleek style with unusual design features drawing on their natural cave-like environment. They're smooth edged, with curvy walls and artwork and include mini-fridges and coffee machines, air-conditioning, flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, and bathrobes/slippers as standard. The free bottle of white wine and fruit is a welcome perk. Some feature suspended beds, others have hanging pod armchairs or outdoor baths, and the largest Tholos Villa has an incredible indoor spa area, with a whirlpool. The Suites have lovely ocean-view indoor whirlpools, while Deluxe Suites have their own hammam steam bath and outdoor hot tub. It's clear that a lot of thought has gone into the design of these unusual rooms, and that also applies in the modern bathrooms, where the flowing curves are given a natural look with hollowed-out rainfall shower cubicles and stone countertop basins. Some of the higher-end suites have both jetted baths and showers. 

Despite its compact layout, the Tholos Resort has a decent-size pool for hotels in this area -- enough to swim a few strokes anyway -- and the pool bar serves a snack menu during the day. The split-level restaurant offers a good choice of ocean-view seating, both shaded and sunny, and a fresh menu of Mediterranean dishes. The hotel will happily provide a private dining space if required, and room service is available for much of the day and night. Breakfast is delivered to your suite every morning. Spa and beauty treatments are offered in-room, but there is no proper spa area in the hotel. Porters are on hand to assist with bags up and down the steep steps, and the front desk offer other useful services including laundry and luggage storage. Wi-Fi is free throughout the resort.