Orabel Suites

After a tough year, we decided to have a longer holiday than usual. Having seen all the positive reviews of this place we took our chances and booked for 18 nights. We made the right choice. This place is about as perfect as it gets. First and foremost, what makes things so special is the owner, Jannis (everything that others have said about Jannis is true), and his wonderful team – Demetrius who manages things in the evening (and is a dab hand at taking beautiful photos), Aris who runs the bar (his margheritas are to die for!), Marianne the amazing chef, Alketia whose warm smile when she serves breakfast every morning sets you up for the day, and the lovely cleaning ladies who keep the place spic and span with lovely gifts of fresh flowers on the bed every now and again. After a while, we felt like we were part of a family. The site is beautifully designed and kept in pristine condition. And it truly is adult-only (unlike others we’ve experienced). The small, intimate size means that there are plenty of sun beds. There are just 10 bedrooms (which really are suites). We had one of the ground floor ones with a jacuzzi in the cave-like entrance, which allowed us sufficient privacy to have a relaxing dip before bed every evening. The breakfasts are epic (as described by others). Our favourite part was how Marianne would seek us out by the pool to bring us the desert course (by far our favourite was her homemade orange cake!). There is a full bar service throughout the day that stays open till 11pm each evening. There are plenty of food options during the day (not that we needed it given the humongous breakfasts), and the possibility of arranging a private romantic dinner by the pool, which we took advantage of several times during our stay, including on the night we arrived after a late flight (Jannis very kindly arranged a dinner for us). In short, all the things you’d expect from a high-end hotel. The beach is a short walk away (on a dusty road – you need to have a torch or camera light at night) and it has plenty of eating options. It took us a while to get out bearings (Santorini is not cheap and some of the restaurants can be gougers), but we settled on three restaurants that served superb Santorini fare and at affordable prices: Afros, Popeye, and The Nets. We made several visits to each and would heartily recommend them. On our arrival, Jannis advised us on things to do during our holiday. We would definitely recommend the Catamaran island tour (we did that on our last evening and it was magical), the wine tour (mysantorinitour: our guide, Nicos, was superb, and we purchased some lovely Santorini wines to take home), and the hike from Fira to Oia (though you need to set off early for this!). Our stay at Orabel was worth every penny. I cannot think of anything negative to say about this place, and we are dying to return…