"Absolutely Amazing" Anastasis Apartments, Santorini, Greece

[Alanslegal]

Imerovigli | Santorini Island | Greece

You may have not heard of the Anastasis Apartments before but this place should be your only choice the next time you think about heading to the picturesque Greek island of Santorini. The idyllic property situated on the high cliff top of the caldera has postcard perfect views of the caldera itself and ocean below it, and that magical view was easily matched with exemplary service from all the staff of the hotel. I experienced this because I recently stayed there, those short five days and four nights in late July were absolute bliss: tranquil, peaceful and soothing.

Everyone knows Santorini; picture those white painted buildings with aqua blue roofs perched vulnerably on the edge of the steep cliff face, houses stacked on top of each other and with balconies, terraces and roof tops all overlooking the water below. Then imagine the world’s best sunset that Santorini is most renowned for, where thousands of people from all angles of the globe, come to meet in the late afternoon for those few glorious minutes when the sun slides beneath the horizon in the far distance.

Santorini is a most spectacular island and staying at the Anastasis made it all that fantastic. To be honest, I only found this property by way of a Tripadvisor newsletter, which gave the property extremely high credentials. [I do know that some folks dismiss Tripadvisor’s ratings and accuracy] but when the Anastasis is awarded the following Traveller’s Choice 2011 Awards, then I guess the property can’t be too bad after all.

#4 in the Top 10 Hotels for Romance in Europe
#2 in the Top 25 Hotels in the World
#1 in the Top 10 Hotels for Service in the World

With too good to be true reviews, I quickly emailed the hotel to seek room availability for the dates that I will be on the island. Their website does not have a real-time booking engine and then the only reason I can think why it does not is because the owners want to take a more personal approach; to know the guests, to know where you are coming from, when you are arriving to make sure that everything will be perfect from the moment you arrive. Great news though, I am booked into their last remaining room, the Superior Apartment.

Flicking through the hundreds of candid reviews on Tripadvisor, there were no negative reviews, absolutely nothing. Page after page of praise, great service, magical moments, best hotel experience ever and so on made it conclusive that this place was something, really something! I could not wait to get there!

After five weeks of travelling around Asia and Europe, this was a great place to just put up the feet and do nothing but gaze into the caldera below, recharging my body for the final two weeks of running around the rest of Europe before heading back to boring old Sydney *a hint of sarcasm*.

Arrival:-

I had organised a transfer (via the hotel) from Santorini National Airport (JTR) and was met at the arrivals gate by the waiting driver who had a printed my name off an A4 paper. At a set cost of EUR20 this was peace of mind as I preferred not to catch the public bus, hire a car or risk the same cost paying a local taxi driver. After a 25 minute drive from the airport, driving through the biggest town on the island of Fira, then the smaller towns of Firostefani and Imerovgli, I was in front of the hotel. The staff at the hotel was expecting my arrival and synchronised the bellboys to be awaiting the car the moment it arrived. My baggage; two large checked luggages and two cabin sized cases; were quickly taken and I was escorted to the check-in area.

Check-in:-

We entered the cosy foyer of the hotel and were warmly welcomed by Irina, the local Greek girl who was one of the senior assistants there. A cold towel and fruit drink was offered as we went through the check in formalities. Not too long after the owner Despina introduced herself and wished me another round of welcome before taking over Irina. Despina thanked us for choosing to stay with them and now proceeded to introduce the property to us.

Despina explained that her staff were there for our needs and that should we require anything at all, then they were there anytime we required. In fact, Despina even gave her personal mobile number to us. No request was too difficult apparently though Despina did explain that even though her team was there for us, they would be discreetly be so in the background, really wanting us to relax and enjoy the tranquillity of the property and its surrounds.

 

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Lobby:-

Despina then lead us on a quick tour of her property and we were walked immediately to the infinity pool and to the postcard perfect view of the caldera. It was truly breathtaking! She deliberately paused and gave us a few moments to absorb the magical view before laying down the guest rules. Rules aren’t meant to be broken at this place, and everyone who stayed there knew that. No jumping into the pool, no bombing, no diving, no water fights but that’s to ensure that all the guests enjoy utmost quietness and peacefulness.

1[SUP]st[/SUP] impression: Jaw-dropping views:-

We were then shown the living room where one could just relax, watch television or a DVD, read a magazine or a novel and just purely relax but I was thinking …. Why would anyone want to be indoors when you have sensational views just steps away?

Living + Relaxation Room:-

Finally we were taken to our room, the superior apartment. A quick look revealed an oversized studio with a kitchenette, the room was much larger and had more space than one required. The white walls helped with space sense, decorated with Greek landscape artwork, a comfortable queen bed as expected, dining setting and a lounge made this apartment more than adequate. The glass doors lead to the outdoor balcony that was overlooking the gorgeous pool that was on the same level. During our check in process and tour of the property, our luggage had been brought up to the room and was awaiting us. Perfect.

Room photos:-

Outside our apartment:-

 

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Irina now appeared and took over Despina and continued with the quick presentation, and had finer details about the hotel. She asked if we needed to hire a car. Had any questions about transportation, things to do, where to eat. She was like our personal concierge. To add to the many questions that we had, we had been given a document at check in that gave many suggestions on what to do on the island, how to get around and where to eat. On top of that, another letter was awaiting us in the room – this was called a special letter – where more bonus and complimentary benefits were provided during the stay like complimentary breakfast, afternoon relaxation hour with drinks, pre-sunset drinks, access to the hotel’s romantic hot tub, and more. I’ll explain these a bit later.

Irina then left us to our own time and we went straight to our balcony to enjoy the view. Moments later one of the hotel attendants brought down some complimentary ice cream dessert so we could enjoy it on our patio table.

Next, we got changed and hit the pool. We find some deck chairs and quickly made ourselves comfortable for the rest of the afternoon – awaiting our very first Greek Island sunset. Another attendant notices us settling in and brings down some ice cold water and serves it by our chairs.

Ordered a club sandwich, with complimentary home-made white wine:-

Refreshing strawberry smoothie, served poolside and complimentary:-

Afternoon Relaxation Hour, complimentary coffee frappe with desserts:-

 

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With an amazing view like this, nothing but blue skies and myself cooling down in the infinity pool. This has to be the best place on Earth:-

And then the world’s best sunset to close off the magical day:-

Complimentary house-wine and hors d’oevres served at sunset:-

When we went out for dinner, turndown service was completed and small surprises were often awaiting us on our return.

 

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Having read great things about nearby Amoudi Bay and the handful of quaint seaside restaurants that lined the bay, Irina made a reservation at Dimitri’s Amoudi Bay Taverna for one evening just before sunset. Seafood, wine, water at your feet, sunset in the distance. This is perfect.

Feet shot, running shoes required due to walking down steep steps at Oia:-

 

[Alanslegal]

The following morning, we would awake to our complimentary breakfast arriving at our designated time. Breakfast could be taken either by the pool deck, on our own balcony or served inside our room at our dining table. We opted to have it on our balcony just so that we could slide from the bedroom, straight to the food and enjoy the view once more.

It was really a simple selection of food, which was slightly changed daily, here’s some sample photos of our breakfasts:-

Our drawn on eggs, wishing us a Good Morning:-

The food could have included a bit more cooked options such as hams or sausages but it was still plenty for both of us. I guess I could have also been biased because the last five weeks I have eaten at so many different breakfast buffets and those spreads were of very good quality.

 

[Alanslegal]

Each of the guests had an allocated time slot to enjoy the private outdoor hot tub. It was elevated above the pool area so that we enjoyed the utmost privacy whilst enjoying some quality time. The private area had lounge chairs and chaises to relax on, flowing draping curtains created a sense of romance.

To be honest, we did a lot of nothing, absolute nothing. Laying on our pool chairs, dipping in the water, reading our novels, magazines, listening to our iPods and just soaking up the immense tranquillity that this place offered.

 

[Alanslegal]

Service levels were amazing, absolutely attentive staff that were always around topping up our iced water, serving complimentary smoothies, frappes, and offering sweets. The pool boys dressed in pure white outfits were constantly attending to the guests or at least maintaining the property. Cleaning, mopping, or tidying up to ensure the grounds were spotless. I believe there at least 5 staff members on site to a ratio of 10 guestrooms (say 20 people).

For those who need to venture out, the Anastasis was approximately a 45 minute walk along the rim of the caldera to the biggest town Fira. Our 45 minute walk easily extended into two hours as we stopped every few moments to soak up the scenery or take photos. You end up walking through little paths through the white painted residences, aqua blue roofs, and peering through other properties, seeing the views that they also enjoyed. After all, those densely packed houses are also what made Santorini famous for and just exploring in and around them was loads of fun.

Some candid Santorini snaps:-

This is me, being all excited:-

As our stay came to an end, we were extremely saddened to leave. You know they always say good things come to an end; well this was really one of those good things. Our host and owner Despina, her assistant Irina and the pool boys came out to wish us a warm farewell. This was a nice touch. We promised to return soon and Despina suggested I shouldn’t come back before three years but no later than six years. I thought about this, and yes, she is right! I will be back in July 2014, exactly three years later, after attending the craziness of the 2014 World Cup Football in Brazil. I have both pencilled in and I can’t wait.


**![Thanks for reading and sorry for the large photo sizes]!**

 

[lmere12]

Wow, great to read and see your pics. Was debating on Santorini next year or the U.S. - me now thinks Santorini for sure...!! Now to send this link to my travel companion tks

 

[kamchatsky]

I almost go to Santorini at end of September this year but decided not to travel ..... I just have to wait!

 

[vetrade]

I'd already booked a stay at Anastasis Apartments for later this year when a bit of research uncovered your post. Your report and pics confirmed everything else I had read about this place but I'm hoping you can clarify one comment you made..... We had intended to fly to Santorini but had resigned ourselves to a quite lengthy ferry trip because I had read on Tripadvisor that the max luggage you could take on the flights to the islands is 12kg pp. Your report mentioned that you flew there with 2 large cases plus hand luggage. Can you clarify if your luggage was under the 12kg limit or is the TA info wrong or if it was just a matter of paying excess baggage fees?
Thanks

 

[Alanslegal]

hi vetrade, I am glad you booked this boutique hotel, it's fantastic.

With respect to luggage, we flew from Athens to Santorini round trip with Aegean Airlines and they fly A320's iirc. We had 2 large suitcases ~22-24kgs and checking that in was no issue and I think the first checked bag is free anyway. Do double check though as it's been ages since that trip (July 2011). I am very keen to go back to the Greek islands, it's amazing.

 

[vetrade]

Thanks alanslegal - good to get info from someone with 1st hand experience.

 

[shearsense]

I can confirm from late last year that they still fly A320s in - with the associated large luggage allowance. Tiny airport compared to the size of metal parked there, but incredibly charming.

I'd already booked a stay at Anastasis Apartments for later this year when a bit of research uncovered your post. Your report and pics confirmed everything else I had read about this place but I'm hoping you can clarify one comment you made..... We had intended to fly to Santorini but had resigned ourselves to a quite lengthy ferry trip because I had read on Tripadvisor that the max luggage you could take on the flights to the islands is 12kg pp. Your report mentioned that you flew there with 2 large cases plus hand luggage. Can you clarify if your luggage was under the 12kg limit or is the TA info wrong or if it was just a matter of paying excess baggage fees?
Thanks