The Greek island of Santorini has made an exceptional name for itself as one of the most romantic destinations in the world. A maze of crisp, white buildings nestled into the island’s rocky cliffs, overlooking the bright blue Aegean Sea. It feels a world away…
But choosing the best place to stay in Santorini can feel impossible. There are infinite picturesque hotels, villas, luxury suites, rentable houses and apartments to choose from.
Ultimately, we chose to stay at a boutique hotel called Aperanto Suites and splurged on the honeymoon suite. Aperanto Suites is located in Oia, one of the most popular villages on the northern tip of Santorini. Oia is known for having some of the best sunset views on the island.
Aperanto Suites: Best Place to Stay in Santorini
When I booked a place with my boyfriend, I had a specific list of features I was looking for:
A private sun terrace facing the sunset
A heated private jacuzzi
Free continental breakfast delivered to our room (I like slow, easy mornings)
Within walking distance to a hotspot such as Fira or Oia
It’s a tall order, but my thinking was: if I’m getting a chance to visit this beautiful island, I want to do it right. I’m going to share everything about our experience staying at one of the dreamiest Santorini hotels.
Note: this post may contain affiliate links to which I may make a small commission at NO extra cost to you. I deeply value and appreciate your interest in my content.
Overall Thoughts on Aperanto Suites
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Aperanto Suites and would definitely stay again. The most standout features for me were the friendly and accommodating staff members, the sunset views from our honeymoon suite balcony, the calm and quiet atmosphere of the whole hotel and the wonderful free breakfast served right to our room every morning.
Keep in mind that Aperanto Suites is located about a 10-15 minute walk (0.6mi) from the center of Oia. This location is great if you want to escape the insane tourist crowds and feel more like you have the island to yourself. But if you plan on walking to and from the hotel, know that you’ll be walking along Oia Foinikia Road, which can get busy and there aren’t great sidewalks along the road outside of the hotel.
Click here to jump to my least favorite things about Aperanto Suites below to get an understanding of any less-than-perfect moments from my stay.
Pickup from the Santorini Ferry Port
We hadn’t even arrived on the island yet and Aperanto Suites impressed me. A day before our arrival, I received a Whatsapp message from their team asking if we wanted to coordinate transportation pickup.
Since we weren’t planning on renting a car and Uber seemed like an expensive choice for the 30+ minute drive, we decided to use Aperanto Suites’ transportation service. In the Whatsapp message they said that the fee would be $45 Euros, paid directly to our driver in cash. This was very convenient to know in advance.
I am so grateful to have had an experienced driver greet us at the ferry port with a sign. He immediately grabbed our luggage and whisked us away from the absolute chaos and confusion of everyone else trying to find their rides.
What’s more, the drive up from the ferry port to the main island area is mostly narrow, steep, winding switchbacks packed with cars. That would’ve been a little stressful to navigate on our own…
Arrival at Aperanto Suites
We arrived at the hotel, paid our driver, and a staff member immediately greeted us and directed us to check in. He also took our luggage which was great since there are lots of stairs to navigate down.
The hotel is a bit of a maze (like most buildings on the island) but I personally like this as it feels extra private and whimsical.
At check in, we selected our breakfast items and preferred delivery time for our included room service each morning. We took a tour of the property amenities which included a beautiful seasonal outdoor pool area overlooking the island and Aegean Sea:
If you decide to rent a car, Aperanto Suites offers free private parking in a small dirt lot right next to the entrance. You can schedule everything from an airport shuttle to private car hire right at the front desk. The staff are diligent at trying to accommodate any special requests. There’s also a bus station right outside the hotel entrance, making it easy to get into Oia.Â
Tour of Aperanto Honeymoon Suite
The honeymoon suite features a private terrace with two sun loungers, an outdoor table (where they leave breakfast each morning), and a private heated jacuzzi overlooking the island and sea.
Lots of natural light pours through the well-designed windows that can be closed with shutters, or left wide open.
The living room provides a seating area and more than enough space for two. In the lower right corner of the above image you can see the corner of a mini bar, which features a mini fridge, small sink, electric kettle, two complimentary glasses, and some tea and coffee packets.
This suite includes a flat screen TV with satellite channels and “smart TV” capabilities–we were able to connect our Netflix account to watch a movie one night. I failed to get a picture of our private bathroom, but I can assure you it was beautiful! Accompanied with quality free toiletries.
You’ll find bathrobes folded and placed on the large, comfortable bed. The window in the far left of the above image actually opens right up to the outdoor heated jacuzzi. Pass me my drink, honey!
Looking for Santorini wine tours?
Read my review of the best wine tours on the island. From all-day adventures with cooking classes to casual strolls through wine museums, book your visit today.
My Stay at Aperanto Suites
Every morning we ate breakfast on our private balcony. Breakfast items included anything from fresh-squeezed orange juice, coffee, fresh fruit, greek yogurt with honey, a Greek or American omelette, chocolate croissant, among other goodies…
I envisioned sipping wine from our heated jacuzzi with my boyfriend as the sun went down. But the reality is that the photo below was snapped from our private balcony on the only evening that we actually made it back to our room in time to see the sunset! Absolutely worth it–we also caught amazing sunsets from other areas around Oia.
Conveniently located right next door to Aperanto Suites is the Finikia restaurant. It has lots of indoor and outdoor seating with excellent ocean views. My boyfriend and I had dinner and apps here a couple of times when we didn’t feel like making the 15-minute walk into the center of Oia. The restaurant was never that busy and staff and food were excellent.
I think everyday we walked into town from Aperanto Suites. As mentioned, we caught most of our sunsets from the center of Oia (below). This specific view came from a restaurant called Thalami Bistro–some of the best sunset views in Oia. I definitely recommend making a reservation!
It probably goes without saying, but the Aperanto hotel rooms feature free wifi and extra beds upon request. They also offer laundry and dry cleaning services where one (modest) load of laundry is $15 Euros. We did one load of laundry during our stay and it was done within one day, folded and delivered to us.
When to Book for the Best Prices
To snag the best hotel prices while the weather is still warm, I recommend booking between May to early June, or mid to late September. Hotel prices on Santorini can literally double during high tourist season, which is roughly June through early September.
NOTE: Aperanto Suites is open seasonally from May through October. Along with the rest of the tourist-centric island locations, it shuts down in the colder months.
After factoring in taxes, fees, and the Euro to US dollar exchange rate, we paid $402/night for our Aperanto Suites honeymoon suite stay in early September. Divided by two people, that came out to $201/person/night. Quite frankly, that was worth every penny to me for my unforgettable Santorini experience.
Sister Hotels of Aperanto Suites
Has Aperanto Suites caught your eye? Check out some of its sister properties to compare locations, availability, prices and more to make sure you have the best match for your stay.
Located in Oia, Agnadi Villas offers excellent sunset and sea views from the privacy of your own balcony.Â
Anchor Suites is more apartment-style living with gorgeous views. Located 1.2 miles from Oia.
Mellow Luxury Caves is located right in Oia, also close to beaches and a museum. An excellent and unique stay with breathtaking views.
My Least Favorite Parts About My Stay
Even the dreamiest of stays will have its pitfalls, big or small. Thankfully none of the issues I noted below were dealbreakers for me, but I want to be as transparent as possible in this honest review.
- The coffee that comes with breakfast is served in a French press and I found it to be weak, acidic and flavorless. We ended up walking into town a couple of mornings to buy better coffee. This surprised me having just come from Athens where we were spoiled with rich, delicious coffee at our much less swanky hotel.
- Staff do their cleaning services throughout the morning hours. So every morning while we ate breakfast on our balcony, staff would constantly be coming up and down the stairs just a few feet away from us. While they are incredibly courteous and kind, it made things feel less private and detracted from our experience. I think this is mostly only an issue for the honeymoon suite though, due to its location right next to a staircase.
- The heated balcony hot tub was barely warm. I specifically chose Aperanto because it claimed to have one of the few actually heated “jacuzzi” pools (nearly all hotel plunge pools on the island aren’t heated). But unfortunately, I would still get goose bumps the couple times I tried to go in.
- The air conditioner would kick on throughout the night, making a sound that woke me up. I tried turning it way down so that it would stay on throughout the night, but no luck. It happened just a handful of nights.
Our Farewell from Aperanto Suites
After five magical nights at Aperanto Suites, it was time to head to the ferry port and depart on our 5-hour ferry trip back to Athens. Just like our arrival, I received a Whatsapp message from the front desk asking if we wanted to use their ferry shuttle, to which we said yes!
About a solid five minutes into our drive, I realized I had left all four of my brand new rings I bought in Oia on the table in our suite room. I was immediately heartbroken, thinking I’d just lost all of them. I told my boyfriend and he went up to the driver and calmly told him the situation.
Without hesitation, the driver stopped and somehow managed to turn the shuttle around on this narrow, winding road so we could go back for my rings. Hooray! The cleaning lady was already in our room when I ran back inside. She knew why I was there and promptly handed me the rings. I’m so grateful to their staff. 10/10 customer service.
So, is Aperanto Suites calling to you? There’s no such thing as booking too early when it comes to Santorini! It’s time to make your fairytale island trip a reality 😉
_______________________
Transparency note: please keep in mind that some links in my articles may be affiliate links, to which I may make a small commission at no extra to you, should you book travel or buy a product or service through one of these links. I only recommend products or services created by brands I know and trust.Â