This was the view directly in front of our cave house in Oia.
I did a lot of research on accommodation for Santorini. I was willing to spend a little extra for a good cave house on this dreamy island but at the same time I didn’t want to go overboard. After going through lots of blog posts and reviews, I decided on the Residence Suites. It was definitely a winning cave house that made our Santorini trip as perfect as it was.
The most surprising part? We only spent 237€ for 3 nights for a two-bedroom Caldera view cave house! (Nb. we travelled in April 2014)
I fell in love with our cave house the moment I set foot in it. My photos don’t do it justice at all, but it was the tasteful choices of furniture, painting and decors that set a cozy and romantic scene for the cave. The room and the living area was super spacious and living in a cave was quite an experience.
The cave house itself couldn’t let in much light from the only door (there were no windows except in the bathroom), but because all of the walls were painted white, it didn’t feel very dark.
This was the master bedroom – spacious room, big Queen size bed, clean white sheets. There was also a safe and a full length standalone closet.
There were no doors for this master bedroom and also no doors for the second bedroom, so even though sharing accommodation would be ideal for travellers on a budget, it could be a bit tricky living with another couple..
This was the second bedroom, which took me by surprise because I booked the “1 Cave Suite with Caldera View” room via booking.com – we might have gotten an upgrade? Yay.
I find Booking.com a really handy tool that allows you to book rooms without commitment (their cancellation policy is quite flexible, usually allowing cancellation within 24-48 hours). This means you can secure the rooms that you like months in advance when you are still at the initial planning stage. And as your travel dates draw closer, you can then look into the “special offers” and finally lock the accommodation – the special offers are non-refundable but they are usually hundreds of dollars cheaper than their usual rates.
This was the entrance to our suite. The outside seating area has the stunning view of the Aegean Sea and a classic Santorini landscape (white houses and blue top). It was still too chilly in April so we didn’t get to use it much, but I can just imagine sitting here under the sun-umbrella in summer time, sipping Santorini white wine, and staring into the sapphire Aegean Sea.
There was even an external kitchen connected to our suite!
The essential cutlery, plates, cups were well stacked, and there was an electric stove, a sink and a mini-fridge. A kettle was also provided in the suite.
Their bathroom was built with the same cave-like material and style as the suite itself. The water was hot and consistent, and the bathroom was clean.
This is the communal jacuzzi for Residence Suites.
There were a lot of suites and accommodations in Santorini with a private jacuzzi option (mostly outdoor) as Santorini is one of the most sought-after honey moon destinations and a jacuzzi is a romantic must for honeymooners hehe..
The breakfast at Residence Suites was the best (free) breakfast that we had in Italy and Greece this time. Full continental with hot food! Hearty omelets, scrambled eggs were made right at the back of the buffet bar every morning.
Again, this was taken right in front of our cave house.
I spent a lot of time tossing between staying in Oia (pronounced “yee-ya”) or Fira. In the end I decided on Oia and it was definitely the right choice for us. In case you have the same dilemma, I loved these things about Oia:
- The best sunset in the world was just a 2min stroll away. We left all of our stuff in our cave house and walked there with only our cameras. The place got filled with people very quickly so it was worthwhile getting there early to get a sitting spot.
- There were not as many shops as Fira so the streets were quieter and felt more calming and peaceful with the view of the Caldera across the Aegean Sea.
On the flip-side, however:
- There were not a lot of restaurants in Oia and most of them on the main street looked more high-class and the prices were more on the expensive end. Fira offers a better variety of food (however, we rented a car so this wasn’t an issue for us, Fira was just an easy 15min drive away).
- Click ||here|| to see my Santorini post for more on the Oia sunset.
Happy snap!
Tips:
- The Residence Suites offered airport shuttle at 30€ for a car each way with maximum 4ppl per booking (or 35€ between 0:00am-5am). I reckon it was worth the money from the airport to Oia as the Oia Village does not have street names or numbers, and I could imagine it being a litte stressful trying to navigate through the stairs and small streets with your luggage. However, if you are renting a car, you should consider to arrange dropping your car at the airport like what we did – Click ||here|| to see how we rented a car in Santorini.
- However, if you do decide to find your own way to the suites, remember, the check-in point is at the Best Western reception area on the main shopping street in Oia.
- There was free wifi throughout the property, however, the reception inside the cave house itself was almost non-existence (but as soon as we stepped out from the door, it was full reception).
{Residence Suites} Official site: ||click here|| Booking.com listing: ||click here|| Address: Main Street, Oía, 84702, Greece
HER{curio}MAJESTY – I was here. April 2014.