Iliovasilema Suites

We stayed at Iliovasilema Suites for 5 nights in the middle of September, having booked a deal through Voyage Prive. I have always wanted to visit Santorini, however was not prepared to pay the extortionate pre-Covid prices (“budget” flight £600+ etc.) and there was the opportunity to do it at a more reasonable (I.e other Greek Island) prices. Our stay on the island was wonderful (no crowds, beautiful views) however I would not rush back to Iliovasilema. Positives: - The views are truly stunning, however it is worth noting that this is not specific to the hotel, but rather the location. - Rooms were clean and well maintained (based on our experience of 2 different rooms) - The Reception staff were very helpful in arranging a local car hire to be dropped off at the hotel. - Location is fab Negatives: - We had a bad experience on the first day with service due to being allocated the wrong room type. I appreciate that this is convoluted by the fact we did not book direct, however I did not expect to be made to feel like a liar/nuisance when I flagged the error with the hotel. We had specifically paid extra money to be upgraded from a double room to a Junior Suite because they were advertised as bigger, and most importantly as having PRIVATE rather than SEMI-PRIVATE balconies. When we were shown our first room (7) we had to access by walking across/through the balcony of another room, and then when we sat out on the balcony the was no divide between ours and the next door room - hard to enjoy the sunset in private when looking at the couple in the room next door less than 2m away trying to do the same. It was also clear that the room was not the 40m squared that was advertised on Voyage Prive. I actually measured the room and it came to just over 22m squared - the size of a double room specified in booking websites! When I raised this, firstly with the female morning/afternoon manger, and then the male afternoon/evening manager, they insisted that we had been given the right room. Confusingly, first I was told that there were no other rooms available (so I asked for a refund on the upgrade I paid) and then I was shown to a very dark room at the bottom of the hotel (think it was 3) which was bigger but smelt of damp/mould which we refused. It was only The next morning. when I asked for a refund on the upgrade and also put my complaint in writing to Voyage Prive, that miraculously another room became available. We were moved to room 19 which was lovely - a suite with a living area, bedroom and two balconies that were private. - Room Service was quite sporadic. Any food was served to rooms because of Covid 19 precautions, which was fine, however more often than not (especially with breakfast) it arrived at least 15 to 20 minutes late or early meaning we either had to jump out of bed and scramble around to get to the door, or were left waiting and had to call reception. Breakfast on our last day was ordered for 10am - it arrived at 9:38am. - The Pool. Whilst it was generally clean, the pool was disappointing as it is set quite far back from the hotel edge (definitely not infinity pool), sits right next to two other room balconies (so you feel a bit like you are intruding!) and also seemed to be underfilled so when you are in it, not only can you not see the view out across the Caldera, you actually only see the sides of the pool. This made it feel very claustrophobic. I appreciate that this is a personal preference, however given the lack of beaches nearby (25 minute dive minimum) this was a deal breaker for me and worth flagging to other potential holiday makers when deciding whether to stay here - General privacy. Privacy for me is very important for holiday (appreciate people have different levels of comfort) however based on our experience, the majority of the rooms/suites in the hotel are very exposed. I’d have been gutted to have paid even more money for a room with a pool/jacuzzi only to end up completely exposed to all other guests which seemed to be the case with at least 4 of these rooms. This is worth bearing in mind of privacy is important for your stay/experience. All in all, we had a nice visit (helped massively by the views) but I wouldn’t choose to stay at Iliovasilema Suites again, and wouldn’t recommend the Hotel to friends. I appreciate that we did get a bargain relative to some of the other hotel prices - however next time I’d happily pay more for better overall service and also a decent pool area. Unfortunately it felt a little like the hotel was used to other guests being so overwhelmed by the views, that it covered a number of flaws.

We had a lovely 2 night stay in the Iliovasilema Suites. Although we were only here for 2 nights we thought the hotel was really well located with a lovely sunset view. Rooms were clean and well furnished. We loved how bright the rooms were and air con was appreciated. We especially loved the morning breakfast which is served on your own little terrace area. Our room had a private pool which was pretty chilly but great fun. Room also included a fridge to store water in (it is also a mini bar).