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By Santorini Dave
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The recently refurbished Sophia Luxury Suites in Imerovigli is a wonderful cave hotel with indoor plunge pool.
What is a Santorini Cave Hotel?
Cave hotels are very popular in Santorini (and in Oia especially) and are pretty much what they sound like – rooms and suites that are built into the cliffside to form a cave. Many of the best hotels in Santorini are caves hotels in one way or another – though the definition is slippery. The typical cave room is decorated simply and sparsely, but when done right they’re close to magical. Another plus is that they stay cool inside even when it’s very hot outside in July and August. (And for locals they were warm in winter when it was cold outside.) Cave hotels often have a mix of cave suites and regular suites which can make it a little tricky to know what you’re getting.
Six of the best cave hotels on Santorini
All of these hotels are stunningly gorgeous and have incredible caldera views.
The cave rooms and suites built into the cliffside at Perivolas Hotel in Oia.
• Perivolas Hotel (Oia, +30 22860 71308) • Full Review
• Oia Castle Hotel (Oia, +30 22860 71831) • Full Review
• Charisma Suites (Oia, +30 22860 27310) • Full Review
• Iconic Santorini (Imerovigli, +30 22860 28950) • Full Review
• Tsitouras Collection (Firostefani, +30 22860 23747) • Full Review
• Sophia Luxury Suites (Imerovigli, +30 2286 021181) • Full Review
A private plunge pool at the Iconic Santorini Hotel with views of the caldera and volcano.
Santorini cave hotels that are a little cheaper
• Chroma Suites (Oia, +30 22860 71910)
• Delfini Villas (Oia, + 30 22860 71600)
• Kavalari Hotel (Fira, +30 2286 022455)Santorini Airbnb Cave House & Villas
I’m not a huge fan of Santorini Airbnbs. But if you need a Santorini cave house then Dream Blue (+30 21080 02307) is a privately owned home that sleeps 6, has a fully equipped kitchen, a hot tub, 2 bathrooms, and free wi-fi. It’s 600€ and up a night (depending on season and number of guests) but it’s an amazing house and worth it if you can afford it. The owner also rents a smaller house, My Blue, with traditional Santorini architecture. It sleeps up to 4 and is a little more affordable.
I'm Santorini Dave. I started this site in 2011 with a short article on tips for visiting Santorini with kids. We're now a small team of writers and researchers dedicated to providing the best travel content on the internet. We focus on 
I’d like to book a cave hotel in Imerovigli for September / October. I’d love to know which ones have fewer stairs and easier access. I’m in my 60s and I can easily walk up 20+ stairs – but I’m really not interested in 40-50 stairs and no elevators. The descriptions of all these places – (the Grace; Princess; San Antonio, Cocoon; Sophia; Iconic; Cave Tagoo; Astra; Dreams) all sound absolutely lovely. But I’d love to know which ones have fewer stairs than the others.
Do you have any insights you can share? Thanks.
My favorite hotels with the fewest stairs are the ones just outside of Imerovigli village, including Cavo Tagoo and Santorini Princess. San Antonio has a few more stairs than these two, but it’s still manageable.
Hello and thank you. We will be traveling to Santorini in August. Is there an easy way to book these cave hotels online or do you need to call them each? I cannot see rates for them yet. It could be too early. Thank you.
I think some of them are fully booked but no it’s definitely not too early. You need to enter dates to get their rates but as long as they’re not sold out most of them should show a price.
I plan on spending my anniversary in Santorini at the end of June. Right now, I have to choose between 2 hotels that are similarly priced. Either the Ikies Houses Collector House or the Iconic Santorini Caldera Suite. Is there a clear winner here? Does one have a much better view than the other? Are they both good in terms of location? One thing that sticks out is the Ikies House is a much larger room. I don’t plan on leaving the hotel for restaurants or bars/clubs if that makes a difference. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
A clear winner? No. Both are wonderful. Ikies is in a quieter location with little immediately around it (in terms of shops and restaurants). It’s at the far end of Oia and it’s about a 10/15 minute walk to the center of town. Iconic is in the heart of Imerovigli with many great restaurants within a 5-minute walk. Views are very different between the two but hard to say one is better than the other – just different. If quiet and privacy is what you’re after then go with Ikies.
We’re a family of 4 (kids ages 4 and 9) and are planning a visit for June. What hotel has a cave suite, a pool, and good views of the caldera? I have not been able to find a hotel with a view that allows kids.
The Villas at Aria Hotel are wonderful. I love the great views, huge suites, and access to the pool at the hotel (1 minute walk away).
Hi Dave,
I am looking for private cave pools for mid November for 2 people. Been looking at Booking.com and other sites and either the hotels seems to not open during those dates or not all days are available for booking. Do you think there is a way around this that I can still get to stay in a private cave pool suite? Do you have any advice?
Thanks in advance,
Kalel
Try Aspaki by Art Maisons in Oia or the villas at Aria Suites in Fira. I love both.
We’re a family of 4 (kids ages 8 and 14) and are planning a visit for next July. What hotel has a cave suite, a pool, and good views of the caldera? I have not been able to find a hotel with a view that allows kids. Thank you.
Kasimatis Studios in Imerovigli has a large cave suite with hot tub. There’s a huge hole in the ceiling (now covered with glass) that used to be used to drop grapes into the cave to crush them for wine (very cool). The pool here is a good size and the vibe is family-friendly (which is not the rule for Santorini). The cave suite is just back from the edge so you’re not cliffside but if you walk 20 feet and sit on the pool deck the views are wonderful.