Santorini Princess Presidential Suites Hotel in Akrotiri

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By Santorini Dave

Essentials
• Location: On the south of the island, on the main road heading into Akrotiri village.
• Hotel website: santorini-princess-suites.com/
• Hotel phone: +30 22860 85150
• Check prices for Santorini Princess

Private pool with a view out to the caldera at Santorini Princess.

Hotel Review

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – Lavish, family-friendly serviced villa collection with private pools that overlook the Akrotiri caldera and offer sweeping sunset and panoramic views of the island and volcanoes.
 
Santorini Princess offers four villas, each boasting 150 sqm of space, with their own heated outdoor jacuzzis and pools in private gardens with direct caldera views. Each villa features three bedrooms (all on different floors), three bathrooms with hydromassage showers, a private gym, and a dedicated parking space. Though the set-up is similar to that of a private villa, the suites are all serviced as a luxury hotel, with daily breakfast delivery, daily maid service, and a 24-hour staff. A 2018 renovation has added a full-service spa, community pool, kids’ pool, restaurant, and bar. With fifteen staff members attending to just four villas, expect impeccable and highly personalized attention in every aspect.

See Also

• The Best Hotels in Santorini
• Where to Stay in Santorini
• Best Tours & Things to Do in Santorini

 

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – Location

Located in an up-and-coming luxury development in Akrotiri, the hotel offers a tranquil sanctuary away from the crowds, yet easily accessible to Santorini’s best attractions, including the archaeological site, sunset views from the lighthouse, wine country, exceptional dining, beaches, and much more. A car is recommended for staying in this area as this is such a new development and there are not many restaurants or attractions within short walking distance.

• How to Get There:
The hotel is located on the main road heading into Akrotiri, making it easy to travel to and from, whether by taxi or driving yourself, or riding the bus. It is approximately 7km from the Athinios ferry port and 10km from the Santorini Airport to the hotel.

There are always buses waiting at the ferry port for every ferry arrival, as well as buses departing hourly from Santorini Airport, but although the bus is easy enough to navigate, it is not the best choice for arriving at Santorini Princess. There are no direct buses from the port or airport to Akrotiri; buses from both locations go to Fira, where you must then board a different bus to Akrotiri village – the entire trip from the port or airport to Akrotiri will take at least an hour (and up to 2) and cost about €5 in total. Tickets are purchased on the bus, in cash only. The bus stop for Akrotiri village is an 18-minute walk to the hotel along a mostly flat route.

Taxis are also available from the port or airport, though there are only about 25 taxis serving the whole island, so there is often a wait; schedule a ride through a private car service in advance to avoid this (I use and recommend Welcome Pickups). Taxis on Santorini are not metered, so be sure to agree on a price with the driver before setting out. A taxi from the airport or ferry port to Santorini Princess Presidential Suites will cost roughly €35. Booking through a private car service will cost only a bit more – about $45 (or €37), but is worth it to avoid the wait and for the convenience of paying ahead.

For those who prefer to drive themselves, we recommend renting a car either at the airport on arrival, or in Fira. The road from the ferry port is steep and narrow, with many tricky switchbacks, large trucks, and buses. Leave that for the locals to navigate. We strongly recommend reserving a vehicle in advance, especially if you require automatic transmission. Upon arrival at the property, each villa includes a designated parking space (a major perk).

• Handy to: Prehistoric Town of Akrotiri, Caldera Beach, and the Akrotiri Lighthouse.

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – The Basics

• Ages: A family-friendly property, Santorini Princess is open to guests of all ages.
• Beach: The hotel is close to several of Santorini’s best beaches. Caldera Beach, the only beach in the caldera, is only an 18-minute walk away; this is a quiet beach with a narrow strip of sand, served by 1 dive shop and 1 restaurant (no umbrella rentals here). Vlychada Beach, 8 minutes away by car, is the closest organized beach, a casual spot with affordable umbrella and sunbed rentals, wind-sculpted cliffs, and the old tomato cannery as a backdrop. Agios Georgios Beach at the south end of Perivolos is also 8 minutes away; this is a more upscale beach area serviced by the luxury beach club Sea Side. All of these beaches have black pebbly sand. The only white sand beach and the picturesque red sand beach are also nearby, though they are best visited by boat. White Beach is accessible via a hiking trail, while Red Beach is sometimes open by footpath but often closed due to falling rock. Check with the hotel before heading out to Red Beach.
• View: All villas have panoramic island and sunset views from the caldera’s edge. Staying in Santorini Princess at Akrotiri offers a unique vantage point for caldera sunsets that many travelers never get to see.
• Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Each villa includes a private, heated, outdoor jacuzzi and a private, heated pool.
• Parking: Each villa has its own designated parking space at its entrance.
• Extras: Helipad, 24-hour reception, private fine dining, kids’ pool, small weddings.
• When to Book: The hotel is open from late March until the end of October. This is a small but very popular hotel. Reserve at least 4 months in advance (6 months is better) for travel during the high season from June through September. Reserve at least 3 months in advance for stays during low or shoulder season.
• How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
• Phone: +30 22860 85150, +30 22860 85151
• Email: info@santorini-princess.com
• Website: santorini-princess-suites.com/

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – Amenities

• Pool: Each villa includes its own private, heated pool and jacuzzi. In addition, there is a kids’ pool and a community pool served all day by the restaurant and bar.
• Spa: The hotel offers a full-service spa and wellness center.
• Fitness Center: Each suite includes its own private gym.
• For Disabled Guests: Each villa is a 5-floor unit with all bedrooms on the top 3 floors and accessible by stairs only. Not suitable for guests with any kind of mobility issues.
• For Families: A family-friendly hotel, Santorini Princess accommodates guests of all ages. Each villa sleeps up to 6 guests and includes 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Family amenities include a kids’ pool.
• Activities: The staff is happy to arrange any excursions or tours, especially to the Akrotiri ruins, to wine country, on a caldera cruise, or luxury car tours. The helipad makes island hopping easy for a shopping and dining day trip to Mykonos.

 

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – Food and Drink

• Restaurant: The poolside bar and restaurant is a brand new addition to the hotel, using high-quality, local ingredients and serving gourmet versions of Greek and Mediterranean favorites. The wine menu is small but carefully selected to highlight the best varieties of Santorini. Great cocktails too. The restaurant is open daily for lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks.
• Breakfast: Complimentary a la carte breakfast is served to each villa every morning at the time of your choosing between 8 and 11 am.
• Room Service: Available all day during restaurant hours (and a little beyond). One of the hotel’s specialties is private fine dining served restaurant-style in the villa or on their private terraces overlooking the caldera.

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – Rooms

• Room Types: 3-Bedroom Villa with Private Pool
• Smoking Rooms: Santorini Princess does not allow smoking in any of their rooms. Smoking is allowed on the private terraces and in the outdoor common areas.
• Best Room: All 4 villas are exactly the same: standalone buildings featuring 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms with hydromassage showers, private gyms, designated parking, and private outdoor pools and jacuzzis overlooking the caldera.
• For Families: Though all units are exactly the same in layout and space, families may prefer Villa A or D, since they are at either end of the property, and thus afford a little more privacy.

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – Local Transport

• Walking: The hotel is located in Akrotiri, just outside the village in a new luxury development area. This hotel is off the beaten tourist track (for now) offering a tranquil retreat. As such, there is not much to walk to within the immediate vicinity of the hotel. The closest good restaurant is a 7-minute walk away, and the closest beach is an 18-minute walk away. It’s best to rent a car when staying here.
• Bus: The bus stop for Akrotiri village is on the main road leading into the village, about 18 minutes’ walk along a mostly flat route. Buses here are all head to Fira, where you’ll need to get out and change buses to reach Oia or the other villages. An exception is the stop along the way in Megalochori where you can get out to explore the traditional village and vineyards, or you can connect to a second bus to reach Perissa and Perivolos Beaches. All other destinations require a change in Fira. The entire trip to the port or the airport can take an hour or more by bus. Tickets are bought on board and range from €1.80 to €2.50 per person in the daytime, depending on the route. Night buses (12:30 am to 5 am) run less frequently and cost a little more, from €2.30 to €3.10. There are only 23 buses serving the island, so the buses can get crowded, especially during the high season, so much so that they often fill to capacity and are unable to take on more passengers. If your time is limited, it is best to call a taxi or rent a car.
• Taxis: There is no official taxi stand in Akrotiri so it’s best to have the hotel call a taxi for you as needed. There are only 25 taxis serving the island, so book ahead when possible to avoid a wait, and have them meet you directly at the hotel. There will be a small surcharge for advance reservations and for carrying luggage, usually just a couple of Euros. The average rate from Santorini Princess to the airport or ferry port ferry port is roughly €25 to €30.
• Scooters/Motorcycles: Scooters are the main mode of transportation for the locals, but if you’re unfamiliar with the terrain, it can be very dangerous. The roads here are zigzagging, hilly, narrow, and have sheer drop-offs with no guardrails and no street lights in most areas. Lots of dirt roads and potholes.
• ATVs/Quads: ATVs are a fun and popular mode of transportation with tourists, but for the locals stuck driving behind them, they move too slowly and hold up traffic in an area where getting around is already a hassle. For those who don’t ride quads regularly (i.e. most people), they can be dangerous at high speeds and on turns. Crashing your ATV is a sure-fire way to ruin your vacation.

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – What’s Nearby?

Best Nearby Restaurants

• Zafora Akrotiri Restaurant: Wonderful traditional taverna in the village serving Santorinian and Greek favorites.
• Cave of Nikolas Restaurant: Beautiful seafront restaurant offering fresh-caught fish and farm-fresh meats and veggies.
• Sea Side Santorini: Sea Side is 2 restaurants in 1: a fine-dining seafood and sushi restaurant in one half and an upscale beach club in the other, located at Agios Georgios Beach (aka the south end of Perivolos).

Best Nearby Bars and Breweries

• Boutari Winery: Beautiful winery and vineyards offering vineyard and winemaking tours (reserve ahead) or simple drop-in wine tastings paired with local delicacies.
• Gavalas Wines: Family-run winery with fantastic varieties at affordable prices. Try a 3-wine flight for €7.50 or 5 for €12; tastings include a quick tour of the winery, though the vineyard is in a different location.
• Hatzidakis Winery: One of the most influential winemakers in Santorini, Hatzidakis is located near Pyrgos village and offers tours and tastings by appointment.

Best Nearby Cafes

• Rigel Café Bistro: Fantastic stop for sweet and savory waffles and crepes all day long, plus fantastic coffee, cocktails, ice cream, and sunset views from the terrace. Or take one of their sunset boxes to go, and enjoy it at the lighthouse (it’s on the way).

Nearby Shopping and Cool Shops

• Shades of Blue Art Gallery: Great little art studio and gallery offering handmade paintings of Santorinian villages and landscapes.

Nearby Attractions

• St. Epifanios Church: Dating back to 1673, St. Epifanios is the most easily recognizable landmark in the village. There is not a lot of activity here, but it’s a good reference point to have when exploring the area.
• Venetian Castle: The medieval castle ruins sit on top of the hill above the main village. The castle itself is in bad shape with not a lot to see, but the views from the castle make it worth the climb.
• Prehistoric Town of Akrotiri: The main attraction in Akrotiri is the excavation of a Bronze Age Minoan settlement. Similar to Pompeii, the entire town was covered in volcanic ash thousands of years ago, which preserved the ruins.
• Akrotiri Lighthouse: The best sunset viewpoint in Akrotiri, the lighthouse offers an expansive view over the caldera with none of the crowds you’ll find in Oia village. Many people choose to hike along the caldera, but it’s even easier to drive and park.
• Wine Country: At the edge of the wine country with vineyards all around. Most tasting rooms are in nearby Megalochori village, a 5-minute drive away. Walking is not recommended though as the route is very busy with cars and there is no sidewalk.
• Caldera Beach: The only beach in the caldera and the closest to the hotel. Caldera Beach is fairly secluded with just 1 restaurant, a dive shop, and a small parking area.
• Agios Georgios Beach: At the south end of Perivolos, this is the finest black sand beach on the island with great restaurants and beach clubs all along the strip.
• Vlychada Beach: For a more secluded beach than Agios Georgios with more sand and services than Caldera Beach, Vlychada Beach is another fantastic choice.
• Red Beach: An unusual, strikingly beautiful beach known for its red sand and towering red cliffs. The trail to the beach is usually closed now due to falling rocks, so the beach is normally empty. 10-minute drive plus a downhill hike if you choose to try your luck on the trail, but most people visit by boat from Vlychada Beach.
• White Beach: Named for its stunning white cliffs and pebbles, though the sand is the same volcanic gray as Vlychada. This is a quiet beach since it’s hard to get to, but there are a few sunbeds to rent. 15-minute drive plus a difficult hike down. Most people visit by boat from Vlychada, usually after visiting Red Beach.

Nearby Markets and Grocery Stores

• Anna’s Mini Market: Great little market with all the essentials: snacks, wine, beer, some groceries, sunscreen, and more. There is also an ATM right out front.
• Supermarket Arvanitis Bakery: This is the main store in the village, small but well-stocked with produce, groceries, wine, and best of all, their fresh sweet and savory pastries and breads.

Santorini Princess Presidential Suites – The Hotel

Santorini Princess is a collection of 4 stand-alone villas, each with their own designated parking space. This is the exterior view of one of the villas from its parking space.

The reception is staffed 24 hours a day with a capable, professional team able to assist with any requests.

The design and décor of the space use Cycladic minimalism along with high quality materials, a theme that is repeated in the suites.

Each massive villa is styled in a contemporary take on classic, local architecture featuring black lava rock walls, barrel vaulted roofs, boxy structure, and lots of white.

Each villa is well removed from its neighbor, surrounded by a green lawn, hedges, and a flowering garden.

All villas come with their own heated private swimming pool, an elevated heated jacuzzi, plenty of loungers, and an additional sunset view terrace overlooking the caldera on the right.

A closer look at the private pool.

The view from the pool. In this picture, the volcanoes are on the left, Skaros Rock and Imerovigli village are center-left, and in the center-right the several new luxury hotels that are being built. This is a hazy day though. Looking behind the volcanoes, Oia village is just barely visible as the little white buildings. On a clear day, they are easy to spot.

From the rooftop terrace, the whole outdoor setup is visible, including the little sunset terrace. From here, you can see the lighthouse in the distance on the left, tiny Aspronisi Island in the center-left, the volcanoes in the center-right foreground, and Thirassia in the center-right background. The sun sets between the lighthouse and Aspronisi.

Caldera view with a sailboat from the rooftop terrace and a better view of the old and new volcanoes.

A look at the rooftop terrace itself with Akrotiri village in the background. From this angle, you can just see the castle ruins on top of the hill and the lighthouse at the tip of the island.

Rotating just a smidge puts the vineyards and the Aegean Sea into view.

The villa opens up to a comfortable living room with a fireplace, minibar, and a coffee/tea set up.

Facing opposite is the TV. The glass doors on the left lead to the pool, while the door on the right leads to the reception and parking. The stairs lead up to the bedrooms, each on a different floor, and down to the suite’s private gym.

The first bedroom features a queen-sized bed with a sea-view window facing the sunset.

A closer look at the bed and minimalist furnishings.

The ensuite bathroom features luxury Amouage amenities and a shower with hydromassage jets.

The next floor up features an almost identical bedroom with a queen bed. The ensuite bathroom is on the right in this room, though.

The bathroom here is in a slightly different design but still with a jetted shower.

The top floor bedroom has another queen-sized bed but adds more noticeably Cycladic architectural elements.

Its bathroom is just slightly larger than the others and features another hydromassage shower.

Finally, going all the way down to the basement leads to the villa’s private gym. Each villa’s gym offers a treadmill, cable machine, free weights, and yoga mats. Check prices and availability: Santorini Princess