Canaves Oia Suites
Cycladic siren
Sunset strip
Canaves Oia Suites bears more than a passing resemblance to its scenic sister, Canaves Oia Hotel: both are pearl-white, knee-weakeningly lovely and graced with incredible Oia views. The Suites are a neck ahead when it comes to pampering, thanks to their spoiling spa, pool-toting sleeping quarters (pick from dinky plunge pools to private infinity pools) and ambitious restaurant, which champions the vibrant produce of the Aegean (and serves up accomplished cocktails). We love this vertiginous caldera-side hotel from dawn till dusk, but it’s particularly eye-pleasing, come sunset.
Facilities
Rooms
44 suites, plus two villas.
Checkout
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm (you can use the hotel’s communal areas if you arrive a bit sooner).
More Details
Rates include a magnificent champagne breakfast (served à la carte), including cold cuts, cheeses, cereals, eggs, bacon, fruit, local jams and Greek options (one word: pancakes). A city tax of €4 a person, each night will be charged at check-out.
Also
Canaves Oia Suites boasts the island’s only lift, making its cliffside rooms more easily accessible to guests with reduced mobility, although they’ll still need to navigate a few steps from the main levels to the suites.
Hotel Closed
Santorini is an island designed for summer loving: like many of its neighbours, Canaves Oia Suites closes for winter in November and reopens on 1 April.
Fitness Center
Free Internet Access
Laundry
Pool
On-Site Restaurant
Room Service
Spa
At the Hotel
Spa with sauna and treatment rooms; mini gym; pilates room. In rooms: Nespresso coffee-maker, minibar, TV, WiFi, bespoke bath products.
Our Favourite Rooms
These suites are spacious and airy, with marble floors, big bathrooms and their own sea-facing terrace and hot tub (or pool). Waterbabies will love the River Pool Suite for obvious reasons; if it’s views you’re after, Junior Suite 24 has a quiet terrace that surveys the caldera; just above it, the Honeymoon Suite has a (very) private terrace and sea views that you can enjoy from bed. With its square plunge pool hovering above the Aegean waters below, the Infinity Pool Suite is made for self-satisfied selfies.
Poolside
Spy on the sea from Canaves Oia Suites’ little pool, positioned handily by the bar.
Spa
Be lathered and slathered with fragrant Elemis unguents in the whisper-quiet Canaves Spa, set in a 17th-century cave and equipped with a fleet of celestial masseuses. The spa’s two treatment rooms overlook the caldera; however, if you've booked one of the superlative massages, spa rituals or facials, you'll likely be oblivious. Guests can also request treatments with a sea breeze in the spa’s outdoor area, or be pampered in-room. The signature treatment for two includes a head-to-toe essential-oil massage, finished off with a bottle of champagne and fresh strawberries.
Packing Tips
Bring shoes fit for climbing around a caldera; vivid shots of colour to sing against all that white. Save space in your suitcase for the highly gluggable local wine and olive oil.
Also
If tackling Santorini’s vertiginous steps isn’t exercise enough, Canaves Suites has a small but fully equipped gym with exercise bikes, weights, multi-disciplinary machines, treadmills and elliptical trainers. Try a private or semi-private yoga session.
Children
Over-13s only, but this hotel is a very grown-up affair.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
Proposal-scenes don’t get much better than the Panorama Balcony and its single table for two; there’s also the candlelit White Cave, a snug private dining area set in a grotto by the pool.
Dress Code
Greek god or goddess: free-flowing white linen; leather sandals; a generous application of Acqua di Parma body lotion, courtesy of the stash in your bathroom.
Hotel Restaurant
During the day, admire Santorini’s blue skies and seas while enjoying flavour-packed Mediterranean cuisine at the relaxed poolside restaurant; later on, romance levels rise caldera-high, thanks to Petra’s cluster of candlelit tables set out on a separate, sunset-spying terrace. Be sure to try the Aegean’s bountiful edible stars: succulent seafood, garlicky fava beans, fat capers, white aubergine and ruby-red cherry tomatoes – dressed with liberal splashes of local olive oil, naturally. Guests can also request a private dining experience in their suite, or eat at Canaves Oia Hotel’s Infinity, a short stroll away…
Hotel Bar
Cool down with fruity, mastika-splashed cocktails from the pool bar; Petra restaurant also serves some nifty libations, including the Volcanic Tiki, flavoured with house-made passionfruit syrup. Have a romantic, candlelit wine-tasting session (be sure to try one of the white wines made from assyrtiko grapes, one of the island’s most popular varieties) on the Panorama Balcony, which can only be used by one couple at a time. If you opt for the Panorama Balcony experience, you’ll also get a tour of the hotel’s basement wine cellar.
Last Orders
Dinner and drinks are served until around midnight. Canaves Oia’s loved-up clientele tend to sneak off to bed after that…
Room Service
Order items from Petra’s menu to your room between 11am and 11pm (an edited selection is available after that). Minibars are stocked with snacks, soft drinks and local booze.
Planes
Santorini’s Thira Airport (www.santoriniairport.com) is 15 kilometres from the hotel. Fly direct to the island from London Gatwick every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday during the summer with EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), or connect from Athens in 45 minutes with Aegean Airlines (www.aegeanair.com), Olympic Air (www.olympicair.com) or Athens Airways (www.athensairways.com). There are limited taxis on the island, so it’s best to organise transfers in advance. The hotel can arrange private transfers for up to four people for €110 each way. If there are more than four of you, the charge is €20 for each additional guest.
Trains
Sorry, trainspotters: sand, waves and trains don’t mix.
Automobiles
Thira is a 15-minute drive from Canaves Oia Suites; the airport and port are around half an hour away by car. Guests can park their cars at the private car park a short stroll away. If you decide to come with wheels, avoid driving near Oia in the hour or so before sunset, when the main road gets clogged with camera-toting tourists.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
The concierge can arrange a bounty of activities, including tasting sessions at local wineries, archaeological tours and market trips. Sign up for a catamaran cruise with Sunset Oia; you’ll explore Santorini’s bays, caldera coast and hot springs, with the chance to wade into volcanic mud, stop off at local beaches, cool off in the water and enjoy plenty of delicious food and drink on-board. Potter around Oia’s vertiginous tangle of streets, dodging selfie-stick-wielding honeymooners, and pick up trinkets and leather goods in the artisan boutiques. Hire quad bikes and dash around the island, spending a day at beachy, relaxed Kamari and enjoying the views from romantic Imerovigli. Spend a couple of hours in the hotel’s spa: try the Terra Sigillata Therapy, which involves being slathered in three mineral muds, or the Bali Paradise Therapy, featuring freshly-blended fruit extracts and herbs. Get an eye-widening history lesson from Akrotiri, one of the Aegean’s most impressive preserved Minoan Bronze Age settlements. Crossroad Antiques, housed in a former grocery store in Pyrgos, is a characterful antiques shop with an art gallery next door; browse its stash of island treasures and have a chat with Lefteris Zorzos, the friendly owner. Learn about Santorini’s maritime history at Oia Maritime Museum (+30 22860 71156), home to rare 17th-century figureheads, navigational instruments, ship models, watercolours of vessels, photographs, precious documents and more.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
