We grabbed a a quick week in Oia at the end of July/early August and it was a delight.

The island itself is very picturesque and Oia in particular...also Imerovigli nearby.

We stayed at Casa Francesca and despite a 7 hour outbound delay and arriving at 11pm instead of lunchtime, we still arrived to find the very helpful and charming staff still there to greet us, let us into our accommodation and show us a couple of places we might grab a quick bite in Oia. The manageress, Andrea, then came back as agreed the following morning to take us through what we might like to do on the island...not in any attempt to sell us tours, but because of her obvious passion for the island. 10/10 plus for the staff ...very charming.

Beyond that the room was cleaned daily with fresh towels pretty much daily, usually arranged into a series of towel sculptures on the bed, including two swans forming a love heart - sweet.. For reasonably priced accommodation in this typically premium priced resort, the welcome and service was exceptional.

The rooms also were very nice ...modestly furnished but charming...and with sea views over farmlands, rather than the caldera, a good sunny balcony with sun loungers, and with the caldera views an mere 100 meters away from the main avenue through the town

We swam and ate a lot in the Amoudi Bay area, which is below the town (250 steps!). Swimming is off the rocks and it pays to get their early to bag one of the more comfortable spots, but then the snorkeling is great and there is an island to swim to/ around with a tiny church on it. lovely...but not for you if you want sandy beaches. We didn't.

The seafood at the tavernas there was excellent - try the seafood spaghetti or the grilled prawns at the last taverna from the base of the town steps walking towards the little island. Memorable, though they are all good. Trevor McDonald was also there one lunchtime filming a travelogue on the island. This little area has a reputation for great seafood, though the food throughout Oia was generally very good.

So all in all we had a really lovely holiday which reminded us just how relaxing a holiday in Greece is.

You can see some of my shots of the island at http://www.pbase.com/paulwin/santorini_2010


Our thanks again to Casa Francesca, Andrea and the other staff whose names I'm afraid to say I've forgotten, In short this accommodation makes Oia affordable and is of a good standard, and enhanced by lovely staff.

Incidentally Andrea said her favourite months in Oia were May and September/October - less busy from day trippers coming to see this picturesque town and still pleasantly warm.

We got the apartment for 3 people facing the water. There was plenty of space (a bedroom with a queen bed and a single bed above on the loft) and the kitchen came fully supplied if you want to cook. The building is pretty much right on the beach so it isn't the cleanest place in the world but it is clean enough. The room also came with an AC unit which was nice.

The location is a bit off from the city so you will need to rent a scooter to get around (I actually thought this made the stay more enjoyable being able to get around on your own whenever you want without needing to take the bus all the time). You can also rent small ATVs if you have luggage you need to carry around. There is a rental shop just down the road from where the bus drops you off. All you see from this location is the beach and the water, you are not going to get a view of the city if that is what you are looking for. I found it relaxing to be right by the water and the city was only a few minutes away with a scooter so this wasn't a problem for me.

The one thing that did concern me a little when I arrived is that booking this hotel through sites like Expedia doesn't actually transfer the money over (even though Expedia's receipt says that the payment has already been made). You need to pay once you get there, so be ready for this. I ended up finding out that this is common at a lot of smaller hotels in Europe as I went along on my trip.

Santorini was one of my favorite places during the month I spent in Europe. I would definitely recommend this hotel if you are just looking for a quiet, comfortable, decently priced room and don't mind renting a scooter to get back to town. If you don't want to deal with getting a scooter, I would recommend getting a room in one of the cities. They have buses that run between all the cities on the island for a few Euros per trip.

Dear Readers

Last month we were for one week, at Santorini Isand, we stayed in Oia in the Musses Studio. Unfortunately the Musses are located to the backward side of Oia. So, there is no view to the lovely city of Oia, as you always can see on the famous fotos.
Of course, the price is very low and cheap, but as mentioned above, you can't expect too much for this price. The studios were not very clean enough. We had every day problems with the electricity. Each day, it happened, that we had for several hours no electricity in our room. The issue is, that they had bad conection to the electricity main power station.
Yannis was very helpful and friendly. He explained us, what we can explore on the Island.

Casa Francesca is located in the heart of Oia, is a great value due to the location, a block away the other hotels are double or triple in price, however be aware there are no one at the hotel site, the “reception” office is located several blocks away and they also handle a lot of other little “boutique hotels” in the area, having said that there is a lot of confusion, please have all your documentation with you, our reservation was for 6 days and after the 4th day they wanted us out, even so we have receipts showing that we have paid 6 nights and all of the emails and fax confirmations.
There are few small markets and great bakeries around, the bus stop is 2 blocks away, the area is quiet and has a great view of the other side of the island.
Overall our experience was good.