Thursday, November 9, 2023

Kivotos Santorini

Privacy, peace, and near-perfect service are on the menu at this chic property with two good-sized pools and a restaurant serving inventive Greek cuisine. It teeters above the caldera at Imerovigli, the island’s highest point, so sunset views are spectacular – get a room with a terrace to enjoy them.

 The situation – on a small path off the main Oia-Fira Road and overlooking Skaros rock – is spectacular even for Santorini (it’s so high up that the gulls fly beneath you). Unlike many caldera properties, there’s parking close by and there are relatively few steps linking restaurants and rooms. A caldera-edge hiking path leads to the tavernas and famous sunset viewing points at Oia, five miles away. Buses from near the hotel go to the island capital Fira, less than two miles away. From there you can travel on to most places, including Akrotiri the 3,600-year-old city dubbed the 'Pompeii of the Aegean', seven miles away.

Jutting out above the caldera and with views of Nea Kameni and Oia, this property merits its name (‘kivotos’ means ‘ark’). It’s built from the smoldering local black volcanic stone and hunks of volcanic rock are incorporated into pools and public areas giving an organic, grounded feel – as though it grew out of the surrounding landscapes. Unlike many caldera properties, there are also plenty of shrubs and plants (lavender; rosemary; low-growing olive trees) to sweeten the air and soften that (sometimes rather stark) black stone.

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