Amber and Abe from the USA in TripAdvisor
We were married at the Heliotopos in 2007 and were offered a free vow renewal if we returned to Santorini for our 5th anniversary.
We arrived at the hotel around 10 am after around 30 hours of travel. (We had a 15 hour layover in London and did some sightseeing) Our suite wasn’t ready so early, so they gave us a different room to take a nap and had our room ready for us when we woke up.
We rented a scooter, which I highly recommend if you want to visit the beaches, ruins and wineries the island has to offer. One of the greatest memories of my life is riding on the back of a scooter with my new husband, on a cliff overlooking the caldera. Breathtaking.
Our wedding was lovely, and Lila took care to make sure everything was perfect. It was so nice to tell her a few preferences and have her create such an amazing event. Everything was just as I’d pictured it.
Our wedding was rained out (something Lila told us had never happened before) so we postponed until the next evening and the hotel arranged for us to have dinner in a local tavern in the hills. The owners there were great and fed us a four course dinner with wine on the hotel. Before this dinner, Lila took us to a winery on her own time to show us around and help us order a case to be shipped home.
The views all over Santorini are some of the most amazing in the world, but the Heliotopos really went above and beyond to make sure we were happy with our entire experience. They even delivered a breakfast tray to our room the night before our very early morning flight home so that we wouldn’t be hungry during our travels.
Their breakfast was typical European continental. Cheese, meats, breads and spreads, cereals and yogurt. Some fresh squeezed orange juice, made from oranges that had just come in from Crete, and coffee. I found the Greek coffee to be a bit grainy and stuck with latte.
One thing to consider when traveling to Santorini is the buildings are made from cinder block. This means they are not water tight. If you find yourself caught in rain, expect to have some wet floors in your hotel room. We had some trouble with water, but the staff was quick to rush in to clean and look for a solution.
I hope to spend several anniversaries at Hotel Heliotopos!