Archival
8/10 Good
May 18, 2015
Wow Factor but there is a down side.
I wanted to stay in a cave house in Oia and researched every one that suited a couple. This was not my first choice, I chose another of Manos's properties but it was booked so don't hang about, they are very popular. I booked for seven nights just out of peak season, July is supposed to be the hottest and most popular. Upon arrival we were met and shown around and had a few tips about the area but we do like to explore on our own. Getting lost is part of the fun. The cave house is fabulous and made a great first impression. It lived up to my expectations in every way. Luckily the heat wave helped as the outdoor pool was fantastic. It's a nice private place and very quiet with spectacular views. I loved it.....for the first four days. I'm not saying I did not enjoy my stay but it is in a cave and is a little chilly and the bedding feels a bit damp until you climb in and warm it up. The bed is huge and so comfortable but feels a bit odd with the heavy duvet which is a funny damp heat bordering on clammy, I found my clothes were a damp too. The safe kept jamming so be aware of this. We had a flight booked to Athens and couldn't get the passports out and only caught the flight by the skin of our teeth. There was no instructions to get an outside line for out of office assistance and we ended up phoning an adjacent cave house at 7.00am. There is nowhere comfortable to sit if you have a spare hour or two in the day. We sat outside but when it got windy there were only long cushions to sit on with no back rest so you were leaning on the cave wall. We sat at the dining table a few times looking at our photos we had taken during the day, not very relaxing. I think four days here is enough. We love walking on our holidays but Oia has no pavements until you get to the marble walk which is about half an hour away and pretty hazardous with the traffic. We tried for one day then got a buggy which was great fun and we explored the North of the Island in it. We had already booked a Jeep for the last three days so we could explore the South. You need transport to experience the many fine eateries, you can't really have a good night out as you have to drive everywhere. We found Taxi drivers did not want to do short journeys. There's no beach in Oia but the sunset is phenominal, go early to get a space. I'm reviewing Santorini separately as it has no bearing on the accommodation. We checked out a night early and spent a night in budget accommodation.