ffI

We are planning a Spring break visit to Greece in March. I know it is a bit cold, but that is better than the crowds.

We are looking at 3 days Crete, 2 days Santorini and 3 days Athens.
Any suggestions on Hotels? I have Hilton, SPG and Marriott (less)
I have stayed at the Athens Hilton >10 yrs ago- Was close to the Acropolis then, unless either has moved farther away

sc flier

You won't be staying at SPG properties outside of the Athens area. SPG properties on Santorini and Crete are all closed for at least Nov - mid April. Same for Costa Navarino and Rhodes, I believe.

Your best options are probably to look into some private, locally owned places, and prices will probably be quite cheap. A lot of restaurants will be closed, but life goes on for the locals. I understand it can still be a good time to visit without all the other tourists.

In Athens, I think you'll hear lots of recommendations for SPG's Grand Bretagne! Check for C&P availability. Do they offer SPG50?

The Acropolis hasn't moved one bit since you were last there.

CNWO4LIFE

Seems like business as usual. The Mystique is asking $675 a night for a room. I know there are many wealthy people in this world, but I cannot imagine paying that per night, no matter how nice.

gpeso8

This is solid advice. I just did a similar trip in mid-march. I spent three days in Athens at the Arion on a C+P rate, the Grand Bretagne also had a C+P rate, but I needed to be near Glyfada. I really enjoyed my time at the Arion.

We rented a house on Crete for a week and accommodations were quite cheap compared to what they are in the summer season. Many restaurants were closed, but there were plenty of local places open. Enjoy!

sent

Guilty. We recently returned from our honeymoon in Greece in June. I was so overwhelmed from planning the wedding, I put my husband in charge of the honeymoon. My non-Flyer Talk husband just went online and booked rooms at rack rates. Good thing he did it on his own because had I seen the rates, I likely would not have booked such exorbitantly expensive properties and we would've missed out on a fantastic introduction to the Starwoods brand.

Our first stop was Vedema however we arrived a day late to due our flight being cancelled from the US. Vedema called us as soon as we didn't arrive and helped us rearrange transportation to get to Santorini over email. From the minute we landed, service was phenomenal. We had an Aegean Suite in room Delta. The suite was bigger than our apartment back home and due to jet lag, we were able to utilize the private outdoor jacuzzi both nights. We couldn't get a refund of the first night we missed, but they allowed us to spend the money on their property. With this obscene amount of Euros we 1) got massages - very good 2) ate and drank at the restaurant - loved the food, the live music and the cave ambiance, 3) ate and drank at the pool 4) ate and drank at the beach and still couldn't spend down all the Euros.

We utilized the shuttle to the beach and Fira multiple times. At this point my husband learned about Mystique. We were loving the service and our stay at Vedema so much, he decided immediately that we needed to cut our trip to Rhodes short by a day to return to Santorini and experience Mystique for just one night the following week. Since I had taken over this FT-inappropriate itinerary of his at this point, I was able to negotiate the rack rate down for the Spiritual Suite (their only available room for our date) by at least 200 Euros because I'm assuming this was such a last minute booking. I was also able to spend the remainder of my Vedema credit toward the Mystique room. I also signed up for SPG here because I figured all those Euros were going to convert to a huge amount of points when I got back home so this was a good time to join

After Vedema, Mykonos Blu felt like such a let down in terms of service although we had an awesome room, view, and beach access. It rained one night of our trip and the island was somewhat dead in terms of the party atmosphere so my husband was disappointed because he was really looking forward to Mykonos being the highlight of our trip.

Sheraton Rhodes looked and felt like any upscale chain hotel from the US. Nice pool, decent restaurant, access to the beach, bus stop right out front. We had a good time here too because the vibe of the island was so different. Santorini and Mykonos had honeymooners everywhere while at Rhodes it felt like we were the only honeymooners in between all the parents with young children and the senior citizen tour groups. Rhodes was also much more friendly to our wallets. Drinks at the Sheraton were literally half the cost than Vedema/Mystique.

We returned to Santorini and arrived at Mystique to find out we had been upgraded to one of their Villas (the one under the restaurant, I don't know the exact name) for our one night stay. At this point I had been an SPG member for a week so I don't know where the upgrade came from. Also since I had negotiated the rate earlier for a Spiritual Suite and had some Vedema credit leftover, it ended up being almost half off the rack rate for a Villa. As soon as my husband saw the room and the view, he wanted to stay a second night. They gave us the room for a second night at the same rate and we cut our trip to Athens short by a day to stay. Again, awesome service. The restaurant was ok, we liked the one at Vedema better. Some of the snack/lighter fare type of menu items were the same between the two hotels. Also since the breakfast was made to order at Mystique, we weren't too crazy about it but that's our personal preference. The view was great, we had fun by the pool, relaxed on our balcony and walked to town for the sunset.

When I asked why he had booked the Hilton Athens instead of the BG, he replied "Athens doesn't seem like anything special so the BG just seemed to expensive." Go figure.

Thanks to our stays at Vedema and Mystique, he has declared we will be staying nowhere else but at Starwoods properties from now on in Europe. I admit staying at those properties made it really feel like a honeymoon because I have never experienced those types of rooms, views or that level of service anywhere in the US. We are planning a trip to Amsterdam and if I don't book the Hotel Pulitzer, I can expect an earful during the trip. He is already planning to return to Mykonos and visit Crete next summer and the Blue Palace is on the list. I'll be running around at Starwood properties in the US for the rest of the year to get to SPG Gold so I can at least get some bonus points for the hotel bills he's going to run up next year!

spellbound2

So, as far as visiting Santorini, would you recommend staying at Vedema or Mystique? We are planning a trip next year and it seems like you liked both, but if we can only stay at one or have points enough for one, which would you choose? I'm not sure how many points we'd need for Mystique since it's a category 7 or if it's better to buy a room, but it sounds fabulous. Congratulations on your room upgrades!

sent

It depends on what you are looking for. Vedema is much more spacious than the hotels stacked on top of each other in Fira and Oia. It felt like walking through a little village navigating around the hotel. Mystique is one of those stacked hotels in Oia, but it does have the caldera view from your balcony, the pool, and restaurant that Vedema does not. Thanks to the chance upgrade, we experienced the Villa at Mystique which was much, much smaller than the Aegean Suite at Vedema. My husband booked Vedema by mistake. For some reason at the time of booking, he didn't realize there were 2 Starwood properties in Santorini - one without and one with a caldera view even though I showed him Vedema on a map and pointed out it was nowhere near the water. It turned out to be a good mistake because Vedema felt much more relaxing due to all the space around us but since the view was so important to my husband, we returned to stay at Mystique as well.

If I had to pick one for the hotel experience, I'd pick Vedema due to the space. But if you're going to Santorini just once to take in the famous caldera view that everyone talks about, then go with Mystique.

TimWong

I consider to stay at the Blue Palace or in the Astir Complex for a week. Is it possible to walk along the beach or is there a public promenade close by the sea (= no road with car traffic)?

rgamay

We are going for 5 days and trying to decide between Blue Palace in Crete and Vedema in Santorini. Has anybody stayed at both and have any thoughts?

WEEBOBBY

Hello

landing in Athens 9 pm on Saturday 31st August
departing Athens 10pm on Saturday 7th September.

Can anyone suggest a good itinerary for 7 days ?

I would like to see Athens and one/some of the islands (Santorini , Mykonos , Naxos ) but appreciate my time constraints.

We are late 20s and like beaches, sun etc . I would like to see a couple of key historical sites in Greece as well.

I have booked first 3 nights in the Arion at the start covering the date of our anniversary( 6000 points + $110 )
and
last 2 nights at the Grande Bretagne ( 6000 points + $110 )

I would knock a night off one of these two hotels and that would free up 3 nights to spend on an island inbetween ???

Thanks

missxmelon

I'm looking to visit Athens in December. I'm torn between the GB and the Arion Resort & Spa. Would it make sense to split my time between both hotels? It sounds like the GB is closer to cultural sights, whereas the Arion offers more nature options. Also, how much time would you recommend spending in Athens?

Nikolaos

Just completed an amazing, weekend stay at Arion!! The hotel is located in one of the best beaches around Athens, but it is far away from the center. It is a great choice for summer, but I doubt it would be as great in the winter.

GB is right in the heart of Athens and all the sights are in walking distance! That would be my best bet for a winter stay! I think 3-4 days are enough to visit most of the sights and experience the local (night)life!!

Nikolaos

I suggest Arion for your Athens stay and then..

Mykonos for partying or
Santorini for romance or
Elounta (Crete) for adventure!!

Choice is yours!!

missxmelon

Thank you!

Is there nothing worthwhile to see around Arion during the winter?

Nikolaos

Not much! If you have a car, the Lake of Vouliagmeni and the Temple of Poseidon at the cape of Sounio. Lots of fancy restaurants in Varkiza and bars in Glyfada (around 10-15 euros by taxi).