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Old Aug 31, 2019, 8:34 am
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antonius66
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,555
Santorini Secret Suites (SLH) - REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

Check In Check in was pretty easy as we arrived in a rental car and parked in their free lot. The lot is a short walk from the reception area, which is down a walkway and then down some stairs. They held us to the check in time however, as we arrived at like 10am, and did not get into the room until around 2. Staff were pleasant. Room Originally they gave us 22, which was a basic Pure Suite, which is what you would get there without upgrade, so what I think is the best representation of the property. It had a small jacuzzi tub right in front of the door, which was probably 2x7 feet or so. It had views of the caldera, but it was about 10-15 feet from the edge, so not the best views you could hope for from the tub.The room itself is real basic. It is about 350 sq ft, and is basically a cave style where it is a hall going into the cliff. The bathroom was pretty small, in fact the shower door would not open all the way without hitting the shower head. The bathroom had small bottles of shampoo/body wash combo, not distinct items but 1 combination plus a bar of soap and a bottle of conditioner. In fairness, my wife said the stuff was actually pretty decent, but usually I see that more at a Holiday Inn style place.There was no iron in the room that we could find, and the blow dryer was a small barely useful type. The bed itself was fine, certainly nothing luxurious or super comfortable, but not the worst ever. They had a small assortment of mini bar items and of other items for sale like hair gel, sunscreen etc. There was no TV programming that I could find on the television, only a LARGE assortment of movies you could watch. After they cleaned the room after our first night, the room smelled OVERPOWERING with the smell of some cleanser. In fact, it burned my throat being within 5 feet of the open door to the room. Smells are not normally a thing for me, but this was insane. We opened the door to the room for an hour and then went out for a few hours, but we came back and it was the same. I went up and told them it was not going to be an option and they later moved us to 23. 23 appeared to be the next level up in room, and was a little nicer. The jacuzzi was at the edge of the porch so you could see the water from inside, and the room was a little bigger with bigger bathroom. The jacuzzi in both rooms was tepid at best. Service The service was very good. The staff were always friendly and helpful, except on the last night, they called to ask what time we were leaving and said they would have someone be at our room at 0815 to get our bags, and at 0830 we just took them ourselves up the stairs to the car. They offered to get someone to help, but we had a schedule to keep and at that point I did not want to wait. No complaints about the staff or service. Dining Breakfast was included and was the only meal we had on property. It was a menu you filled out the night before and they brought it to your porch and set it out for you the next morning at the requested time. Each time it was brought on time and was correct each time. The breakfast was fine. Nothing incredible but nothing terrible. It is a decent assortment although in 3 days we had everything, most of it a few times. It is basically yogurt with a few possible add ons, a pancake, omelette with various items, a few pastries, avocado toast and some juices, meats etc. Perfectly fine, although they watered down the orange juice for some reason. Location Really this is what this place makes its money on. The location is right in the middle of Oia, and it does have a spectacular view of the caldera. You can really enjoy it in the mornings when you sit and have breakfast, although you can have basically the exact same view while walking above the property on the public walkway up above. Imagine a walking road that runs through the town, and then instead of a door on one side to enter the building, is a rope for a staircase, and it leads down to the property, which is on the mountain side. You can just stand up top and enjoy the view for free (which about 10 million people do each day). Is it the same as sitting in the room or on the porch and watching? No, but it also is not 40,000 points or 600, 700 or 800 dollars. Overall Basically, this was a nice enough place. The service was good and friendly, and the view amazing. That said, that is about all it has. Breakfast was not bad in any way, but was not amazing or incredible or anything. The room hard product was average at best, the rooms are small (understandably), it lacks some basic high end amenities in the room, and really has nothing going for it beyond the views. Now, maybe if you have the best room they offer, it might be better value, but you are not getting that for 40k points.For me (and most), 40k points is basically $600-$800 in value, and the rooms I saw were going for that much or more while I was there. Honestly, just a real waste of an ENORMOUS amount of points. Was it worth 2 nights at the PH Shanghai or PH DC or Andaz Liverpool? No way. The breakfast I had at the HP Amsterdam Airport was about as nice and was a buffet, and the room was nicer, sans the view and it cost me 100 euros. I have pretty high expectations for a place marketed as a true luxury property, especially one that charges the commensurate amount of points and money and this just does not come close. If you do not mind paying through the nose for the view and that is all you want, then this place is great. Otherwise, stay at a cheaper spot (even some of the SLH properties can be had for $300 or less I saw and that is through Hyatt with their rip off pricing) and rent a car (which I highly recommend anyway). At 20k points I would go back, even at 25, but that is it.
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