I stayed at the Mystique after making a last minute decision to visit Greece in August 2020 for two nights. As COVID was in full force I thought others may be interested in my experience. I was staying in the basic allure suite as a Titanium member. I booked with points + cash, to get a room for 85k points + €110/night, as an alternative to a straight 110k points/night. Since I had booked less than a week in advance and the rooms were selling at around €1000/night this was a reasonable deal for me.

Status benefits were limited to a slightly better Allure room – ours (#20) was not overlooked and was private for sunbathing, which I had noticed from other comments could be a concern – and that we received breakfast as a welcome gift (worthwhile). There was no early check-in or late check-out, despite asking, and even after paying for the hotel transfer car in the morning and way back, a rather expensive €100 each way, but as it was peak season the taxis were too unreliable to have a cheaper alternative.

Santorini itself was relatively quiet due to COVID, though still busy at sunset in Oia. You could however make reservations for the best restaurants on the day, rather than 5 months in advance. The hotel itself seemed fairly full (80%+ occupancy the lady said).

Others have covered the hotel well, so I will limit myself to a small number of observations:

• COVID means that the Jacuzzis are no longer available, so there isn’t a huge perk in having a large bath in the room and you are limited to the too small shower area. This was however the only hotel in Greece we stayed at that still offered an evening turn-down service.
• All the comments about exceptional service did not occur for me. Staff didn’t remember our room number – never mind the names. I found service to be pleasant, but nothing special, and as slow as was typical in Greece (plan on at least an hour for breakfast, even though we were the first sitting at a very late 8am).
• Breakfast was considerable, however I felt that the meals were not all freshly made upon order (e.g. my savoury pancakes were cold). It is still a substantial step up on pretty much every other Marriott in the world. You could ask for prosecco, but it wasn’t on the menu.
• The hotel still has a deal with its sister hotel, Istoria, that you can use their beach towels and facilities whilst on the beach in Perissa. This isn’t as special as it sounds, as whilst walking around this area the vast majority of bars/hotels were offering free wifi and sunbeds in return for you buying drinks from them. We did get two bottles of ice cold water in an ice bucket from the staff which was refreshing.

As such, overall, was happy with the stay and our experience. The hotel is a little far out of Oia (easily a 15 minute walk for where you want to be), so it is clear why it needs to be in Bonvoy, to differentiate itself and compensate for the location – but was certainly a different experience that I am happy to have tried. If returning, which seems unlikely for a while, we would try a different hotel, likely in Fira (i.e. non-Marriott) as it is more convenient to get around the Island from, with easier parking. The steps were manageable, but I can appreciate older or less fit members may not enjoy that experience.