That bad, huh?

Promised I'd provide a quick overview so some thoughts below. I spend two nights at each of Katikies and Mystique, I was staying at Mystique for the first night the hotel opened this year so have to cut them a little bit of slack due to that, whilst Katikies had been open a while so was more into the swing of things. I also am Marriott Ambassador which obviously helps improve the experience I had at Mystique. Note that I didn't originally book either hotel and was moved because both sister hotels were closed! (Katikies Garden and Vedema, respectively.)

Katikies first - 7/10.

My flight landed at about 5pm and I booked the hotel car for arrival, fairly standard luxury hotel transfer with chilled water but nothing special (e.g. no snacks or cold towels - are these allowed in a COVID-19 world?). Shockingly overpriced for the journey of just a few miles at €100 but I was given a 'last minute discount' for booking 24-hours prior which made it more reasonable. Check in was efficient, the couple sat across from me on the flight also amusingly pulled up in a car behind me to check in . This is the only Katikies property open on Santorini out of 5 normally, but despite all the guests being consolidated into this hotel it was still probably not much more than 60-70% full.

I had a Senior Suite booked which is two categories above the base room and that's what I was given. It was room 35, which is a dual-level room with the bed / a small walk-in wardrobe upstairs and a living room and bathroom downstairs. This room has a beautiful terrace and is very private, situated at the end of the resort past the small 24-hour pool that I saw literally no one use, so I'd definitely recommend it for peace and quiet. The flip side is obviously there are the most steps to navigate of almost any room! The decor in the room I'd describe as ... fine. I can see how it was all cutting edge 15 years ago, but overall I found the room both a little bit dated and too traditional in style for my tastes. Things were generally in good condition but there was the odd chip / mark to the furniture, the TVs were also small and from 10+ years ago. Practicality was a slight issue as some who is over 6ft, neither the bedroom ceiling upstairs or the shower positioning were really high enough. The metal stairs in the room I can also imagine being a nightmare when drunk or for children as they are very steep / narrow. One large sink in the bathroom and a rainfall shower over a jacuzzi bath. Good size Bulgari toiletries and the hotel respecting my request for only sparkling water in the room get a tick, poor shower water pressure and no large towels gets a minus.

Service I'd say varied between OK and excellent. Both hotel restaurants were open (Mikrasia is fine dining Greek, whilst Seltz is a slightly more casual Greek/sushi combination), in addition to the all-day international menu which is available via room service and at the pool bar. I ate dinner at Seltz (which is also the breakfast venue), the Greek seafood dishes I had were extremely high quality, whilst the sushi was less successful but I spend quite a bit of time in Tokyo so probably shouldn't ever order sushi in Europe . Breakfast was at Seltz and 100% a la carte, all dishes were good quality and I was generally happy with breakfast. Couple of slight service snafus with me having to request a drink twice which shouldn't really happen at a luxury property but nothing terrible.

The hotel has three infinity pools with great views, but sadly none of them are really big enough to do laps in, more for cooling off or Instagramming. The largest pool is at the bottom of the resort by Seltz (which has music playing all day), then there is a slightly smaller quiet pool upstairs by the hotel bar and a bit further along from that is a small unattended pool which is open 24 hours. The property is normally 13+ only but with the other Katikies hotels closed both of the main pools had children in them most of the time - would be nice if they would designate one adults only for now. The hours for the two main pools are completely odd, they are open 11am - 7pm and this includes telling people politely they need to get out of the water after 7pm because that pool is closed for the day...

Was denied my request for a one hour late check-out (I'd forgotten what it feels like to not have status / book through a channel that guarantees late check out...), but was told I could chill out by the pool for as long as I wanted after checking out.

Overall then, a fairly good stay. Spectacular views throughout and service was good without being exceptional, the hard product was OK without being amazing. I would probably rate a bit more harshly if I'd paid €1,000 per night in a standard Santorini July, but overall I think it was reasonable-ish value for money. Probably wouldn't prioritise going back given the hard product isn't really to my taste, but at the same time it wasn't a bad hotel at all and I understand why people like it.

Note that Katikies is also slightly closer to the centre of Oia than Mystique, which right now is a good thing but at normal times I can see it actually being an issue as it will be difficult to get a cab outside of the hotel. As a general comment, now is also a great time to be staying in Oia, with far less tourists it's nowhere near as overcrowded.

Happy to provide photos / more info if people find it helpful! Mystique to follow...