Super Larry

I'm in the process of planning my summer holidays for 2006! I know it's far down the road, but I'd rather plan them ahead of time rather than wait until the last minute and become frustrated with SPG for lack of availability!

We're planning to go to Mykonos and stay at the Santa Marina Luxury property.

What can we expect as Plat? Chances for upgrades? Free breakfast?

The web site of the property looks great, but it would be nice to have feedback from people that actually have stayed there.

Looking forward to read your comments!

cla_bos

Stayed there in the summer of 03 for a week. Excellent resort, beautiful pool, okay beach (water was great, but beach is rocky), good food (pricey, but that's sort of a given at a luxury collection isn't it). Location is somewhat secluded from the town on Mykonos, but the hotel runs a shuttle bus to get you down there. Also, you can walk down the hill to a couple of local restaurants (the hotel is located in a small fishing village).

Rooms were nice sized and all of ours had balconies/outdoor space. I can't speak to upgrades, as I was not plat at the time. I don't recall there being any free breakfast, but the breakfast buffet down by the pool was great.

All in all, one of my favorite *wood resorts.

sbtinme

My brother stayed there 2 years ago as a Plat. He loved the property and the area and felt well tended to. However, he has commented to me on more than one occasion that he felt strongly that his PLAT status got him nothing here. (Apparently the suites are palacial...???)

That said, he felt that all guests were treated very well. He just couldn't discern that his Plat status got him anything extra --- including room type. That's all I can add.

Joelle

Our experience dates back from 1999 now... but it was a very good one.
We enjoyed the place with a nice view on Ornos bay. The hotel is located 4 km from Mykonos downtown.

Husband being Gold SPG at that time, we had booked a regular Deluxe room and got upgraded to a larger room (Junior Suite), so a Platinum member should be well treated !

Excellent restaurant with a good and talented Italian chef.

Nice swimming-pool (with sea water).
There is small beach underneath (no sand, but small stones). Sailing boats are landing there for day trips or private charters.

A lot of cats everywhere (this is Greece...), and very friendly (if you like cats of course !).

We would not hesitate to go back, hoping that things have not changed.

Richard1148

It was last year. The post was about Santa Marina and other Starwood properties in Greece - I think Athens and Santorini.

Mahalo

My wife and I stayed at the Santa Marina years ago and I was told that I was upgraded to a junior suite (Platinum). I don't know what a regular room looks like or what a suite looks like in the hotel but my room was not big at all. The great thing about the room was the balcony which probably was as big as the room or perhaps bigger. We were on the top floor and the view was awesome.

The beach is indeed rocky so we spent most of our time by the pool. Breakfast is serve by the pool area. There is no free breakfast for Platinums here. The shuttle to town didn't run as often as we liked so at times we walked down the hill to the bus stop which isn't all that far.

sftraveler02

My boyfriend and I took a trip to Greece last July before the Olympics and we got to stay at the Santa Marina in Mykonos and the Blue Palace in Crete. I would say both of these places are wonderful.

The Santa Marina is outside of the main city, but we just rented scooter near the hotel ($20) and drove into the city ourselves since it only took about 10 minutes. The hotel does offer a free shuttle service, but the scheduled times were limited. They do offer free shuttle service to and from the airport and the ferry port. The hotel is located near a very small village where there are about 3 restaurants, 2 convenience stores, rental car company, and a pharmacy. We were upgraded to a suite upon our arrival (Platinum member) which had a balcony and fantastic view of the ocean. We did have to call a dr to the hotel, but was only charged $60 for the visit. The pools and beach (not really a beach, rocky) there are small, nice lounge chairs, very quiet. There is no complimentary breakfast. It's a nice place to lounge around during the day and go into the city for nightlife and dinner.

We took fast ferries to and from each island, about 2 hours each time. It's cheaper than flying.

We stayed in the city of Santorini when we arrived since we wanted a hotel with a caldera view and within walking distance to restaurants and nightlife, since Vedema did not offer it. I definitely recommend getting a hotel with a caldera view. We rented a car for one day to visit all the different sites, Oia-for sunset, Black Beach, etc. They can bring the car to your hotel and pick it up there as well ($30 day).

The Blue Palace was the best out of the two. You should rent a car when you arrive at the airport to drive to Elounda, it's a very easy one hour drive. you will need a car to visit local cities as well, if you want to venture out for dinner outside of the resort. We were upgraded upon our arrival to a large suite, however we did not receive a room with a private pool, you should definiitely ask for one. There is complimentary breakfast buffet, which is wonderful with a large amount to choose from and to eat outside. The pools are wonderful and you can take a ferry across to other island for a tour.

Richard1148

We will be staying 3 nights at the Santa Marina in Mykonos the first week of June (1 night paid with SPG50 and 2 nights on points). All 3 nights are booked as a Classic room - the lowest category. Have any Golds have stayed there and did you get an upgrade? According to the website, there are currently Deluxe rooms available and our reservation is only 3 weeks away, so there is a good possibility that an upgraded room will be available.

Jman1234

Just got back from a 4 day stay at the Santa Marina Resort & Villas, what a joke of a Luxury Collection hotel cat 6 hotel HA more like a cat 3 or 4, I will be writing *wood about this property. Upon check in I debating on calling the airline to return to the Arion Hotel Luxury Collection in Athens which was INCREDIBLE, will defiantly stay their again. As for the Santa Marina avoid this place like the plague!!! The staff could care less, if you are platinum, gold or whatever, VERY rude staff. Our room phone was not working, we had to take 4 flights of stairs, 3 elevators to get to the reception area to inform them of the problem, well it took 4 trips to reception to actually get the phone working. The safe in the room didn’t work either, the hair dryer was shooting sparks. The hotel bus back from the city showed up 2hrs late, two days in a row. So much more I could write but it would take up pages, AVOID this hotel at all cost!! They even have a book in the lobby for guest to sign, the last 15 pages or so are filled with complaints about the hotel, I took pictures of them to send to *wood. Apparently the hotel does not read them or could care less.

stever500

That's just painful to read... You saved us a potentially awful stay there one day. Thanks for taking the time to post this. Seems like alot of the hotels in the Starwood brand aren't that great, but what can ya do? Just when I get excited to use points on a future trip, I read the reviews (like the ones of the Port Douglas - Australia one or London's - Park Lane's basic 12000 pt room and I think "Arghhh, this isn't going to be the best stay, that's for sure...".

But, if it's free on points, we're always happy even if the room is a bit dated or dumpy.

Steve R

Richard1148

We stayed there 2 years ago and the staff was quite pleasant, a complimentary bottle of wine and fruit bowl was delivered (only a Gold SPG), everything in the room worked fine, the hotel bus was never more than 5 minutes late, and we had a very enjoyable stay. Either you had very bad luck or the place has gone seriously down hill.

jayzee9

I agree with the OP. We stayed here for a couple nights as part of our honeymoon Greek tour, and this was the worst property. You usually have to take stairs and an elevator or multiple stairs and elevators to get to the rooms. When we were there it was raining and there were leaks in the room, causing flooding. The reception sent someone up a couple hours after we called someone.

Also, the room service was terrible. Expensive and cold. It reminds me of an average 4 points. Do NOT stay here if you're expecting anything good. Go to the blue palace in Crete

itsaboutthejourney

While I'm not trying to defend the property, I would say that many of the issues the OP brings up have been posted in many threads about this property on FT, TripAdvisor, etc. so the OP should not have been surprised by the indifferent attitude of the staff.

Someone more knowledgable can chime in, but this property is managed & owned by a wealthy person (did you see the yacht and heli pad?) who does not really need to care about Starwood's standards & the SPG program.

Remember, it's Greece, it's the busiest month of the year for Mykonos and sometimes you just have to go with the flow. I hope the bad safe & hair dryer did not spoil the Santa Marina's amazing views, private beach, good bar and pool as well as all the blue water and fun to be had in Mykonos?

The only reason I won't return is because it's way overpriced as a cat 6.

jlcchien

Anyone has a more recent stay experience at this place? Please share your experience. Any SPG Platinum got a good upgrade? Thanks in advance

sc flier

I'm trying to understand this property's categorization. It's now a Category 7, but it's the cheapest Starwood in Greece for all of the 9 nights that I'm looking at later this month. Do the standard rooms (and Platinum upgrades, if any) reflect Cat7 status, or is it just a Cat7 property because the average rates are skewed by the multi-bedroom villas?

I'm thinking of paying for 3 nights here and booking 3 award nights at either Vedema or Blue Palace.

Mods, can we establish this as a Master Thread for Santa Marina?