A stunning resort in the Greek Islands

I decided to detour our European vacation for a few days of rest and some much needed sun.

I've been following the development of this property for some time. I checked for my dates, contacted my TA who advised there was a Prive 4th night free offer so I booked the highest cateory room available Seaview Junior Suite with Jacuzzi on a Friday afternoon for check in on Monday.

Over the weekend, a higher cateory suite appeared and I contacted the hotel who did not understand what Prive was and said they would do their best to upgrade at checkin. I was a little perturbed as Prive should be upgraded at time of booking. Being the weekend, the property didn't respond to my TA until Monday.

I organised transfers through the hotel and it was only 7 mins form the airport.

Upon arrival you are greeted by the Volcanic Ash and Concrete aesthetic they have chosen in keeping the the Volcanic history of the Greek Islands. It's a marked difference from the usual Santorini White and Blues.

As we checked in there was no mention of Prive or the benefits. The agent had genuinely never heard of it so I pulled up the PDF intended for Hyatt approved TAs. After 10 mins, I gave up. The Guest Relations Manager escorted us to the room.

We were given a tour of the resort and the Lobby sits below the Main Pool, Restaurant and Bar.

The rooms are in blocks and as I devised from social posts of others staying there, the 'private pools' are actually pool access. A wooden partition provides privacy for your balcony but in your pool you are in full view of your neighbours.

To my surprise and delight we had a stand alone villa. The Junior Suite Seaview with Jacuzzi was in the highest block of 400s, feature a separate living and bedroom (although no door), three baclonies, a jacuzzi that was more of a shallow pool and an enormous terrace. The room has over 180 degree views of the sea and privacy which is paramount for us.

I told the Guest Relations Manager that I was very happy with the room and it was perfect for our four days.

Looking below us we could see pools side and side and the rooms appeared to have their views blocked by other buildings.

On day two, I asked for to Sunbeds to be added to our balcony as there was only a cushion and front desk said no. I emailed the Guest Relations Manager and they were delivered in minutes.

While impressed with the new property and our villa, the property is still finding its feet and felt like it was a soft opening.

We had no intention of leaving the resort and the room service, bar and restaurant menu are all the same with five main course options. While there is a 2 Star Michelen Chef restaurant, we don't enjoy Silver Service and waiting for courses while on beach holidays. The fine dining restaraurnt was actually just a few tables on the pool terrace.

The staff, however, were delightful. Everyone we interacted with was excited and proud to be working at this property for the season and we built relationships with quite a few. While they are great, we were told they don't sell Sunscreen or After sun cream. Bizarre for such a location and given the profit they could make on these items.

We were later told that the Spa does have Sunscreen.

There are two stores in the lobby, one Jewellry store and another selling female resort wear. We wanted to buy two baseball caps, but couldn't.

The staff also all seem to be multitasking. The phones at front desk ring constantly, though we were told there was a Whatsapp function, but were never given the number.

The hotel also doesn't have Chromecast that is Hyatt standard. They brought us an HDMI cable instead.

 

Breakfast was vert good with an A La Carte Menu of Eggs, Pancakes, Waffles etc in addition to the buffet. We were told that some of the items like the Greek Scrambled Eggs were chargeable. This behaviour irks me. We ordered them each day. It had 3 ingredients and was hardly any different from ordering the Scrambled Eggs from the Chef station. In the end, I had them agree to wipe the 16 Euros each per day.

The Greek Frappes are a must. We tried almost every dish on the menu and all were of a high quality using local ingredients. Curiously, the hotel has its own vinyard.

I did mention the lack of food options and the Guest Relations and Bar Manager said most guests only stay for one or two nights and they mostly eat out. 

Many of my friends said that we were on the 'wrong' side of the island, however the hotel never felt busy. Santorini is in peak Summer season and is overrun by tourists. Staying at Magma helped us avoid the crowds and particularly the Instagram crowd making content which I find annoying.

I did book a private 3 hour tour of the island through Experiences of Santorini and highly reccomend them.

Overall, I really enjoyed our four days at this new resort. It certainly has its own unique character, however it still seems to be finding its feet.

I did tell the Rooms Division Manager on the final day that I thought the rooms were entirely miscategorised and if I had known what the room truly was, I would never have asked for an upgrade. I also mentioned that the descriptions on Expedia were very different. I also mentioned that if I had booked a room with a pool and found it to be pool access, I would have been quite upset and they need to set guest expectations accordingly.

I had to argue for a 5:30PM checkout after it was confirmed then unconfirmed which was bizarre, but again it came down to not really understanding how a hotel works.

I was told the hotel has several owners and Hyatt so decisions take months.

I could have got annoyed at the issues, but forgave them because they're new and I wanted a calm and peaceful stay. This a great property and I'm sure after their first season they will have worked out their issues.