ON THE ROCKS SANTORINI

Great hotel with loads of character - and steep steps so be warned! The view is spectacular and the peace and tranquility really therapeutic - even though you're surrounded by similar hotels on the cliffside it never feels noisy. All rooms are cleaned daily and the staff are so hardworking and friendly without being intrusive. On arrival, cases are carried to your room and you will receive a complimentary glass of wine - very welcome! The pool area is small but enough to cool off and sunbathe, and the pool bar serves amazing food and cocktails. Towels are provided by the hotel so you don't need to pack any. There is a mini bar fridge in each room - we asked for it to be emptied and we then filled it with bottles etc from the local supermarkets. The rooms are really comfortable but because of the cave style , our room was really dark at night. A plug in night light might be useful if you don't want to leave a light on.We celebrated a special birthday during the holiday and Maria and Visilis, the fabulous staff on Reception, organised wine and flowers to be brought with breakfast on the balcony. The staff can't do enough for you - they're great! Food and drink prices are high if you want a caldera view - we went for the local tavernas and enjoyed excellent food at reasonable prices. Taverna Anestis was a favourite of ours - just over the road from 'On the Rocks'. If you plan to walk over the cliffs to Oia, start early, wear decent footwear ( not sandals) and take plenty of water. It's a good walk with amazing views bit is certainly not for the faint hearted! We loved our holiday at 'On the Rocks' and we would recommend it to anyone ( as long as you can cope with steep steps!!)

My husband and I stayed here for 4 nights on our honeymoon while traveling multiple islands in the Cyclades. Santorini is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, like out of a dream and the location of On The Rocks couldn't be better. During busy season the island is packed with tourists but at and around our hotel is quiet and romantic with incredible restaurants just steps away. Though we didn't get a room with our own private pool it really wasn't necessary. The hotel pool is so quaint and comfortable it's the perfect lounging spot, aside from our gorgeous balcony where we awake to breakfast at our doorstep and enjoy wine at sunset. The staff is great, room is very clean, the bed is so comfortable and you can black out the room if you don't want to wake with the sun. Highly recommend!

We had first visited Santorini, briefly, 28 years previously and promised ourselves we would come back. We arrived before check-in as our flight was very early that morning, so we had to wait for our room to become available. We had booked a caldera room with balcony/terrace, not knowing really what we would be getting. Having had lunch at the poolside bar we were taken by Periandros ( who appears to be manager) to see our room. Turned out (room 13) was right above the bar and pool and was like a separate chalet, all rendered in white, it's doorway flanked by potted plants but also draped with a magnificent red bougainvillea. 'Peri' showed us the private terrace on the roof which was very spacious with a pair of lingers on the decking and sunshade. Also a bistro style table and chairs. The thing of course was the magnificent uninterrupted view of the caldera. The inside downstairs was also very nice but nothing out of the ordinary. It was though extremely clean and was kept that way throughout our week's stay. The breakfasts are delivered to your terrace so that you do not need to divert your gaze from the caldera. After all, that's why we were all there. You order your breakfast from the menu each day in advance. Now and again something would be left out e.g. a butter pack or a yoghurt, but mostly they got it right. Hot food though does not always remain hot so that is the usual downside of room service. We also had our evening meal on our terrace three times that week. Mostly it was good but one evening my choice, chicken basmati, was very overdone and I should have sent it back. Lunch taken at the poolside bar was always very good and beautifully presented and the staff always friendly and efficient. The biggest challenge was negotiating more than 80 (deep) steps leading down from the top level down to our room which of course was at the very bottom. That is partly why we are so often at the bar or on our terrace. Reception was always efficient and Maria a delight and deserves her excellent reviews. The chap on reception on an evening had a lot less sparkle and spoke English less well but was OK. The porters/maintenance fellas are excellent and they also quickly sorted out the power failure that unfortunately affected our room on our last evening. This whole cliff side at Imerovigli is fascinating. The neighbouring hotels/villas all seem to operate the same way with teams of white clad waiters delivering trays of food to guests on terraces. Didn't see anyone drop anything, despite them having to negotiate so many steps, but we understand it does happen. I think what made our stay so special, apart from being above the caldera, was the style and location of our room and terrace. The bougainvillea outside made it such a photogenic spot. We were very close to the pool, this often got filled up but our porthole window was placed so that we could observe when the pool was free and could have a (usually) private dip. Many reviews have remarked on the small size of the pool, it is just a cooling off pool really but when empty it was possible to swim a bit. It felt special to have our stairs up to the terrace sealed off by a rope that fastened across it. A small point I suppose. Our maid also did a lovely job each day, leaving our towels artfully arranged in swan shapes, scattered with bougainvillea petals. A downside was the occasional smell of cooking from the poolside bar/kitchen but there is not much to be done about that really. All in all a spectacular setting and a nice boutique hotel. No children too, so that suited us. We did not try the spa treatments so cannot comment on those.

There are some one-star reviews in here which I think is undeserved. The "cave" was spacious (we had a suite so our teen-aged daughter could have a little privacy) and clean. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Each room has a deck on which you eat your breakfast. The pool was not as picturesque as other hotel pools on the hillside, but you don't go to Santorini for the pool. Anyway, the view is spectacular. The hotel is on the pedestrian path that allows you to walk straight from your room all the way to Oia and to Fira. There are many restaurants and shops along this path, so there are ample choices for going out to eat. I'm sure there are nicer hotels on the cliff, but I'm not sure you could get them for the same price.

You cannot get a bad view from any room "cave" in this hotel. The rooms are very neat because they are carved inside the mountain. Be aware there are quite a few stairs though. The breakfast was delicious and it was wonderful to enjoy it on our balcony over looking the caldera.