Canaves Oia Suites Review: Santorini, Greece

We spent three nights at Canaves Oia Suites in May as the first stop on a Greek Islands trip celebrating my son’s college graduation. Located in Oia, on Santorini’s caldera cliffs, this property had the most spectacular views I’ve ever experienced at a hotel. The combination of the dramatic volcanic landscape, endless views of the Aegean Sea, and Santorini’s famous sunsets made for an unforgettable stay.

After Santorini, we headed to Mykonos for three nights at the Santa Marina Resort. Here is my review of Canaves Oia Suites.

Location

Canaves Oia Suites is ideally situated overlooking the Caldera, in Oia, Santorini, with incredible views of the Aegean Sea, white washed buildings, and the island’s iconic blue-domed churches.

The hotel is located just inside the pedestrian-only zone of Oia, making it easily accessible to all of Oia. It’s approximately an 8-minute walk from the Oia Bus Terminal and about 20 minutes on foot to Ammoudi Bay, known for its seafood tavernas and sunset views.

When you arrive, a bellman will come to pick up your bags and bring them down the stairs to the lobby area. Since you arrive at the top of the cliff, you actually have to walk down the stairs to the lobby and further down the stairs to access the rooms, restaurant, and pools.

Rooms and Suites

Canaves Oia Suites has 44 suites, all with private plunge pools. There are also 2 Villas with private pools for larger groups of 5 and 7 guests. All suites have panoramic views of the Caldera and the Aegean Sea.

We stayed in a two-bedroom suite. None of the rooms are typical, as they are all caves built into the Caldera cliffside, so there are no windows or square walls. On the one hand, this creates a very unique room, and room experience, but it isn’t great for “hanging out in the room” since you are actually in a cave with no windows, other than the entrance. (This is also the reason the pictures of the room aren’t great – there was no natural lighting and these pictures don’t do the room justice).

Restaurants and Bars

From our room, we would walk down another set of stairs to get to the restaurant and pool area. The breakfast food and the view were the best I have ever experienced. I’m not a breakfast eater normally, but I could eat this breakfast and stare at the view all day long!

The restaurant serves breakfast and light lunch during the day. In the evening, it transforms into Petra Restaurant, which is a very high-end dining experience. We had dinner the first night and breakfast every day. The food was outstanding!

Amenities:

There are two pools, one is an infinity pool overlooking the Aegean Sea and the other is the main pool next to the restaurant. The hotel also has a Spa area with steam bath, sauna, cave-style treatment rooms & Spa with a View. Plus a small gym and daily yoga classes.

Things to Do:

In addition to just walking around and taking in the view, we took a full day sailing trip with Santorini Yachting Club, which was amazing! The sail trip entry point is Ammoudi bay, where there are many great restaurants and shops.

We had cocktails one night at Veranda, which is just down the street from the hotel and is the best spot on the island for a sunset cocktail and tapas.

Pros and Cons:

My family loved our stay in Santorini, it was totally different from any place we have ever stayed. We would not hesitate to come back again to both Santorini and to the Canaves Suites Oia. We stayed for 3 nights, which is the perfect amount of time to be on Santorini.

Pros and Things I liked:

• The cave style rooms are very unique and nothing we have ever done before
• The views from every part of the hotel are incredible
• The food was great
• The location was perfect for walking around Oia

Cons and Things that weren’t so great

• While the cave rooms were very unique, they weren’t the type of room you wanted to spend much time in
• If you have any issues with stairs, this is not the place for you. Everywhere you go requires you to walk up and down stairs.