Canaves Oia Suites

Canaves Oia Suites

Inside a cave cut into volcanic rock four centuries ago, Canaves Oia Suites keeps a pool that opens straight onto the Aegean, the same one Condé Nast Traveler called heavenly when it dubbed the hotel super-chic. The property began in 1993 as an expansion of the original Canaves Oia Hotel, built from 17th-century wine storage cellars by the Chaidemenos family, and it remains the flagship of their Canaves Collection. Forty-one suites sit above the Caldera in Oia, six kilometres from Santorini's centre, each with its own private bathroom and, in the higher categories, a plunge pool that catches the same view. Children under 13 are not permitted, which keeps the terraces, the sauna, steam room and cave spa treatment rooms quiet through the day. At Petra Restaurant, chef Tasos Stefatos runs a degustation menu on a clifftop terrace strung with bougainvillea; couples wanting more privacy can book the Panorama balcony for a dinner set apart from the rest of the hotel. A concierge desk arranges diving trips, transfers and car rental, and the front desk speaks English, French, German and Spanish. None of this suits anyone travelling with children, or anyone who wants to walk into town for dinner rather than book it. It suits a couple wanting a pool built into a centuries-old cave rather than one bolted onto a rooftop. The infinity pool photographs well. The cave underneath it is what people remember. Canaves Oia Suites built its cave spa and plunge-pool suites out of 17th-century wine cellars above Oia's Caldera, and keeps them adults-only. Petra Restaurant's clifftop degustation menu and the private Panorama balcony are reserved for guests who book ahead. It suits couples more than anyone bringing children under 13.