Ducato Di Oia — Hotel in Municipality of Thira

I do not know how this hotel can call themselves four star. The only positive I can say is that the room is beautiful and the bellhop was an expert at maneuvering our luggage through many stairs. I will go into detail about our frustrations but the BLUF is- the service here is horrible and for the price we were paying we expect a lot more. We’ve stayed at hotels with a wide variety of ratings and a 4-star place in Santorini needs to meet a certain standard.

Check-in: Our check in with reception was fine, though I was surprised to not be greeted with a welcome drink as I’ve come to expect from similar hotels (it’s doesn’t have to be alcoholic, a nice refreshing juice is also welcome). Their website also lists a welcome drink as an amenity, but maybe it doesn’t apply to booking.com.

Concierge services: The service here was a mess. Upon checkin they confirmed a cooking class we’d requested and confirmed they would arrange airport transfer for us on departure. We also asked if they could assist us with dinner reservations for that night even though we knew it would be challenging with last minute notice. They asked if we would like sunset view and we said that would be preferable if it’s available. They said they would let us know via WhatsApp and to please respond quickly because the reservations come and go quickly. My husband had to go back to reception because after 15 minutes I still hadn’t heard anything about our dinner reservation and there was nothing in our room about room service which is listed as an amenity on their website. The people at the front desk seemed to know nothing of our dinner request but told him they would follow up with me and informed him there is no room service. In fact their restaurant closes at noon. I finally got a message from them with a list of restaurants so we picked one and then we were told there were no tables available there. It is not helpful to be given a list when the list isn’t actually reflective of what is available. Ultimately, my husband and I found a bar where we would watch the sunset and dinner elsewhere after. Then I received a message asking if we would like them to arrange a transfer for us to the cooking class the next day. It turned out the cooking class was a 30 minute drive away and not actually at their restaurant so we opted to cancel that as well. We didn’t want to spend so much of our vacation running around.

We were told that the temperature of the outdoor jacuzzi could be adjusted upon request. The second afternoon we were there the tub was fully shaded so I asked for the temperature to be adjusted and was told that was not possible. When I replied that I had been told on check in that it was possible they said that only maintenance can do it and only from 8am-4pm. This would have been helpful to know ahead of time.

The room: I was a bit confused because their website says “bath with shower” but really there is a place with a handheld shower and that’s it. It’s very beautiful but not the most practical. Also the floor was very very slick when wet which caused me to slip and hit my knee rather hard. The room itself looks very appealing and the view is very nice. It would not be a good place to watch the sunset unfortunately.

Housekeeping: I got a WhatsApp at 11am saying to let them know what housekeeping we needed and that it was available until 3:30pm so I asked for clean towels and towels for the pool. They dropped off towels but did not take out trash or make the bed etc. So the only housekeeping you get is housekeeping you specifically request, including that they bother to take out the trash.

The breakfast: you have to choose a specific time to have breakfast and it is first come first serve as far as reservations so we weren’t able to eat as early as we would have liked on our first day. Last day we couldn’t enjoy the breakfast at all because we had to leave too early...

Full disclaimer this is more of a 3.5/5 rating, and I'm a little torn in writing this review because my wife and I had a perfectly okay experience here minus a few things which we are not accustomed to -- these are things that others may or may not care for. At the end of the day, there was nothing particularly awful nor exceptional about Ducato in my humble opinion.

Pros: -Remarkable views of the Caldera side and the islands

-Great location- it's situated very close to the blue dome/castle side of the island in Oia and is at the start of the strip.

-The room itself is quite spacious and the design is quite lovely inside and was enough for my wife and I plus 3 suitcases to navigate the room very comfortably. She even had an area upstairs within the unit to get ready and do her makeup which was a perk.

-Breakfast was actually quite good, like better than some restaurants on the island good. Each day you fill out a breakfast sheet that has various options and you pick a time to have it delivered to outside of your suite.

-The hotel staff, particularly the front desk are all vary kind. They welcomed us and chatted every time we passed and they gave us recommendations for dinner.

Cons: -The bellhops are not very nice and in fact were quite rude, they expect to be tipped and when you do tip them they don't appreciate it at all (I tipped arriving and exiting). However, my comment is not only from my own experience, but I happened to overhear another guest just arriving to their room next door when she was told by the bellhop she needed to tip them both (2 helpers). She gave them 10 euros and they acted like it was not enough. Ducato, you need to fire or retrain your current bellhops because that's egregious behavior for carrying luggage for

We stayed for one week early September 2020 and had such a great time in this hotel. Nerri and his team are so dedicated to make your stay a memory! Thanks a lot for being your guest and becoming friends - we enjoyed it a lot... Beside the headwinds all the people on the island are facing due to covid19, the hotel team provided excellent service: allways honest, friendly and welcoming. Just like a great holiday - you can really relax from the pandemic.

Concierge The concierge service feels like a 1to1 connection and they will take care of your request right away. They also provided great recommendations for visiting and exploring the island (you cant find them on the popular tourist websites): boat trip, winery visit, dining, picture spots, etc

Hotel + Suite Yes, its tiny compared to Hotels from other islands (like crete) but this is what its like staying in Oia. It fits perfectly into the architecture and surroundings. The views you can catch are just awesome ! Waking up, opening the window and seeing the sunrise over the volcano is just breathtaking... You are located just some steps down from the heart of Oia (I would say the location is better than other 5* class venues in Oia). Its quite and relaxing - but within a minute you can be in cafes, restaurants and bars. We recommend the cafe/bar Meteor you can see from below... I dont need to mention that if you are looking for a beach holiday you need to go somewhere else.

Our suite / cave suite was very nice and clean + private pool outside the front door. You need to know that this hotel doesnt have a "shared" pool area. If you want to have a dive you need to book a suite with indoor or outdoor pool. Dont forget when booking! The only bad thing is that shades are missing - but Nerri has some ideas to fix that in the future.

Making the point - we loved it and so will you if...