It is, perhaps, Greece’s most famous island, an Instagram star in its own right.
Santorini is one of the most popular summer escapes in Europe. A cinematic fantasy island of perfect seas, cloudless skies and scrumptious food, it’s clear to see the appeal. So when I got an email a few weeks back revealing that, in a survey, Santorini was voted the most popular Greek island, I laughed at its pointlessness. Thanks, Captain Obvious.
Popular it may be, but I’d started to suspect Santorini had become a victim of its own hype, its charms hard to detect - let alone appreciate - amidst swarms of Insta-hungry visitors prowling for the perfect golden hour photo.
Luckily, a new opening has thrown open its metaphorical doors to restore a sense of calm to the chaos. Nobu, on its steady ascent to global hotelier domination, has found a new home in Santorini. Winding down after its first, triumphant full-summer season, I checked in to see if it checks out.
Where?
Around a 15-minute leisurely stroll from the village of Imerovigli, Nobu straddles one of Santorini’s highest points. The collection of 25 rooms and suites sits along the pebbly walking trail that connects the island’s villages and traces the edge of the Caldera, with views that leap into the liquid blues beyond.
The island came to be after an ancient volcanic eruption, its incredible force splintering smaller chunks of land off into the sea. Peppering the waves, today they make for stunning views. Santorini is the old name for the island, named after Santa Irini, the saint of the church that Italian sailors first landed beside when they came conquering.
Style
This is Nobu, so considered Japanese design elements are everywhere. A small but concise resort, Nobu Santorini was forged from the ashes of an old hotel so it hasn’t been built from scratch, like Nobu’s Shoreditch outpost - but you’d never guess.
The bones may be old but the style is all new, with chic white-cushioned sunloungers lined up under crochet sunshades, lush shrubbery softening the island’s black volcanic rock, and chunky whitewashed suites and villas with softened corners offering respite from the sun.
The suites sit around two front-facing pools, leaving the multi-level private villas plenty of space to sprawl out around the back. Despite those softened corners, this is a resort strictly for over-14s, adding to its appeal.
Food & drink
Starting out as a celebrated restaurant (before Mr DeNiro got involved), you can expect F&B to be a major event at any Nobu. The Santorini outpost keeps things simple with one airy space for breakfast - with service sensibly stretching to a midday cut-off - and a bar and restaurant for the evening arranged beside the pool that also welcomes non-residents (including children under 14).
If you get peckish in the day, snacks and light bites can be summoned to your sun lounger: think a classic Greek salad with hunks of feta (when in, do as) and chips glistening with oil that are all the more fabulous for it.
Sushi-fiends are, as expected, in for an absolute treat, with buttery soft jalapeños-crowned sashimi kicking things off, followed by huge platters of fresh nigiri and maki (the wisest choice for ravenous crowds). Don’t miss the crispy rice formed into cubes, with plenty of gnarly bits to slather spicy tuna over. A shoutout to Nobu’s MVP, the iconic Black Cod Miso, so sublime that it’s shot to the top of my last dinner list. There’s a lot to love on the menu, so skip to the headline attractions by splurging on the Omakase multi-course tasting menu, £160. Staying at Nobu is a celebration, after all.
Staff are attentive and helpful, especially if they spot you agonising over the cocktail list. The margarita is excellent and the martini is killer; both make excellent dinner companions.
Facilities
Besides a well-equipped gym, there’s not much else to do at the resort but unfurl by the pool. That doesn’t mean you can’t book a massage or facial; it’s just that your suite or villa will become the treatment room, arguably better than traipsing off to a spa yourself.
Almost all suites come with a hot tub screened by small bushes and trees for privacy. They’re more secluded than the pools, which sit right at the front of the property, so close to the trail that you can wave at hikers and see the licence plates of passing cars. This is not exactly ideal, but all is forgiven for those (almost) uninterrupted Caldera views that seem to stretch all the way to Athens.
Extracurricular
If you start to feel restless from all that R&R, Nobu has plenty to keep you occupied.
Wine lovers will love a trip to one of the property’s partners, Domaine Sigalas. The vineyard offers lunch amongst the low-lying grapes, with courses so fresh you can practically feel the nutrients flooding your veins. This could be a wellness meal were it not for the excellent wine pairings that punctuate each plate.
Explore Santorini’s various villages through a private car hire arranged by the hotel. You’re on your own to climb the sloping paths uphill, but the views, souvenir stalls and stained glass window churches (bring coins if you wish to light a candle) make it the easiest leg day you’ll do on holiday.
Santorini’s most famous village, the one in all those Insta pics, is Oia (pronounced Ee-ah) on the northwestern tip. While its Cycladic beauty and blue-domed churches look stunning in perfectly composed snaps on your newsfeed, visiting the place is a live demo of Instagram vs Reality. The narrow streets heave with people, especially when cruise ships dock, and it can get perilously busy, especially at golden hour when crowds jostle at clifftops to get The Shot.
Which leads me to this: Santorini is an island best explored by boat. Nobu is on hand to arrange this too, with a gleaming private vessel helmed by a crew and captain, a cooler heaving with drinks and a sushi picnic to graze on between diving into the blue, blue water. Tracing the edges of the Caledra, you’ll go to the best and most secluded swimming spots with soaring black volcanic cliffs offering a far superior backdrop than forests of selfie sticks. If you only do one thing while you’re here, make it this.
Which room?
Every Nobu hotel boasts a designated Nobu Suite. In Santorini, that means 70sqm of luxury with 360° views across the Caldera and Aegean, two full bathrooms, a spacious hot tub, and a huge living space. Sleeping two, it leaves a lasting impression and costs around €2500 in high season, falling to around the €1000 mark in low and shoulder seasons.
There are also five east-facing villas with full-horizon views making them ideal for sunrise starts as well as moonrise for the night owls; watching the celestial orb ascend from the water is nothing short of spectacular. They average at €2000 in high and €1200 in low season.
I slept in a suite, an ode to minimalism that seemed polished from one giant piece of white rock and finished with linen and cotton in soothing hues of cream and beige. The effect is undeniably chic but a splash of colour wouldn’t go amiss, perhaps some of the island’s pink begonias to fill those arty ceramic vases.
The hangover-busting rainfall shower is a smoothly sculpted cave, its dimensions so large it includes a little wooden stool, which I took as a rest area. Natura Bissé toiletries here, and a small bottle of Clase Azul tequila in the mini bar underline the fact that Nobu Santorini is no ordinary hotel.
Best for...?
Grown-up getaways; a luxe Greek escape.
Details
The island’s official title is ThÄra, also the name of the main town and the airport. It takes just shy of four hours to fly from London, making it prime for a long weekend jaunt. Departures from all London airports.
An overnight stay at Nobu Hotel Santorini costs from £450 per night, including breakfast, santorini.nobuthotels.com
