48 Hours at Nous Santorini
The biggest difference between our luxury travel blog and other online media is that we present hotels that we have visited from a personal point of view. Places never are as they seem. This works in both ways. Athens doesn’t look sexy and in the end, we had an amazing time in the unknown parts of town. For Santorini, it comes up to its hype but lately, there are Insta reels of massive amounts of people destroying one’s desire to go there. In the end, we haven’t experienced any crowds in Santorini and were travelling in absolute peak season mid-August – needless to say we had the best experience on the island. So do whatever you want and don’t hesitate too much by letting yourself drive from the media. Another point of view revealed the much-hyped “opening of the year” when it comes to design hotels in Greece. Much talked about Nous Santorini was considered to be the trip's highlight. How did our stay go and does it come up to the reputation of being the sexiest new addition to luxury hotels in Greece?
While we rented quads in Paros and were exploring the windy roads all around us, we decided to opt for a classic rental car in Santorini. We knew that roads are more frequented here than on any other Greek island, so even though we both needed to squeeze into a tiny Smart for five days, it was the right decision at the end of the trip. Being flexible with our small car, we arrived at the gates of Nous just in time before sunset. We unpacked the car and went down the impressive stairs and entrance until we reached the lobby building. Having received a warm welcome along with infused water, check-in was friendly and quite professional. Within 15 minutes we were already placed on a golf cart and driven towards our room. As with all resort-like hotels that have golf carts for moving around, location is key. We were allocated a Junior Suite on the first floor right next to the main pool enabling us to skip the golf cart and do the journeys on foot. Distances aren’t too far but in the heat of an August afternoon, the stroll from the very end should better be done by a golf cart without any doubts.
When we entered the Junior Suite, we were welcomed by a sleek interior design. Quite minimalistic in terms of decoration and furniture, though the brown colour scheme gave the room a slightly warmer touch. There was a sofa bed on the left side with a coffee table that had a huge fruit platter and Italian sparkling water as a welcome gift – making up the open-plan living room. On the right side were the twin beds with a make-up table/writing desk and the television. Another armchair was put in the corner next to the main terrace that came with a bench and two chairs. While Santorini is famous and celebrated for the (hotel room) views, we missed out on views at Nous due to the location on the east side of the island between the airport and the main town of Thira. It is to say that due to the hotel of the first two nights, we were spoiled with killer views. So we ended up not using our terrace at Nous. Overall the room looked out of Architectural Digest and was a stellar 10/10 design-wise. Definitely, a perfect place to cool off on hot summer nights.
My personal highlight was the bathroom which had a second balcony itself overlooking the main pool. The bathroom came with single vanity, Korres toiletries, fluffy towels and more guest amenities as well as a separate toilet with a window and a walk-in shower with good pressure. Housekeeping did a great job and next to daily water bottles they even offered turn-down sweets every night. Everything was clean and unlike in other brand-new hotels we saw on this trip, the entire resort is well-maintained and will be in good shape even a few seasons later. We had a good rest with not a single noise to be heard, however, the beds could have been softer. We experienced the hardest beds for months, though the bedding was great and I liked the pillows – everything was brand new obviously and therefore much appreciated.
On the next morning, we were ready for breakfast - the biggest surprise of Nous Santorini. While we expected a classic Greek hotel breakfast, we were shown the complete opposite. I can’t remember the last time when I had such a great breakfast buffet with such high-quality products. From the mouth-watering pastries, the best avocado eggs benedict ever to amazing Bircher muesli and porridge in wonderful glass presentations. Service was always above par. Generally, we felt that during our stay, Nous Santorini was a bit overstaffed so we never had to wait a single second to see a server and once we just looked at one of the employees, they immediately rushed to our table or sunbed to check whether we would like to have something else. This is the real dealmaker and great if you are in for a perfect summer holiday. After a day on the pool and thanks to a very generous late check-out, we had a pre-flight dinner on the hotel’s terrace where we were served local beer with homemade pizza margarita. Both service and quality were again of the finest plus I felt that value for money is fair at Nous Santorini (though I think they will go up with the prices in the upcoming seasons).
Lastly, it is mentioned that the centrepiece of the property is its massive outdoor pool with a sea-like entrance. We spent a wonderful and relaxing last day at the pool of Nous and didn’t miss a single thing. There were plenty of sun beds with umbrellas, the pool was hardly used by the guests around and the sun was present all day long. Only the views weren’t the same as the days before, but in the end, one should stay at Nous for its competitive price, the unparalleled design and the wonderful service by a perfectly trained team. As if this isn’t enough, there is a stunning spa area free of charge for hotel guests that comes with a sleek indoor- and outdoor pool, sauna, steam room, and plunge pool as well as a hair salon and treatment rooms. While I would have loved to visit their highly-celebrated Juice Bar, it was always closed whenever we went to the gym (which might just be the best equipped in Santorini). Perhaps it is more of a morning thing to attract the early birds before working out to minimize the waiting time till breakfast. Overall, we can recommend Nous Santorini for design lovers and those seeking a contrast to the typical Santorini whitewashed private pool experience.
We were guests of YES Hotels and Nous Santorini for editorial purposes. The review expresses our own opinion and hasn’t been influenced.
