loveislands

Has anyone planned a trip to Greece using all Starwood hotels? My husband and I are planning to go this summer for about 10 nights. We'll spend two nights at the Grand Bretagne in Athens which gets great reviews and we want to go to Santorini and either Mykonos or Crete. We'll use SPG points for about 7 nights and pay for the remaining 3 nights.

The Starwood hotels in the Greek islands seem to get very mixed reviews. Has anyone been to Santa Marina (Mykonos), Blue Palace (Crete), and/or Vedema (Santorini)? If so which would you recommend? Mystique in Santorini looks fabulous but is a ridiculous number of points per night. Thanks for any suggestions!

dick tracy

I did Greece last summer with the family. We stayed at the Blue Palace and the Grand Bretagne. We loved both properties.
If you do the Blue Palace the lift can be a bit of a pain to get up and down to the beach, but then again you are on vacation! The concierge staff tries, but they need some work so do your homework for sightseeing. The rooms, like most places in Greece, are spartan, clean and comfortable, all tile floors(no damp carpets) and white washed walls.
I stayed about 5 years ago at the Santa Marina and it was also great. I visited for a day 2 years ago and it has one of the best sun decks with pools, couches, etc I have ever seen. The beach is private, but rocky. Chances are the owner will be having lunch next to you at the beach cafe.
I hope this helps!

NittanyFlyer

I also stayed at the Blue Palace in Crete and the Grand Bretagne in Athens. We loved the Blue Palace and would highly recommend it. The spa is great and the thalassotherapy pool is awesome.

The Grand Bretagne is a "grand dame" type of hotel. Big city, small rooms, fluff and stuff. Ok, but just there for me.

wsbombers

Pun intended?

If you decide to spend 7 nights in one place (and are gold or plat), don't forget to use the aspirational award.

asforza

I stayed at the Blue Palace this past summer for 5 days, and it was lovely. If you are going on points, it's worth the extra points for a bungalow with pool (17,500 per night in high season), as the beach is rocky and unwalkable. Plus, you get a nice deck with terrycloth chairs to relax on if you don't want to swim. If you decide to pursue this option, make sure they put you in a bungalow on a high floor, or else you'll be close to the road.
The food is VERY expensive, and I recommend going into either Plaka or Elounda for meals, which are delicious. All in all, a beautiful, relaxing resort.

hoya

My wife & I went to Greece in September -- Athens, Santorini, and Mykonos.

The Grande Bretagne was very nice and in a great location.

In Santorini, we opted NOT to stay at the Vedema, although we went there for lunch one day. After visiting the resort, we both were happy with our decision to stay at a non-Starwood hotel in Santorini (we preferred the location of our hotel).

In Mykonos, we stayed at the Santa Marina and it was fantastic -- very relaxing, but I recommend you rent a car to explore some of the island's beaches.

All in all, a great trip.

gregorygrady

The only hotel in Greece that is bookable with the "Aspirational Award" is the Vedema Resort on Santorini. I will be staying there early this summer as well for a few nights (on the Aspiration Award), then I'll be staying at the Grand Bretagne after that for a night before leaving Greece. I looked into Mystique (the new Cat. 6 SPG property that opens on May, 15, 2007), but they are an all-suite hotel costing 40K pts per night thru 6/15/07 and then 50K pts per night after 6/16/07. No thanks.......... Then I looked into staying there with an SPG50 as the rack rates prior to 6/15/07 are a fairly reasonable 420 Euro. Whoops, they don't participate in the SPG50 program either. Double No Thanks.............

knobs5

I'm thinking about my first trip to Greece. Seems the starwood properties are all high-end (cat 5 and 6), so I welcome advice. My total points around 200k but prefer not to blow it all. In 1 week (give or take a few days) does it make sense to do Athens, Mykonos and Santorini? I tried some dates in May timeframe and awards seem to be booked (not surprised). I suppose going in off-season is most practical to conserve points, yes?
Any suggestions appreciated, thanks.

I also have AA miles, if they could be used for anything (like exchange for discount coupons). I checked rack prices for starwood properties.. just used a sample date of June 1 '07, and prices average $500/nt. Steep for me.

rrgg

I won't speak to the bookings, but I can say that for a 1 week trip, I would drop Athens and just do the 2 islands. FYI, there is now a nonstop flight between Mykonos and Santorini (Crete Air or something?). That might help maximize your time versus taking a ferry.

wsbombers

Make sure you check out Starwood's Greece page ( http://greece.destinations.starwoodh...VTY_SPG_greece ). They occasionally have package offers there, although I don't see one now.

Also, there are some Greek properties that participate in the aspirational award offer ( http://www.lg0.net/starwood/aspirationalawards/ )
I think they rotate the properties. I booked for a hotel in Santorini which doesn't seem to be on the list anymore.

jayzee9

The two best *wood properties by far in Greece are the GB in Athens and Blue Palace in Crete. I have written some reviews somewhere on BP. Avoid the Vedema as it's not nice, the location is bad, and the service isn't so good. Santorini is a fantastic Island--if you want to do *wood, consider the newer property in Oia, which is a very nice town.

Have a blast!

The Santa Marina is an average property and certainly is not worth what they charge in points or $$. My wife and I were not overly impressed with Mykonos in general..

christianj

I too am planning our first trip to Greece for May 2008 (yes...2008 but I booked all of our Starwood hotels BEFORE the points devaluation!) I did some research on the topic and have pretty much decided on the following:

2 nights in Athens at the Grande Bretagne (Booked at old Cat. 4 - 10k price) Most people say 2 night is enough!

3 nights on Crete at the Blue Palace (Booked a bungalow with the private pool for 13,500 points per night! Not sure what this upgrade would cost in points now.)

2 nights on Santorini at a non-SPG hotel. Mystique was not available and I assume it will be between 40-50k points per night, since it is listed as an all suites/villa hotel thus requiring double the Cat. 6 points. Vedema doesn't look that nice and the reviews have not been great on FT. The following hotels in Oia look incredible:
Ikies Traditional Houses - http://www.ikies.gr/
Katikies Hotel - http://www.katikies.com/

3 nights on Mykonos at a non-SPG hotel. Had read in previous posts that the Santa Marina was not worth the points like jayzee9 stated in his post. I also didn't like the location of the hotel. We are looking at smaller hotels in Mykonos since we want to be close to Mykonos town. Some of interest might be:
Harmony Hotel - http://www.harmonyhotel.gr/
Rochari Hotel - http://www.rochari.com/
Belvedere Hotel - http://www.belvederehotel.com/main.htm
Apanema Hotel - http://www.apanemaresort.com/
Mykonos Theoxenia Hotel - http://www.mykonostheoxenia.com/index.htm

You might also want to check out the following for more info on hotels in every budget range:
http://www.greekhotel.com/home.htm

Travelling between the islands is convenient either via Olympic or Aegean Airlines and the ferries.

wpp105

christianj, great minds think alike. I have just booked nearly an identical vacation this June at all the same stops, 2 nights at the Grande Bretagne and even picked hotels from the non-wood properties you listed.

As for Athens, I have been there for work before. You can see just about everything there is to see or do there in a total of 2-3 days. But the Hotel Grande Bretagne is in an amazing location.

-Wayne

christianj

Great! Would appreciate you posting or PM me a review about the non-SPG properties you end up choosing. I still have until next year to finalize those hotels and since you are going this year it would really help me out.

speedbird9

Hi:

I am thinking about a trip to Greece. I am a Starwood Gold, pretty low balance under 40K as I just spent all my miles touring Asia last month.

I have wed-sun. I arrive in Cologne connect to Dusseldorf then onto Athens.

What are the best Starwood properties in Greece. Any advice on where to go. I am open. Maybe a couple of nights in Athens and a couple somewhere else...all the time in Athens....Mykonos?

What are your suugestions. I would love to travel Champagne Taste and beer budget
Please Help me....It will be a surprise for my better half.

Thanks.

P.