I am writing this fom the bed at the Artisan's House at Ikies. We have not even left yet, but I feel compelled to say: WOWZERS!

All of the reviews below giving this place glowing reviews are true.
Eleni and Katerina are adorable and will make you feel like you are not in a hotel, but a guest in someone's home. Someone's otherworldly, magical, mindblowing home...

We want to live here, forever!

PS: When you come, be nice to Archie the cat (we named him Souv-LUCKY). He's the friendly grey one with the crooked tooth. We will miss him! (He likes feta and salami...in case you feel generous at breakfast time..). Or bring him some leftover souvlaki from Lotza's.
I attached a picture, so you will recognize him.
;-)

As a first-time traveller to Greece, was lucky enough to find the very best accomodation in the very best place in all of Santorini--the House of the Collector suite at Ikies.. Gorgeous, property, gorgeous view, gorgeous and most accomodating Hotel Manager,Eleni--the trifecta! Truly one of the best suites I've stayed in during my entire life in this, a magical place.. This suite is perfect for 2 couples travelling together.. Can't wait to go back!!

My husband and I spent part of our honeymoon at Ikies, and I'm finding that it's hard to explain just how perfect it was. But here goes my best shot!

The hotel and surrounding area are just beautiful. When our taxi arrived in the parking area at the top, two of the staff were there to greet us and help us with our bags. We then took the (many, many) stairs down, first to the reception office, and then to our room, the House of the Cook. The Cook's House was not our first choice, as many of the other rooms were already booked when we made our reservations, but it ended up being just lovely. The decor was simple and pleasant, and the room and loft were a lot larger than we expected. We had two bathrooms, one upstairs in the loft bedroom and one downstairs. There were two couches in the living area where my husband and I enjoyed stretching out - with him of course on the couch opposite the flat-screen TV, and me reading a book on the couch under it! Our balcony was on the small side but had a stunning view and was on its own level so it felt private.

And the breakfast that they delivered every morning... Oh, the breakfast. So good! First of all, when we checked in they gave us a form where we could mark everything that we wanted for breakfast and the time we wanted it delivered. I wasn't expecting that we would have a choice on what was served, so this was a nice surprise. The choices that I can remember were (although I'm sure I'm forgetting some): fruit, pastries/bread/muffins, ham/turkey/salami, cheeses, cereal, yogurt, honey, jam, coffee/cappuccino/lattes/tea/milk. Promptly at the appointed time, I would hear them quietly setting the table on our balcony and then we'd get a polite knock on the door letting us know our breakfast was ready. My husband can attest to the fact that I am not a morning person AT ALL, yet I was out there before him every morning with a big smile on my face. The combination of the breakfast and the view was definitely worth waking up early for!

I also loved the location of Ikies - the view of the caldera and of Oia is just breathtaking, and we loved that it was in such a quiet location yet was only a short walk from the restaurants and shopping of Oia. On that note, I personally much preferred Oia to Fira - prettier, more quaint, and with better shopping.

And the staff: the reception staff while we were there (Eleni, Loella, and Katerina) were just amazing. From the planning emails I exchanged with all three of them prior to our trip I felt like I knew them already, and actually meeting them in person just made that feeling stronger. They were all three so friendly and attentive. And although I unfortunately do not know the name of the rest of the staff (cleaning, maintenance, etc.) they were amazing as well. Everyone we came in contact with while we were there was so polite and always had a smile for us.

A perfect example of how much Ikies' staff goes above and beyond for their guests: when we were checking out, they inquired about the rest of our vacation and we told them that we were staying in Athens for one night before we flew back to the States. During the course of this small talk they asked which hotel we were staying at and we told them the Sofitel Athens airport. When we checked into the Sofitel later that day, the woman at the front desk congratulated us on our recent marriage and told us there would be a special honeymoon gift in our room - which turned out to be a platter of fruit and bottle of wine. We were just further amazed with the Greek hospitality we had encountered on our trip, until we realized: the Sofitel should have had no idea it was our honeymoon! I booked our room online and had not corresponded with anyone at the hotel prior to our arrival, so it was a mystery to us how they knew... until we remembered that the Ikies' staff had specifically inquired about what hotel we were staying at next. That is just incredible to me; it's pretty much the definition of above and beyond. Our stay at Ikies was over, they had our money and they were already sending us away very happy, yet they still took the time to call our next hotel and tip them off that we were on our honeymoon, so that we would get special treatment on our last night in Greece. Just incredibly thoughtful.

As a testament to how much we loved our time at Ikies, we are already planning our next trip there! This time we will be staying in the House of the Winemaker. Although we loved the House of the Cook, we are very excited to next time have a jacuzzi tub indoors, and a large balcony with a hot tub outdoors. :)

You must stay here. It's the best thing we did the whole trip to Santorini! The staff is excellent, the breakfast is amazing, and the views...man, the views are spectacular!