We stayed in Oia for 5 night in the last week of June 07 and really loved it. We booked direct online in advance after weeks of searching through websites.
Location: For a start, I'd say definitely choose Oia over Fira. You can't move in Fira without coming across cutprice moped hire shops or tacky gold stores. Oia is much more chilled, upmarket and relaxing with an even better view. (you can't see the sun set into the sea from Fira). Alta Mare is right in the middle of Oia, a short stroll from the sunset viewpoint (busiest part) but private and not overlooked like the hotels there.
Hotel: Alta Mare is a real gem in Oia. Bargain price of 120euro per night (you won't get anywhere on the caldera for this - except maybe the Delfini Hotel which looked nice but not quite as good as Alta Mare!)
Ask for the Andros room which has access to a shared terrace at the front door as well as a lovely private balcony overlooking the caldera (absolutely amazing view!). This room also has a 4 poster bed and lovely furniture. From what i glimpsed of the other rooms, and their position, i would say without a doubt this is the best room. Bathroom isn't huge but everything is spotlessly clean.
Breakfast, served to you on your balcony each morning, is not to be missed! We had fruit, croissants, pain au chocolat, toasties, cereal, countless pastries and breads, juice, coffee, tea and yoghurt.
Pool and jacuzzi are fab, good size for Santorini. Very clean, excellent view.
Don't Miss:
1.The tiny basement bookshop just near the fork in the street (you'll know it when you see it!), which is an amazing place to spend half an hour!
2. The sunset. If you want to eat the restaurants with a sunset view, book at least one day in advance. Or take a bottle of wine and sit on the fort ruins with the crowds. (even better - go back at midnight, lie on your back at the deserted fort and see how bright the stars are!)
3. The deli cake shop a short walk from Alta Mare on the left hand side. Amazing cakes and pastries and milkshakes!
4. Snorkel at Amoudi beach. It's a real hike down (and then up!!) the cliff but well worth it!

Transport: We got a taxi from the port to our hotel which is 25 euros although the buses stop 2 mins away and are reliable and cheap at 1.80euro.

We arrived in Oia late on a Tuesday and our booked hotel was dirty and horrible. We took a walk and there was something inviting about Alta Mare so we went to check it out. Not only was the owner/manager a delightful greek woman but the bathroom floors were so clean they were sparkling at night!! She found us 2 rooms for the next 3 nights and gave us a fabulous deal (much better than our other hotel, which admittedly did have a sunset view but was old and moldy and smelly, and our rooms had been direclty over and under the overchlorinated pool).

At Alta Mare my parents and I had a shared patio and they brought us down a continental breakfast each morning to our own little tables overlooking the caldera. The breakfast was fresh and tasty (and way too much food). The rooms were equipped with TV, A/C and a mini kitchen and fridge. The maid service was impeccable as well. When we checked out she kissed us all on the cheek and helped us find someone to take up the luggage. They are doing lots of modernizing as well and all the outdoor furniture was brand new and the pool was very clean. The flower arrangements around the premises were expensive and new and very tasteful.

They saved us from a horrible situation and made our stay in Oia lovely.

(Also, the hotel has much easier to navigate stairs than most of the places in Oia. Our prior hotel had about 5 flights of stone steps to get down to the rooms. This has about 1.5 flights of modern and flat steps that really made a difference.)

THanks!!

We stayed at the Alta Mare in Sept -06 on out honeymoon. The travel agent messed up our reservation so we were only able to stay 3 days and had to stay somewhere else the other 2 days but that is not the hotel's fault.

The location was fabulous, but there were a lot of stairs! It was not a problem for us (It's good exercise!) but could be a problem if you were in poor shape, physically challenged, had small children, or a senior not in the best of health.

I loved the room- we had a canopy bed and a private balcony overlooking the caldera. I loved how they served us breakfast on your balcony. It was so perfect for our honeymoon and very romantic. There was a little kitchen we didn't use and lots of good restaurants in Oia. The other guests seemed to be mainly other youngish couples in their mid/late 20's through 30's...we enjoyed the company around the pool.

The Alta Mare was a very good value for our honeymoon...plenty of romance and a great aesthetic. The room was kept very clean.

I loved Oia, so beautiful lots of great restaurants and very romantic. Definately the place to stay on a honeymoon. We checked out the sunsets nightly. If you are young and single I would stay in or near Fira for the nightlife. We stayed in Imerovigli for 2 nights so made it down to Fira (cabs) that part of our stay.

If you go, do not miss the boat trip to the caldera where you visit the fishing village and swim in the hot springs. Take a donkey back up the hill. A fabulous day and wonderful memory.

As for restaurants in Oia, Skala was good and a good value. 1850 was good but pricey. We never had a bad meal in Oia though. If you go to Fira eat at Selene- delicious and so romantic!

We loved our stay at the Alta Mare and Oia, and would stay there again...we hope to return some day.

Wonderful location, great views of the caldera. As with most accommodation in Santorini there are a great many stairs down to our rooms. When our foursome arrived the owners actually carried out bags down to our rooms (and up when we left). We found the owners to be very helpful and extremely pleasant. Irene's husband may look a little stern but was always friendly and willing to assist in any way. We travelled to Fira one day but decided that we had made the right choice to stay in Oia, which to us was far more interesting and had lots of shops other than wall to wall gold stores. We would definitely return to the Alta Mare.
B.Orr, Chilliwack BC