Is the Sea Breeze Resort Santorini, Curio Collection by Hilton worth your money? (Review)
Opened just this year, there is finally a Hilton group hotel on the famous Greek island of Santorini. This hotel is moreover a very special one, only 37 "rooms" can be found on the property, most of them are in smaller villas, all of them have at least a private jacuzzi, most of them even a plunge pool - and these are heated all year round. We are happy to have been able to visit the resort shortly after it opened, just days before it closed for the winter season.
LOCATION
The location of the hotel is very remote from any tourist spots on the island. If you are interested in the iconic views of the island, which are everywhere on social media platforms, you must plan to take at least a day trip to the towns of Oia or Thiera, which are almost on the opposite side of the island. To reach the hotel from Santorini airport it is a good 30 minutes by car, the hotel offers a private transfer for a fee. Those who want to enjoy not only the hotel should perhaps consider whether a rental car might be a good solution, because the surrounding areas are also not easy to reach on foot. However, a central location is not the hotel's trademark, on the contrary, it is rather silence and privacy.
ARRIVAL & LOBBY
Due to various circumstances, we arrived at the hotel at 8:30 am in the morning. Our driver stopped in front of the main building, immediately a hotel employee appeared and, after a friendly greeting, took care of unloading our luggage. The hotel complex looks rather unimpressive from the outside, it can almost give the impression that it's just a single building. Even the luxury is not well visible from the outside, the building is rather simple. The large Sea Breeze logo on the outside is more reminiscent of a family vacation hotel. A discreet Curio sign gives the first clues as to what is hidden on the other side. The lobby is also rather unspectacular; there's the check-in desk, some comfortable seating, and a PC workstation pushed into a corner. Across from the front desk is a small but well-stocked bar. The basement of the building houses the spa and gym, while the upper floor has a few rooms.
CHECK-IN
Knowing that we had arrived unreasonably early at the hotel, we apologized at the reception and asked if we could kindly store our luggage and go explore the premises. After checking our reservation, the friendly staff member informed us that unfortunately our room was not ready yet (of course, six hours before the regular check-in time), but of course we could leave our luggage. In addition, she invited us to enjoy breakfast already today, free of charge. Of course, we couldn't refuse this terrific offer, and a few minutes later we were driven across the compound in a golf cart and dropped off at the breakfast restaurant. The friendly driver left us with the statement that he would pick us up as soon as the room was ready. A little worried that we would now have to eat breakfast for the next seven hours, we took a seat on the quiet outdoor terrace with sea view and enjoyed breakfast. (More on this in the "Breakfast" section, of course).
Indeed, the driver appeared after about 1.5 hours already at our table and asked whether we were finished with breakfast. In fact, we were just done and were surprised to be shuttled back to the reception. We were greeted there with the message that our room was now ready. It was 11 am. Besides the fact that we had booked the smallest room, we got an upgrade to a two bedroom villa - the largest unit offered by the hotel, as it turned out later. The rest of the check-in process was also discreet and straightforward, and the complimentary breakfast due to our status was also confirmed. We were also offered a late check out the next day. We were completely satisfied. We kindly declined the second shuttle service and walked to our villa. Our luggage was brought a little later.
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ROOM
Our King Two Bedroom Duplex Suite with Pool was huge (90 sqm/968 sqft) and of course completely oversized for two guests. We had three floors to ourselves - but we of course didn't complain about that.
FIRST FLOOR
On the first floor we found a couch with a table and two more armchairs, a closet with a coffee maker and a mini-bar, a small desk and a big TV. In addition, there was a large bathroom with a shower. There was also access to the terrace with a sitting area with table, four sun loungers with umbrellas and the gigantic heated private pool that we had been looking forward to for so long. A privacy screen separated us from the second half of the house, the same unit in mirror image. Despite the fact that this was the largest room in the hotel, there was no phenomenal view: we were looking mostly at dry wasteland, with individual houses of the surrounding neighbors visible. There are few rooms with ocean views, as most of the complex is far from the beach. On the positive side, however, our terrace faced the outside of the complex, giving us plenty of privacy.
The private pool in the rooms is really big and can accommodate four people to relax there, estimated to be about 4.5x2.5 m (14x8 ft). We unfortunately spent too much time in the pool and therefore forgot to measure the dimensions. It has a depth between 1.30 m (4.3 ft) and 0.7 m (2.3 ft) and on the shallow side there is a bench. Air jets can be activated at various points, which can be used for massage.
SECOND FLOOR
On the upper floor was the master bedroom with a large king bed, a small desk, another TV, a large closet and of course another bathroom, also without a bathtub by the way, but the large pool probably makes up for that. Also there was a large outdoor patio with seating for four.
BASEMENT
The basement had a complete large suite with everything: king bed, sitting area, couch, closet, minibar and a small bar table with bar stools. Of course, there was also a bathroom with shower. We later referred to it as a guest apartment and actually didn't use the basement area at all during our stay. However, obviously this is great for more than two people because it allows both parties to enjoy some privacy and also to retreat from time to time. It also helps that there is another floor between the two bedrooms.
WIFI SPEED
As always, measured in the middle of the master bed: 29.7 Mbps download, 28.7 Mbps download. This is definitely not the highest speed, but it is quite sufficient for normal uses. Streaming music or videos is no problem.
TEMPERATURE
With all three air conditioners activated, we were able to measure 18.6 degrees Celsius (65.5 °F) as the lowest indoor temperature. This is quite low and should be absolutely sufficient for most.
HOUSEKEEPING
Unfortunately, since we were only on site for one night, we could not experience the daily room cleaning. However, we were able to experience the turndown service, which was done professionally and discreetly in the evening. Besides fresh towels, we got a plate full of small chocolates.
BREAKFAST
Breakfast is served in the main restaurant near the beach. It is a five to ten minute walk from the villa to the restaurant, but if walking is a problem, you can also call a shuttle. There is a small breakfast room with four to five tables and a larger terrace. Of course, since the weather allows breakfast outside almost all year round, this is not a problem.
The breakfast experience is very pleasant. Because of the limited number of units, it is never crowded, of course, and there is sufficient staff for very individual service. There is no buffet, but an extensive menu, all dishes are prepared individually. The attentive staff makes sure that the drinks at the table are never empty. The menu selection is well mixed and something can be found for every taste. Special requests were easily accommodated.
Unfortunately, we must now criticize at this point, because unfortunately there were three points that massively disturbed us at breakfast and which unfortunately have a great impact on the overall experience, specifically in the price range of the hotel:
The quality of the ingredients
Even though the dishes were beautifully arranged and lovingly prepared, the quality of the ingredients did not match the luxurious ambience of the hotel and we really hope that there will be major changes in this area. Especially with the cold cuts and cheeses, it was easy to see that they were pre-cut industrial products. The sausage was cut very thick, all slices looked the same. The taste unfortunately confirmed it, none of the toppings were specifically selected and freshly sliced. These foods were also found in the hot dishes: the standardized and molded ham slice was found in the Croque Monsier and the Eggs Benedict. The breads were not fresh, and the whipped cream was from a spray can. All coffee preparations were made with Nespresso capsules. To be fair, we can at least say that fruits and vegetables overall made a very fresh and good impression.
The distance between kitchen and guest
The hot dishes are actually prepared elsewhere in the hotel complex, there is unfortunately no kitchen in the breakfast restaurant itself. Even though the food is delivered well packaged like room service, it seems that too much time passes between the preparation and the moment the guest eats the dish. All the hot dishes we got were just too cold.
Grilled instead of toasted
In our case, we also had the problem that the bread was not toasted in the classic way, but grilled. This gave them typical grill stripes, which looked great, but unfortunately the bread tasted burnt. We asked to get toasted bread, which does not taste burnt and received bread with weaker grill stripes, however, it was thus not completely toasted and tasted dry - also a problem that could be solved with fresh baked goods - and also a normal toaster. The condition lasted over both days, you can also see it in the pictures. Even the hot dishes used the same grilled bread, so the burnt taste could also be tasted in the Croque Monsieur, for example.
Despite the really stunning atmosphere and impressive ambiance - the quality of the food outweighed it, which meant that breakfast was not a delight for us.
Please note that our rating scale here of course also relates to the price range - this hotel is not bookable for less than 400€ per night and quickly costs two or three times that in the high season.
DINNER OPTIONS
Of course, the hotel's restaurants (Pool Bar/Main Restaurant) offer both lunch and dinner. These are rather high-priced, matching the price range of the hotel. We have photographed an excerpt of the menus for you. Due to the significant quality issues with breakfast, it was too risky for us to try this and we went to the local restaurants nearby for a very good meal. Therefore, there are unfortunately no photos of the dishes.
ROOM SERVICE
The room service worked quickly and straightforwardly for us. We ordered a bucket of ice cubes and glasses as a test, and they were delivered within a few minutes and free of charge. We find it a little unfortunate that the room service charge, i.e. the fee that is additionally charged when you order a dish, is 15€ per order. This is unnecessary given the price range of the accommodation and the food, especially since the food is also delivered to the restaurant anyway, as there is no kitchen in the restaurant. For the simplicity and convenience of the customer, we think this fee should be accommodated in the total cost or just be some sort of nominal fee.
SPA
The spa area unfortunately is only rooms for treatments. Most treatments also include products from the house brand of the care line. The treatments offered cost between 190 and 285 € for 70-to 110 minutes, depending on the session.
GYM
The gym is also located in the basement next to the spa area. It's very small and also has no view due to its location; in fact, there are almost no windows. Because of the few units in the hotel, the size is probably reasonable; those who need fitness equipment will find a compact but good selection.
POOLS
In addition to the private pools, there are a couple of public pools, the main pool is also large enough to swim laps. It's right next to the restaurant and pool bar and surrounded by sun loungers. The public pools, unlike the private ones, are not heated. Please also note that all pools in the resort, likewise the private ones, are filled with salt water.
BEACH
Access to the hotel's private beach is available from the pool/restaurant area. As usual in Santorini, the beach has black sand. The way to the sun loungers is covered with wooden boards, so you can reach them comfortably. The look is very special and the atmosphere very private.
OVERALL SERVICE
The service level is definitely high. All staff members are extremely friendly and helpful, generally there is more staff than usual. It is also worth mentioning that we received a nice little parting gift at check-out, a small amenity kit from the hotel's skincare line.
STAY DETAILS
We were unfortunately only able to stay one night, mid-October 2022. We paid 96,000 Hilton Honors points. Cash rates start at 410€ in the off season and easily go up to 700-1000€ for the standard room in the high season.
STATUS RECOGNITION
The status recognition was very high. In addition to the upgrade to the largest villa, complimentary breakfast (even on the day of arrival), early check-in and late check-out, there was also a huge welcome gift consisting of sparkling wine, water, macarons and fruit.
SUMMARY
A wonderful hotel to enjoy tranquility and witness few other guests. The service is on a high level, the hotel hardware in best condition. Private pools are a particular luxury. Unfortunately, the quality of the food at breakfast is poor and tarnishes the experience. The price range of the hotel is extremely high, this is of course also reflected in other services and offerings. Of course, this does not justify a good price/performance ratio. Those who do not have to pay attention to the price will enjoy a relaxed and well cared for vacation here, but for the price-conscious vacationer this is not the right place.
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