Kivotos Santorini

High above the caldera in Imerovigli, Kivotos Santorini, part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, turns one of the island’s great panoramas into something intensely private, with Skaros Rock, the volcano and sunset filling the view from every room and suite.

Kivotos takes a strikingly contemporary approach to Santorini. Curved glass, sculpted interiors and carefully positioned openings replace much of the familiar whitewashed simplicity, with the architecture designed to capture the changing light and keep the caldera constantly present.

The cleverest detail is found in the bedrooms, where specially curved windows have been positioned so the final rays of the evening sun reach directly inside. It is a wonderfully theatrical idea on an island famous for sunset, particularly when you can watch it happen from your bed or your own pool.

Rooms & Suites

Accommodation is unusually ambitious, ranging from caldera facing rooms and honeymoon suites to substantial two, three and four bedroom villas. Every category has been created around the sunset view, with heated plunge pools, outdoor hot tubs, cave pools and indoor pools appearing throughout the collection.

The suites have a polished contemporary finish, with custom made furniture, excellent mattresses, Sonos sound systems and lighting that can be controlled by iPad. Yet the technology never becomes the story. Once the curtains are open, attention inevitably returns to Skaros and the vast sweep of the caldera outside.

For something particularly indulgent, the Mystic Suite combines its heated plunge pool with an indoor pool, while the larger villas create impressive private retreats for families or friends travelling together. The four bedroom Wellness Villa sits at the top of the collection, pairing substantial living space with its own indoor pool and outdoor hot tub.

Dining

Mavro gives dinner the same sense of occasion as the accommodation. Mediterranean ingredients are handled with French technique in a more considered style of cooking, making the restaurant somewhere worth reserving an evening for rather than simply the convenient place to eat downstairs.

Sunset inevitably dictates the timing. Drinks at the skybar allow you to watch the colours change across the caldera before dinner, while private dining can make the most of the terraces and extraordinary views surrounding the suites and villas.

Breakfast can also be taken privately, and this is one hotel where staying in your room for the first meal of the day makes perfect sense. With a heated pool outside and Skaros directly ahead, there is very little reason to rush anywhere.

Experience

The infinity pool occupies another privileged position above the caldera, although Kivotos is intimate enough that much of the day naturally gravitates towards the privacy of individual terraces. It creates a quieter style of Santorini stay where the view is shared by remarkably few people.

When you do venture out, walking and cycling routes provide a way to experience the landscape beyond the hotel, with diving, snorkelling, horse riding and sailing among the wider possibilities around the island. Imerovigli itself is also perfectly placed for walks along the caldera rim.

The hotel can arrange private experiences and island days, but it is worth leaving plenty of empty space in the itinerary. Kivotos is particularly good at making an afternoon beside your own pool feel like a perfectly legitimate plan.

Wellness

Wellness is woven through the hotel rather than confined to a conventional spa circuit. Hammam rituals, massages, body treatments and beauty therapies are complemented by yoga, fitness sessions and personal training, with treatments also able to become part of the privacy of a suite or villa.

Several accommodation categories take that idea even further with indoor pools and hot tubs of their own. It makes wellness feel less like an appointment and more like something that can quietly occupy an hour whenever the mood takes you.

Where

Kivotos sits high in Imerovigli with Skaros Rock directly ahead and easy access to the spectacular caldera path. Oia lies further north along the island, while Fira is close enough for restaurants and evenings out, leaving you with a wonderfully peaceful base between Santorini’s best known towns and one of its finest views waiting when you return.

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