Afroditi Venus - Kamari, Greece 

Definitely the best hotel I've stayed in so far in Greece (if you go for afordable, reasonably priced hotels). I've been to Afroditi part of the hotel, which was recently renovated. A clean, nicely situated hotel in the center of Kamari, next to the beach - you only have to go through its "sister" Venus to get to the beach promenade (no cars allowed) and the beach. We've had some problems with the first room - it was right next to the kitchen so there was lots of noise the whole day&night long, but we requested another room and were provided with one - a much more quieter one (apart from A/C for the restaurant on the roof, but it was only turned on for a few hours each day, and not during the night). The staff was friendly, food was OK. At the beach they provide (at least in early season) free sunbeds and umbrellas, plus you get free towels (but they tend to run out of those quickly). All in all, I would definitely recommend both the hotel as well as Kamari in general!

I stayed in this hotel for three nights in Sept 2007. Because of bad weather and cancelled ferries, the hotel was coping with a backlog of stranded travelers, so my experience may not have been typical. I ended up in two different rooms because of this backlog. Here were my experiences: Positives: – The hotel is right on the beach, which is a volcanic black-sand beach so can get very hot (this beach is lovely at dawn, though). There is a direct path from the hotel right onto the beach promenade, which is lined with many shops and restaurants and is semi-pedestrianized, and there are many food shops within walking distance. (The promenade is highly touristy; if you eat there, choose your restaurant with care.) – I was also able to walk from the hotel to Ancient Thira – a lovely hike. – My first room was gorgeous, cool sea-toned pastels and white, with a domed roof and a sea view. My second room had a bit of a view back toward the hills and was.... Pink. (Ick.) – The A/C in both rooms was excellent, but (as I learned the hard way), your balcony door must be completely closed and latched for the A/C to work. – The bus to Fira stops just down the road, a walk of a minute or two, and there is a shady open-air shelter to wait in. – Both of my rooms were large and were kept well-serviced by the hardworking maids, who seemed to be on the job 24/7. – The hotel has a large, lovely pool. Other factors/negatives: – Because of the ferry-backlog situation, the first night I was there I was forced to share a family suite with another person (not a traveling companion of mine). Each room was separate and had its own bathroom, but there was no connecting door between them (just an open staircase), which meant essentially no privacy; the staff also refused to give us two keys for this room, even though we didn’t know each other. For the second and third nights, I was moved to the single I was supposed to be in, but it was a bit of an ordeal. The staff were pretty swamped with travelers affected by the ferry cancellations, and they were not as polite or as patient as they could have been (although I do think they were trying their best to cope with a difficult situation). Also, the time I was promised my single kept changing, becoming later and later (it was later clear that the later time was always the intended time). I would have preferred to have been honestly told the actual time to begin with. – I like firm beds, but both of these beds were very firm indeed and probably could have been a little less so for my tastes. They were also very low to the ground (about 12-18"); if you have problems getting out of low furniture, you might want to check the bed height before accepting your room. – My first room was missing its shower curtain, had a toilet that was extremely loud and took many, many minutes to stop running, and had a burned-out light bulb in one of the two bedside lamps. My second room was in much better repair (despite being Pink :-), but it contained a few mosquitoes and had a noisy ceiling fan. – The breakfast buffet was rarely available at the advertised starting time of 7.30 AM, and was quite limited in content. Staff members were snappy with people who politely inquired (after 7.30 AM) as to when the buffet would begin. I never ate dinner in the hotel so can’t comment on that. – The buses to and from Fira can be VERY crowded (especially right before/after sunset), and you must change in Fira for Oia, so if you plan to spend a lot of time in either place, the bus travel situation should be taken into account before you decide on staying in Kamari. – There was some street noise in the early morning, but it wasn’t too awful. Summary: If I were to return to Santorini, I would stay in either Fira or (preferably) Oia, rather than in Kamari, so as to avoid the congested bus rides. In addition, this hotel could use some more regular maintenance, and I wasn’t overly happy with the staff (except for the maids, who were great), so I probably wouldn’t return to this particular hotel. It is, however, in an excellent location in Kamari, near the bus, shopping, restaurants, and beach. If you would like to be away from the scene in Fira or Oia, this hotel might serve your needs.