Vedema, A luxury Collection Resort, Santorini

I stayed at this hotel last summer, but as I'm booking my next Greek vacation, I wanted to review The Vedema. I have read several reviews about how people are disappointed with the location, which is not in Oia or Fira (this was clear to me on the website). I absolutely loved that is in an authentic Greek village, and it is away from the big crowds. The village of Megalohori is charming and I enjoyed taking an afternoon walk around the village everyday. The staff is fantastic. Particularly at the front desk completely friendly and welcoming. The concierge did a great job of reaching out in advance, to confirm my airport transfer, as well as seeing if there was anything they could arrange in advance of my arrival. The concierge also paired me with one of the best guides I have ever had anywhere in the world (Eugenia). I stayed in a villa with a private pool - the room was lovely, and I liked the open view (this a not a traditional Santorini hillside view). The decor of the room was chic greek, and exactly as looked in the website photos, but it fell short in the bathroom and shower - the shower was in the room, and looked like a cheap whirlpool with doors, and it is in the room - not in a separate bathroom, so you have no choice but to look at it, which was really kind of unpleasant. A shame since the outdoor space, private pool, and decor were perfect for me. Another note, is that I am runner, and Santorini is way to hilly (for me) to run outdoors. I had no choice but to use the gym, which is in a cave. It is really sub-par. It is very hot, there is no ventilation other than the front door, and the equipment is filthy, and covered in sweat. I had no choice but to use the gym, but it really was not pleasant. I would like to have given this hotel 5 stars, because it is such a beautiful property, the staff is fantastic, I liked the decor, the town, and the overall vibe - but the shower really felt budget hotel to me, and the gym is just so bad. The good news, is that those seem like easy things to address.

In a less crowded romantic part of Santorini the property is awesome with a great vibe. The staff is the best .. very helpful with all recommendations. we dived at Navys water world . had dinner at Mr E and Ammoudi fish tavernmand rented a car all suggested by the staff. The rooms are very comfortable and the pool is great. Best of all, we used our Starwood points.

Fantastic hotel. It's built on a 400+ year old winery, and maintains the theme. The walkways are built out of the lava ash and volcano rock. The "Salt" restaurant (Alati) was a great experience in Greek food and wine. The food was delicious, and eclectic. The hotel provides routine shuttles to the beach and towns, and the lunch restaurant by the pool had great food. Lastly, the front desk (Eri, in particular) genuinely cared about your trip, and made recommendations and reservations based on preferences. This hotel is GREAT, especially considering it's about 10-15 minutes from the nearest "place to explore", the town of Fira. Would definitely stay again, thanks for a great time!

The service here was absolutely first rate! The restaurant by the pool had great breakfast buffet every day and my friend and I both had tasty and creative items from their lunch menu. The rooms here were pretty basic and did not have any water views, but were very pleasant. The pool area is very nice, with fantastic drink service, but it is not at all a "lively" scene. Definitely do not go there thinking you will meet people here, lots of couples and families. The spa was great, and they will even open earlier than normal hours to accommodate your plans, which they did for me. I did their signature massage, which had the intended effect of putting me in a nice zen mode of relaxation. The only issue with this location is you are not near either of the two city type centers (Fira or Oia), but at least there are a few free shuttles per day to Fira. The other nice thing about this hotel is that it is walking distance from Boutari Winery, which was a great experience!

The resort was very nice and the service was good but for a SPG Luxury Resort it needs to be awesome on all levels. The restaurant manager was awesome, a really professional, she went out of her way to please. Greek Night on Thursday was very well done and a don't miss event. The location was not that centrally located, had to take taxi or the hotel shuttle to where ever you want to go. They have a very nice private beach but you need to take their shuttle that runs about every hour, the beach was a 15 minutes away. If you are looking for a remote location with not many outside the resort alternatives, this is the place.