My wife and I stayed at the Sea Captain’s House in September 2006. We were really torn and often have difficulty choosing the best place (for us – and I’d think, for most discerning travelers). My wife and I aren’t extremely big spenders but do like a nice place to stay. We had read about the Sea Captain’s House in “Travel and Leisure” magazine and did extensive investigating from there. While Tony’s House certainly looked great, there were a lot of places on the island that looked equally as nice. Our biggest issue was that the House didn’t offer a pool. Since I’m a bit of a needy potential guest with lots of questions that usually go unanswered, I expected my dealings with Tony to be no different than with any other not-so-helpful owner/hotel operator. I’m exaggerating a bit but while we travel on vacation once or maybe twice a year, we really want everything to be great. We’re pretty easy going and definitely fun loving 34-year olds but want to be sure that our home base while on vacation is nice, comfortable, not ridiculously expensive and just what the doctor ordered.

So in one of my several e-mails to Tony (who is American by the way), I mentioned that after much deliberation, our only concern left was that he didn’t have a pool…in the middle of summer in Greece while we’re there on vacation for 5 days. In the typical helpful and friendly way, Tony said in a matter-of-fact way that if the pool was that important to us, we could use a nearby pool or even his car for a day to go to the beach. That worked for us and boy are we glad. The day at the beach was a blast by the way and we never really missed the pool. There’s too much to see and do to sit by a pool anyway!

Tony is a most gracious host with extremely helpful staff which makes the Sea Captain’s House even better than just an incredible room and view. Aegian Air lost our luggage; we had flown in from Athens. Evidently this is relatively common, so be aware. Being without a fresh change of clothes after traveling for a day from Los Angeles, we weren’t terribly happy or comfortable. Tony’s staff offered to work with the airline in order to get our luggage back so that we didn’t have to. They also set us up on the roof with a very nice, delicious meal on our first night since we weren’t properly dressed for our dinner reservations we had made before getting to the island.

Let me say this. Do not let the Aegian Air thing worry you. We weren’t thrilled, that’s for sure, but the luggage did come eventually. One bag came the next day. My wife’s came a day later. We had five days on the island and only had to buy my wife a bathing suit in a shop there to make due. Tony even loaned us his own sweater to wear!

Of all the great places to stay on this island (and we considered them all), I wouldn’t hesitate to stay at the Sea Captain’s House. Our room was incredible. We stayed in the Captain’s Room which is huge, has a loft with another bed upstairs and a beautiful bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. Our patio was also very large and shared by those wanting to go into the lobby. Since you’re only sharing your hotel with guests in two other rooms, you almost never see your hotelmates walking through your patio and into the lobby. When you do see them, you may even want to share a nightcap with them. We came home from a marvelous sunset sail (arranged by Tony and his staff) with another couple staying at the Sea Captain’s House. We enjoyed their company so much, we decided to order some wine from the staff and sit out on our patio. The staff even brought some goodies to eat along with the wine…cheese, nuts, fruit and it was about 11 o’clock at night.

Oia is a great place in which to stay. It’s small, quaint, just perfect. And the views, breathtaking. I was so excited to be in the Greek Islands, that on the first night, I decided to walk down to the fishing harbor below, while my wife slept. It’s truly a magical place. We went back to have a fish dinner one night and it was one of the best meals we had on the island (the restaurant all the way to the left, when you’re facing the sea, at the bottom of the steps). Tony’s restaurants are exceptional too. The first meal we had out on our patio was from Ambrosia & Nectar. The fancy night was at Tony’s other restaurant, Ambrosia. Excellent. But don’t avoid the cheap gyro places in Fira either. Delicious and better than the fancy meal we had in Fira on another night. I’d say try Tony’s for dinner and then the fish restaurant in Oia’s harbor and stick with the not so fancy places.

We had a lot of people ask us why we chose to stay on the island for more than 2 days (most people cruise and miss so much in their ½ day visit). We felt that even with 5 days, we could have stayed longer. After this, we headed to Mykonos for 6 nights and stayed at the Mykonos Grand (which was fabulous too – and different). We’d go back in a heartbeat, hope to stay longer and definitely stay at the Sea Captain’s House again.

I can't agree more with all the reviews that have been written about Sea Captain's House. The view from the balcony is phenomenal, probably the best we've seen (and we're fairly well-traveled). The rooms are unique, delightful and very comfortable. We stayed in the Sailing Suite which I think has the best balcony of the 3 rooms. Our breakfasts on the balcony with bellinis, fresh croissants, basically everything you could want, were a joy to wake up to. If you're not into the nightlife of Fira, Oia is the place to stay. The town is quaint and lively, great restaurants and coffee shops, and very romantic. We rented Tony's Peugeot and took a drive of the island, visiting a few wineries and the beaches on the other side of the island. The staff were very accomodating and eager to please. When my husband caught a cold, they were soon at our door with hot tea, cookies, and Vapor Rub as well as lots of sympathy. Highly recommend this place!!

Santorini was the perfect honeymoon location, and the Sea Captain's House was the best place to stay. The views were incredible and the staff was great! We enjoyed an incredible breakfast on our terrace every morning and the staff always gave thoughtful suggestions for where to go and what to see. Ever since our first email with the manager Tony we knew that we would be taken care of and that our trip would be first-class.

We ended up indulging in the catamaran tour and took Tony's convertible to a nearby winery and beach on the other side of the island for the day. Both trips were perfectly timed for our short 5-day stay on the island. But be warned -- the sea can get choppy so the cataran outing is not for anyone with a weak stomach :)

If you come to Santorini for a relaxing honeymoon stay in Oia. The Sea Captains House boasts the best views on the island. While people from all over the island (and off of cruise ships) wander to Oia for the sunset -- there is great value in staying in this location -- staying in Oia guarentees you the best location and restaurants for the famous sunset! Trust me, try the Sea Captains House, you will not be disappointed!!

We stayed here at the end of September 2006 based solely on Trip Advisor reviews. Tony and his staff served us well and we enjoyed lovely massages as well as the 'as advertised' lazy breakfast daily on our deck. Would readily stay there again based on the excellent service and attention to detail.