We've stayed at Kavalari at least five times since our first visit in 1998. We were first attracted by the incredible views, pleasant terraces and location in the center of Fira, and those are still Kavalari's biggest assets. I've always considered the steep, meandering stairways and odd-shaped rooms part of the property's charm, as a converted former captain's house and stable. We have recommended the hotel to a number of our friends and relatives for their visits to Santorini over the years.
This has never been a luxury hotel. Over the past few years improvements have been made to the common facilities, like a new hot tub (kept a comfortable swimming pool temperature during the summer), trellises for shade, and free wireless Internet access.
The rooms, however, have been on a slow decline since 1998. Our room in 2008 still has the same spartan furnishings, including a cheap plastic stool in the bathroom. The window curtains look like they haven't been cleaned in years. Things are literally falling apart--the handle on our window keeps falling off, the main room lights don't work, the lamp near the door has no bulb, and the small window in the bathroom is missing its screen. The shower curtain has some mysterious brown smears--probably harmless, but should guests really be left wondering about this sort of thing? One of the water glasses in the bathroom hadn't been cleaned since the previous guests used it to hold their toothbrushes.
When we mentioned these problems to the manager on duty, he essentially shrugged them off, complaining about how difficult it is to get good help these days.
The maintenance issues might be forgivable if the cost of the rooms hadn't tripled over the past decade. Sanitary issues and indifferent staff are unacceptable in any hotel, no matter what the cost.
We'll be staying elsewhere the next time we visit Santorini.
