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Hotel Kirini on Santorini, Greece

The Kirini Hotel is located in Oia (Ia) on the Santorini island, 84702, Cyclades Islands, Greece. I’m staying here for five nights in early October 2007. As part of an association called “Relais & Chateau”, this is supposed to play in the same league as some of the finest hotels in the world. To make it clear right in front: It doesn’t. As will be repeated many times in this blog, the luxury of our modern times lies in privacy, space and silence. All of this is actively violated here.

But let’s start with the good things. As probably all of the places in Oia looking towards the Caldera, the crater resulting from the disastrous outbreak of the Santorini volcano 1600 BC , the view is stunning. The suites are moderately spacy and the staff is friendly and tries to fulfil the wishes of the guest, as long as they are standard. And here is where the problems start. The communal areas of the hotel are all located around a small pool where also breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in small caves. If you don’t insist, the music is turned up to an unbearable level. If you ask for it to be turned down, your request is fulfilled and minutes later the level comes up again. You can do this three times and then the discussion starts. “It’s the policy of the hotel”, is the first answer to your “Why”. Further dispute ends with the typical “I only work here” and “Talk to the manger”.

So, you go back to your room – but only to find it as a victim of a chemical assault 🙂 A so-called “air freshener” has been used by the room maid in such an amount that breathing get hard and asthmatic attacks follow. I thought this might have been an insect repellent used only on the first day but it wasn’t. After the room being “made up” in this way, it was not usable for more than three hours. Since the rooms are carved into the crater walls, air exchange through the small window in front is slow. We asked the room service to stop these assaults for the rest of our time being here, which worked.

Directly next to the potentially most private senior and superior suites in the hotel, there is the laundry and assembly point of the personnel, always accommodating a large enough number of people to create a constant stream of loud chatter in Greek and Russian, starting at 8 am in the morning. The place could be wonderfully quiet. Maybe this is again the policy of the hotel, so the guest do not feel too lonely here.

For a location where one is just supposed to relax in various places, this hotel is a total disaster. The only potential place to hide in silence and shadow is your room, which, again, is in the chatter range of the laundry personnel (not only our room, but a least a hand full). I can only recommend to avoid this hotel if possible.

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Categorised as: Hotels, Leisure