We absolutely LOVED this stay. There are easily thousands of cliff-side villas with pools between Imerovigli and Oia, and most of them are far more expensive. I feel like we scored one of the best, but not just based on price.
Hara’s Houses (especially our unit, lowest on the cliff and closest to the pool) have a 230º panoramic view of the Caldera, plus a golden hour sunset that doesn’t requiring leaving your deck chair. Our host, Anna, was an exceptional communicator, promptly replying to any questions and making sure we had everything we needed, be it adventure planning or relaxing by the pool. Best of all, there are no neighbors to the left, right or below. This is extremely rare in Imerovigli, and even rarer in crowded Oia. To the right and below our unit was simply nature; to the left, an unused home. The privacy we had compared to most of the properties in Santorini was really special.
The villas are also in a wonderful neighborhood: each night, after a day touring wineries or hiking trails, we’d ascend to the town square for sunset cocktails and dinner. The climb—about four flights of stairs—isn’t for everyone, but even our out-of-shape American bodies could get from our villa to dozens of restaurants in just a few minutes.
I’m so glad we choose to stay in Imerovigli over Oia. Oia is photogenic, but just overrun with waves of cruise ship tourists, standing in line to take the same photograph over, and over, and over. Imerovigli feels like what I imagine Santorini felt like before it became so popular. Still lots of people, but laid back.
A wonderful stay in a comfortable home with excellent hosts, including the ever-smiling Kaha who grabbed our very heavy luggage on arrival and leaped down scores of steep stairs like a mountain goat...and helped get them back to our car on check out. He was a godsend! Thank you Anna and Kaha!