Nicoletta's house was our "big spend" on a year long world trip and by no means was it overpriced. Compared to the rest of Oia, this was the most unique and perfect place we could have found for the money and we felt extremely privileged to be able to stay there.
We had very high expectations from the photos and other reviews and from the moment we arrived, it felt as if we were living an alternate reality. Santorini is heaving with tourists but the unique position of the house means that you have a place of your very own when you descend the stairs from Oia village.
Armani bay is actually a thriving little tourist drop off point too,with a number of large boats coming in everyday at about 4pm, so if you are looking or absolute seclusion, you won't find it here. However, it is the perfect spot for people watching and we enjoyed many hours lying on the deck chairs watching people coming and going and speculating on who owned the enormous luxury boats that came into the Caldera and often spent the nigh near Armeni.
We had booked for 6 and ended up being 8 and the house accommodated us all perfectly. The two bathrooms make it easy to have 8 guests. While there is air-conditioning on the middle and top floor, we didn't use it as we had the windows wide open every night and never had a single mosquito. It was beautiful falling asleep to the sound of the sea and a cool breeze and the house is very tranquil and quiet at night.
The kayaks are such a bonus and we paddled around the corner to watch the sunset on a couple of occasions. Our favourite destination was the church on the rock, within paddling distance where the kids spent all day jumping.
My highlight was a sunrise walk up the stairs to Oia where I enjoyed the empty quiet streets with the light rising on the buildings.
Nicoletta organised our journey with our luggage from the ferry to the house and vice versa and it was much easier than I expected. The supermarket at the top of the stairs is reasonably priced and we cooked at home nearly every night, we enjoyed being in the house so much.
Thank you for an unforgettable stay.