Olia Dome was everything we hoped for and more! All the other reviews already mention how amazing the views are, so I won’t go to much into detail on that. Instead I’ll go into some of the other details that make this place truly special.
Like many of the luxury rentals in Santorini, Olia Dome is fairly new and the people who designed it did an amazing job, featuring a cave style, all white interior and a high dome ceiling. The designers clearly paid special attention to the lighting, there are accent lights all over the villa that make it look almost like an art gallery or museum. There’s a large window with a electronic shade that covers the entire place in natural light during the day. I personally love waking up to natural light in the mornings, it’s a great way to start a day, but you can leave the shade down if that’s not your thing. The pictures of the bathroom don’t do it justice. The bathroom was awesome. There is plenty of sink space, towels and Olive shampoo and body wash. We loved the huge walk in shower with the rain shower head, the water stayed hot for a long time too, which is rare with many vacation rentals.
There’s plenty of closet space for shoes and cloths. There isn’t a stove or oven, but I’m not sure why somebody would want one while visiting Santorini. There is a kitchen sink, mini fridge, plenty of wine glasses and eating utensils. Another nice touch was the vanity desk on the 2nd floor loft (great for getting ready to go out). We were here for 8 days, so we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the 2 smart TVs and the fact they had live TV. It’s also worth mentioning that the wifi was super fast and the A/C was very efficient too.
The rooftop patio is the star attraction here, and it’s larger than it seems in the pictures. We set up a table next to the heated pool and spent most mornings having our own personal brunch w/ mimosas while enjoying the amazing views (thanks to a host recommended restaurant that delivered breakfast and drinks). We also spent time taking in the sun on the lounge chairs and the oversized bean bag chairs. There’s even a large patio umbrella you can use. Both of the heated pools feature great views and we took advantage of both of them. I saw one review that mentioned that the lack of privacy of the pools, which is kind of ridiculous. This rooftop is one of the highest spots on the island. From this rooftop you can see pretty much every building and outdoor patio on the side of island facing the caldera because it’s so high up. This is the way most of the island’s houses are designed… you’ll have views of all the outdoor spaces below you, but you cant see the outdoor spaces that are above you. It’s this design that creates the spectacular views you see in all the instagram and internet pictures of Santorini. Since it’s not clear on the listing it’s worth noting that there are a few small villas that are higher up and can look down at Olia Dome’s rooftop space, but since it’s one of the highest spots in Santorini, it’s actually one of the most private outdoor spaces on the island that overlooks the Caldera!
Imerovigli is a fantastic location to stay in too. It gets really crowded in the larger villages of Oia and Fira, sometimes making it hard to get good pictures as people clog the narrow streets and battle to get pictures at the higher spots. Imerovigli is a lot less crowded and sits higher up on the island than any other village, making the views legitimately better and more plentiful. Imerovigli still has plenty of restaurants and bars within a 5 minute walk too. There’s a walking trail that goes strait to Fira that is an attraction in of itself. It takes about 25 mins to walk, but the walk is all down hill and there’s plenty of things to see and do along the way… the walk back is a bit harder since it’s uphill. Taxi rides back are cheap and its about a 8 minute drive between Fira and Imerovigli. You will want to rent a ATV, Smart Car or Moped from one of the local rental places to really explore the island no matter what village you stay in. All the wineries, beaches and most attractions are spread out all over the island. Also we had no problem finding parking!
Finally I want to mention the amazing host and his team. They were super helpful during our stay. They did a great job of being there for anything we needed, from recommendations and island tips to arranging transport from the Airport, routine pool maintenance and helping with luggage. They even provide free maid service if you want it, which I highly recommend since the maid did a great job of making sure the place looked amazing every time we came back to the Villa for the day. Olia Team provided all this without being intrusive. They have great instincts on when to give guests privacy and when they should help us out. It’s a very underrated and rare skill for an Airbnb hosts… and it can make or break a vacation experience. We have our own Airbnb where we live, so we know its a skill that takes a lot of dedication to learn.
I usually don’t write reviews like this, but we were so grateful to have a place like this to stay during our time in Santorini that I feel this review is well earned. Olia Dome costs a bit more than other places around Santorini, but it’s for a good reason. Without question, the experience this vacation rental elevated our entire vacation. Deciding to spend the little bit of extra