Grace Hotel Santorini, Auberge Resorts Collection

When it comes to architecture and interior design, there was only ever a hair’s breadth between the Cycladic tradition and the modern minimalist boutique hotel. Both revel in absence of ornament, in geometric lines and vast expanses of white. And in Grace Hotel Santorini the two idioms are brought seamlessly together. It’s near colorless, crisp-edged, clean-lined and packed with modernist furniture, and yet still it looks perfectly at home. And like any good Santorini hotel, Grace knows when to get out of the way and let you enjoy the view.

Most every hotel on the island is high up a cliffside, but Grace is high; the hotel cascades down a steep terraced hillside, and don’t tell the beach hotels, but the sea looks better from up here anyway. The view is, of course, the main attraction, and the infinity pool is nothing short of sublime.

Then again the interiors aren’t exactly rough either. The basic rooms are generously sized, most of them with plunge pools, and once you’re in a junior suite you’ve added a private terrace as well. From there it’s onward and upward, culminating in the Villa, a two-bedroom residence that’s practically a self-contained boutique mini-hotel unto itself.

The restaurant, bar, fitness center and treatment room complete the picture. In essence it’s designed to be the sort of place where you’re self-sufficient for any length of time. Of course this is by no means mandatory — the town of Imerovigli is not without charm, and the hotel is happy to arrange seafaring or even aerial tours of the island and its surroundings.

Please note: Grace Hotel Santorini is a seasonal property open April through October, and does not allow children under the age of 14. A three night minimum is also required.

How to get there:
Santorini (Thira) can be easily reached by plane or ferry. Flight time from Athens is approximately 45 minutes. Ferries from Athens' Pireaus port to Thira take approximately 3 hours.