Makarios Hotel Santorini

This all-inclusive hotel offers a friendly environment attracting couples seeking a relaxing vacation. It is set away from popular tourist spots in a neglected area, so it tends to be quiet, but the hotel itself is well-maintained and appealing. Interior spaces are homey but dated. In the lobby, there are a lot of wood with simple padded furniture and a wood-paneled front desk and bar. The walls have large bulletin boards with tourist info and a few small paintings of ocean views. In the restaurant, decorative plates and photographs of food are the main decor. The grounds are prettier with well-kept trees, flower boxes, and views of the ocean creating a peaceful atmosphere. Some guests find that noise from the busy road and planes landing at the nearby airport disturbs the peace, but others are not bothered. 

Hotel Makarios is in the town of Kamari, near the eastern coast of Santorini. There is a restaurant across the street from the hotel, but not much else nearby. A quiet, isolated section of beach can be reached with a short, five-minute walk from the hotel. However, it is a 10-minute walk through unappealing back streets to more popular stretches of the beach where lounge chairs, bars and restaurants, and a pedestrian shopping area can be found. From the hotel, it is a 12-minute walk, or a four-minute drive, to a nice open-air movie theater. The ruins at Ancient Thera are a 14-minute drive away, for those up for a mountainside walk with incredible views. Fira, the capital city of Santorini, is a 15-minute drive from the hotel and is well worth a trip for the fantastic sunset views of the caldera. 

The hotel has free parking, and a bus stops right outside the entrance with service to the airport and Fira. Santorini Airport is a seven-minute drive from the hotel, and the port is a 20-minute drive away.  

Standard rooms are simply designed with a mostly neutral color scheme and a few pops of color in lime-green pillows and matching bed runner. There’s a small Greek-island painting above the bed, but no other decor to speak of. Family rooms that sleep four are available, with the option of all single beds or a double and a bunk bed. All rooms have a desk, hairdryer, wall-mounted flat-screen TV, free safe, mini-fridge, and a wardrobe. Every room also has a balcony with a small table and chairs. Bathrooms are fresh and appealing with sea-green tile in the shower stall, rainfall showerheads, and vessel sinks with modern hardware. The glass-walled shower is doorless and can cause a wet floor. Free hand soap is provided. 

The pool is the central hangout spot for the hotel. With a bar on one end, outdoor restaurant seating on the other, a whirlpool, and the kids’ wading pool, there’s a lot of activity packed into one space. Loungers are crowded tightly around the pools, so those with a need for personal space might not enjoy it, but guests are usually able to find a seat when they want one. The all-inclusive restaurant serves three buffet-style meals a day, which guests find satisfactory, but limited in choice and repetitive after a few days. The pool bar has drinks and snacks during the day.

The game room is a multipurpose space with table tennis, books, computers with internet access, a TV lounge area with seating, and massage chairs. There’s also a tennis court for active adults, and a tired playground in the full sun for kids. Wi-Fi is free and available throughout. There are no fitness room, spa, or beach access.