Perivolas Lifestyle Houses

In 1969 Manos Psychas, a sea captain born in Odessa, and his wife Nadia bought a stretch of cliff on the edge of Oia with cave dwellings and stables cut into it. The 300-year-old caves had been homes for local fishermen and farmers. With local craftsmen and local stone the family restored them and opened the hotel in 1983, when Santorini was still a quiet island. It is still family owned, and the caves have become 23 individual suites and villas that step down the cliff like an amphitheatre towards an infinity pool that seems to run into the sea.

Every house is shaped differently. All are whitewashed and vaulted, with beds built into alcoves, skylights in the ceilings and a furnished terrace facing the caldera, and there are no televisions. Several suites have a pool of their own, among them the Deluxe Suite with Pool with a heated plunge pool. The spa, cut into the cliff, has a sauna, a steam room, an outdoor hot tub facing the volcano and a massage room in a cave, and the 120 square metre gym stands beside a 25 metre lap pool among vines and herb beds.

Guests under 16 are accepted only in the Perivolas Villa, so the terraces stay calm. Return transfers from the airport or the ferry port are included in the rate. The restaurant occupies a cave that was once a wine cellar and cooks with Santorini produce, and the season runs from mid April to the end of October.