At first sight, Icons Hotel is gorgeous!!! The view will take your breath away (and so will the steps)...but every step you take is worth it. While you are still taking in the scenery and marveling at the panoramic view, a host will bring you a taste of Vinsanto wine, native to Santorini and made at a local vineyard. Luckily, your luggage can be left at the top of the "Caldera" (the side of the cliff in which the hotel is located) and someone on staff will retrieve it for you and take it to your room. From arrival to departure, the service was prompt and responsive (even when the lights went out on the island, someone was at the door immediately with candles).

The rooms are sparsely decorated in concert with the meditteranean style, which was a nice departure from the standard hotel accomodations. However, one must be prepared for the hand shower (no overhead shower in the bathroom) and the short thresholds (I stand at 5'9" and repeatedly bumped my head going through the doors). Also, you should be aware that although towels are plentiful, there are no washcloths (which can be common in Greece). Complementary breakfast can be ordered for the morning and having it served on the veranda is a must.

Santorini is one of the most beautiful Greek Islands. There is a bus that can transport you to Fira (the main city on the island) and other parts of the island for about 1,10 euro or so. Fira was reliable for its shopping, Oia for the gorgeous sunset, and Perivolos for the black beach (lots of pebbles though). There is another black beach (Perissa Beach), but I would highly recommend Perivolos over Perissa.

Be forewarned that if you are hungry don't look for a hefty meal at a cafe. We had to learn the hard way that cafes serve light fare and tavernas or restaurants serve hardier meals. The smoking can be overwhelming. It's EVERYWHERE and non-stop.

After doing an extensive amount of research on Santorini hotels – and finding places like Kirini, Katikies, and Perivolas sold out during our travel dates, my husband and I decided to stay at Icons. This was surprising, actually, as I usually rely heavily on Trip Advisor reviews, and Icons only had one review. I got impressions from some travel agents in Greece and some other websites that this place was indeed a five star hotel, just too new for lots of reviews in Trip Advisor, Fodor’s, etc.

It was very nice. It had beautiful views, but from our vantage point, so did practically every other hotel in the area (especially Honeymoon Petra Villas, which is perched on a promontory). The room (a Deluxe suite at 474 Euros/$570 a night) was big - and we were upgraded to a suite with a heated indoor pool - but really wasn’t anything special. The food (we only ordered breakfast and lunch) was very good. It was a very minimalist place, and although pretty, lacked a bit of charm.

Here’s a more detailed summary of the hotel/service/amenities:
The first thing that Icons needs to do is put up a sign directing people to the hotel.
Imerovigli is a maze of little hotels on a cliff. Most had signs directing people to their general area and reception offices. Not Icons. The only reason I found it is because I recognized the tan colors of their buildings (from their pics on the web) while looking over the cliff, and most other hotels had the traditional white buildings.

Our room, which was a deluxe suite was quite big, and minimally decorated. One full half of the room seemed to be wasted (except for space to throw all your luggage), as there was no furniture. Usually, with a suite, I expect a sitting area - sofa, coffee table, maybe some chairs? No. Bed. Two night stands. Entertainment unit with small flat screen TV and closet built in and CD player. One desk/table with minibar. And the entertainment center was positioned in front of nothing. The bed was further back in the room. It was honestly like they had planned on having an entire sitting area, but the furniture hadn’t arrived yet.
Typical Santorini cave room. No rugs. Stone floors.

As I mentioned, there was an indoor pool in a small room in the back of suite. Pretty neat.
It was cold when we arrived, and it took hours and hours before it became warm enough to enjoy. Unfortunately, in order to keep it heated, we had the front desk keep the heating on (they had main control). By our second day, our entire cave was overly-humid, damp, and verrrrry slippery. They did warn us about humidity issue, but it was ridiculous. If they are going to go through the trouble to have indoor pools, then they should have better ventilation.

The bathroom was small and had a bathtub and a hand-held shower. No regular shower. The mirror in the bathroom was hung way too low (and they can’t change because it’s under an arch). Had to bend over to see my face to dry hair or put on make-up - I’m 5’9. Lighting was very dim. The hairdryer that is provided looks like a car vacuum, and wasn’t very powerful. Between the hairdryer and the humidity, it would have taken an hour to dry my shoulder-length hair. I opted to air dry!

Bed was king-sized, and like all beds we encountered in Greece, on the hard side. That would have been fine, but the sheets and bedspread were really scratchy and rough.
Definitely not 5-star sheets. I actually can’t remember the last time I found such crappy sheets in a hotel.
Each room has a little table with two chairs outside, and two sun beds with an umbrella. A very nice set-up. Be warned, though, that there is no privacy. Everything in on open terraces, so our neighbors were sunbathing right next to us, and eating breakfast right next to us, etc. There are no “private” terraces. This didn’t bother us too much, but if you wanted to have a little romance or just private discussions, wouldn’t really be possible. (Of course, all our neighbors were speaking German, so it was easy to tune them out because we didn’t understand the language!)

A free breakfast was included. We received a sheet with all the different items we could order the day before, and you could either turn in in at reception, or just call it in.
Very yummy. Scrambled eggs, bacon, yogurt, fruit, etc. Not just continental breakfast. Lots of good stuff, and delivered every day at exactly the time I specified. We found the room service to be prompt, with one exception, and the room service lunch we ordered was delicious (although pricey.) One thing we learned was to hit the local supermarket, load up on sodas, water and snacks - even wine, and you can avoid paying all the exorbitant minibar and room service prices for such things.

So it was fine. The service and views were great. The room was big, but wasted space. Bathroom, not so great (although they do have Hermes toiletries - which are my absolute favorites!!!). A nice place, yes. But not for the money. I think that there are probably many places that we could have stayed for less money and been just as happy.

Oh, and Imerovigli is a fine in-between town to stay if you rent a car. We were able to travel to Oia for the sunsets and shopping. Fira for the bars to watch the World Cup. And Imerovigli is in-between (much closer to Fira than to Oia, though).

I stayed in Icons Hotel in Imerovigli, Santorini at late August 2005.
I stayed for 4 nights in a Deluxe Double room on 385 euros per night.
I found the general image of the hotel extremely good, despite some considerable service problems met.
Starting by the good comments:
- Icons hotel is located in Imerovigli, best location to stay in my personal view. Imerovigli is not as crowded as Fira, and not as quiet as Oia. It is located in the best part of the island, with the best views towards the caldera and the volcano. The hotel has a unique architecture. Rooms are excavated in the cliff with small windows, organized on some spacious belvederes ( open terraces ) facing the volcano and the sea. This architectural idea ( similar to this of Katikies in Oia ) delivers an easy lounge spirit which i adored and found one of the best hits of the hotel but someone may be annoyed beacuse of the lack of privacy. Everything is being done on these large open terraces: breakfast, sun bathing, viewing, eating, towards the sea and the volcano.
- My room (14 ) was spacious with a nice bed. I found the room well decorated but the accomodation just basic. Needed some more things to feel more comfortable. For example: i found the wardrobe really tastefull but small. It was enough for me but i can't think of a way it would be enough for a couple with many luggages.
- Reception was very kind and waiters/ bellboys really good, friendly and always running to serve anything you needed.
- Food from the small restaurant was PERFECT. Best taste i ever had, on a sensible price according to the hotels prices. There are many other choices for dining in the village but having a dinner in the hotel is total worth of the high prices and the service.
- Pool was fantastic. One of the best moments of my life. Not crowded, not over chlorined, clean, spectacular, half digged under a semi closed terrace, with unbelievable views and a part of it accomodating underwater seats and small jaccuzi type hoses. I found most of the pools in the best hotels of the island crowded and stuffed with people but this one was best level choice.
Let's go to the bad things now:
I really believe that under this price, faults are unacceptable. And the hotel, since it was its opening year had some of them. The sad thing is that these faults were tiny details that were ruining the whole image. For example:
- I could never find an ashtray. During all 4 days we kept asking for ashtrays that were being delivered in 30 seconds but when we were leaving the room they were vanishing.
- A spot bulb in a light fixture was off. They replaced it in exactly three minutes.
- Small wrong deliveries in breakfast orders ( orange juice instead of grapefruit juice ) happened sometimes. When i reported it, the order was restored in no time, but i had to ask for it.
- Safe in the room closet had not been attached in the closet. I laughed loudly understanding i had to visit the town bank to deposit my money.
- Room maids were helpfull but not properly trained in way of behaviour. All of them kind but having a grouchy expression rather than an airy spirit, while reception was good and waiters and chef were really excellent.
- I also found AC adequate but not perfect, while outdoor units were a bit noisy ( something common all over the island, since outdoor space is really limited everywhere ) etc etc etc.
Overall, i would definitely go back again without second thoughts, even paying such a high price. I adored the specific location and the architectural concept of the hotel. If you decide to book on it, be prepared for the perfect location and feeling, along with some minor service problems.