When planning a trip to Santorini, you might think of black volcanic sand and deep blue waters. However, the 5-star Vedema Resort, the manor of an old winery, invites you to experience Santorini on a whole different level.
Vedema Santorini will introduce you to a more calm and collected side of Santorini. It offers a slight town-like feel, surrounded by beautiful vineyards. If you want to experience a different side of Santorini, I highly recommend Vedema Luxury Collection Resort from Marriott.
Please kindly note, though, that this location is not open year-round. Its opening dates for the year are just in the high season from about May 10th – October 31st.
Location
Vedema Santorini is located in the south-central part of the island, much closer to the western side of the island of Santorini, unlike other 5-star resorts such as Mystique (my favorite resort), which are mostly located cliffside in the town of Oia. I didn’t know there was an area on the island quite like this.
The resort is located inland, surrounded by vineyards, with only a partial, distant view of the ocean. If you are looking for stunning ocean views, I’d suggest staying in another Luxury Resort in Santorini. I also stayed at Mystique and loved my stay. You can read that full review for more details.
If you enjoy vineyards and wine tours in Santorini, I cannot recommend this location enough. The vineyard views are stunning, immersing you in the area and making wine tours a breeze.
One of my favorite features of Vedema Luxury Collection Resort’s location was its walkability. You can walk right into town directly from the resort itself, making experiencing the medieval village of Megalochori easy and enjoyable.
What to Expect
I had high hopes for this resort, as it is not only a 5-star resort but a Marriott Luxury Collection Resort. That comes with a high expectation level, and I will let you know that while the resort does live up to a 5-star rating, other resorts on the island, such as Mystique, stand out more.Thankfully, the prices of Vedema accurately represent the differences between it and Mystique, so you’re getting a relative “deal” when staying here.
Vedema Santorini offered a pleasant experience but I think it could have been better.
Now, that is not reflected at all in the overall look and feel of the resort. Walking in, you will find yourself surrounded by color. The buildings are a variety of pastel shades and offer bold accents, which I loved. The retaining stone walls are a nice, crisp white dotted with black volcanic rocks, which gives off a polka-dot look that was also a pleasant surprise.
You’ll find the ground paved with cobblestone, giving it that small village feel, which, while beautiful, didn’t give off an “accessible” feel. I don’t think the resort is accessible, given its uneven ground, lack of elevators, and steps down into each room. If that is not an issue for you, I’d still consider the property.
The buildings themselves are all separate, offering a town-like feel. The resort is a bit difficult to navigate, but not the worst. A map should do you just fine, but I also found it nice simply strolling around and taking in the entirety of the resort for myself.
Inside of the buildings you will find cool tones and marble floors. Everything is beautiful, and being surrounded by emerald vineyards really sold the experience.
Rooms
Moving onto the rooms themselves, we stayed in two of them over our three-night stay, and I found both to be lovely. My favorite feature of the bedroom suites was that they were quite spacious suites, even for a deluxe hotel. Some rooms even offer private pools on their private verandas, which I thought was great!
I reserved a Dorian Suite, but as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member, we were upgraded to an Ionian Suite (a one category upgrade). We asked about further upgrade opportunities (paid or complimentary) and were offered the chance to move part way through our stay to an Aegean Suite, for free.
Both rooms offered a comfortable king-size bed, couch, coffee table, dresser, closets, bathrooms adorned with double sinks, a luxury bathtub with a separate shower, and beautiful details. The rooms’ feel was very relaxed, with whites, grays, and soft blue accents.
On the lower end of the scale, the first room was one of the Ionian Suites and was one room with an open-plan layout aside from the ensuite bathroom. It opened up to a nice-sized patio that featured a nice sitting area and beautiful views of the wineries. I loved how open it felt.
On the higher end of the scale, the second room was one of the Aegean Suites. It had a more “home-like” feel, with a separate living room that featured a couch, TV, and private dining room with a dining set, followed by a bedroom and bathroom.
My favorite feature was that both the living room and bedroom opened up to a large patio with spectacular views of the Aegean Sea that offered seating and a beautiful open-air jacuzzi. On the last morning of our stay, we enjoyed some breakfast on the patio from room service, which was lovely. Taking a dip in the hot tub afterwards was an added bonus!
They also offer Athenian Suites and Olympian Villas, but I didn’t have a chance to check them out. I trust they are just as nice and spacious!
Dining
Speaking of food, Vedema Luxury Collection Resort offers some decent options. We only ate breakfast at the resort, which is served at the Pergola restaurant near one of the large pools. However, we were satisfied. I wouldn’t say the food was exceptional, but it did live up to the price point and what you would expect from this resort level.
You might find a traditional Greek breakfast or other traditional Greek Cuisine elsewhere, but I found their more traditional offerings just fine. The breakfast options were more like an “American buffet breakfast” with an upscale feel, which included egg varieties (I had an eggs benedict one morning), smoothie and grain bowls, and pastries. Again, it was nothing out of this world; however, it did the job and was tasty.
If you’re craving a more creative mediterranean cuisine, we tried a few outside restaurants around Santorini including Alisachni and Raki but I featured some of my other favorites in my post about the best food in Santorini.
Other dining options onsite include:
- Alati Restaurant
- Trataro Restaurant
- Pergola Pool Restaurant
- Circe Bar and Restaurant
- Pool Bar
- Canava Wine Bar
- & Privé Dining
Amenities
The amenities were decent for the price, but again (following the trend), not wow-worthy. They offered a spa, fitness center, swimming pool, and an underground wine tasting.
Elios Spa
The spa was beautiful and featured standard treatments (including a beautiful Turkish bath aka steam room). However, it was pretty difficult to find. You had to take several turns, and then a switchback on the edge of the property led you to the door.
The spa treatments seem excellent, but my favorite part was the overall feel of the spa. It was very relaxing and made for quite a comfortable experience. I didn’t partake, however, the vibe itself made a lasting impression.
Fitness Centre
The fitness center at Vedema Santorini was there, that’s alright, but it was lacking in pizazz. It offered good enough equipment, but I wouldn’t seek out this resort if you are a gym enthusiast. If you want to finish the job, I think this gym is satisfactory.
Pools
They had some nice pools and there were quite a few to choose from if your room didn’t already come with one. They offer one large pool and a few smaller, more intimate pools throughout the luxurious resort.
Wine Tasting
My favorite part of the experience was the wine tasting in their very own 400-year-old wine cellar called Canava Wine Bar inside the Alati restaurant. It is held underground, and we had the luxury of being hosted by the Food and Beverage director. She was exceptionally knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. I am unsure if she always hosts the tastings; however, if you can, I suggest asking for her!
The wine tasting was the best I experienced on our entire trip. Not only was the wine delicious, but the snacks were great, the intimacy level was there, and the overall feel of the underground wine-tasting room was stellar. I think that much of the quality was due to being hosted by such a knowledgeable wine enthusiast!
Crazy about wine? Read my guide to wine tasting on Santorini.
Service
Unfortunately, the wine-tasting service was the best we received on the trip. I do think, though, that this was due to last-minute understaffing. I found out that a large group booked the Vedema Luxury Resort at the last minute, and with that, I believe that the staff was lacking due to spontaneity and last-minute planning. I visited near the end of the season and it seemed that some staff had already rolled off for the winter, leaving them scrambling to accommodate the large group.
I wouldn’t say the service was all-around bad. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. However, service was slow and, at times, a pain. Shortly after booking, I was messaged and asked if I’d like to reserve any activities or dining for our stay. I booked the wine tasting, but upon arrival, I found out that the team member who booked the experience didn’t complete the booking.
Though they originally told me that a wine tasting was not possible, I pushed back because I had booked it well in advance and received a confirmation. They did eventually accommodate me and I received the wine tasting free of charge, a nice gesture for the mishap. I do think the staff did their best, but they were rather disorganized and not at the level I’d expect for a 5-star resort.
Overall Thoughts of Vedema Santorini
All in all, I’d say our trip was very good but not perfect. I would say, though, that if you plan to stay at two locations during your Santorini trip, stay at Vedema Santorini first because you might be let down otherwise.
We stayed here first and then at Mystique for the latter part of our trip, and to be frank, it made Mystique stand out even more as the top choice. You can read my full review on Mystique here, or my comparison of Vedema and Mystique.
With that, though, I would say that Vedema would be an excellent choice for a family vacation. It is the only family-friendly Marriott resort on the island, and I could see it working out well for a family thanks to its offerings and two-bedroom villas.
Ready to book your trip? Keep the good vibes rolling and check out my review of a private yacht cruise, a flying dress photoshoot on Santorini, and get my packing list for Santorini.
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