Cocoon Suites

There are not enough good things to say about this place. We stayed in room 10 and will be returning one day. It's a bit of a hike to get down there but it is worth it 10x over. We experienced the best hospitality of our lives. Their attention to detail across the whole stay was unparalleled. A wise variety of options for breakfast in the morning. It is fully included room service delivered to the most beautiful view from the patio table. Wine was provided upon return each afternoon while we prepared to go to dinner. Dennis was our favorite concierge. He is fantastic at his job. Very attentive. Pro tip: they carry your bags to and from the car if you just alert them to your schedule. Needed as it's a 3 min 45 second hike of all stairs, but that's Santorini and I would change a step.

Super clean and quiet. Stay here for sure.

I booked the most expensive room available, the Grand Honeymoon Suite with Plunge Pool and Sea View, expecting a premium experience. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the most disappointing hotel stays I have experienced.

Firstly, I would struggle to describe Cocoon Suites as a hotel in the traditional sense. It took me more than 30 minutes in my rental car simply to locate the property. There is no dedicated parking, and after eventually finding somewhere to park, it took a further 20 minutes to locate and reach the main reception.

There is no restaurant, no bar (other than the minibar in the room), and no breakfast area. Breakfast was included but was served in the room based on a pre-order system. As a vegetarian/vegan guest, I found the options extremely limited. There were no hot vegetarian or vegan breakfast choices available. I specifically requested hot baked beans and was refused. Instead, I was offered bread and butter, which was already included as part of the standard breakfast selection. The cutlery provided wasn’t clean too. Prior to arrival, I was under the impression that this was a five-star property. However, based on my experience, I do not believe it meets that standard and would struggle to rate it even as a three-star establishment.

The room itself had several maintenance issues. The shower drain was blocked, causing water to accumulate while showering. In addition, there was a leak around the bathroom window which allowed water to enter directly into the room. As the bathroom window faces the bedroom area, this was particularly noticeable.

The advertised sea view was also disappointing. There were effectively no proper windows allowing natural light into the room, and the room felt dark throughout the stay. No lights in the shower room. You could hardly read the bottles and identify which was body wash or hair wash. Any expectation of enjoying a sea view from within the room was unrealistic.

The plunge pool arrangement was equally disappointing. There is no communal or infinity pool available. The plunge pool is accessed from outside the room, and there is very little privacy. The pool and balcony area can be overlooked by multiple neighbouring rooms. Furthermore, the area between our room and plunge pool appeared to be allocated for other guests to sunbathe, which felt awkward and poorly designed. On several occasions, other guests were sitting directly outside the entrance to our plunge pool area, making it uncomfortable to use.

When I raised concerns about the room, I was told that issues could have been resolved had I reported them during my stay. However, I was only staying for one night, and I do not believe it is the responsibility of paying guests to identify maintenance defects and operational shortcomings that should have been addressed before check-in.

In addition, we had clearly stated at the time of booking that there would be three guests staying in the room, including our son. Despite checking in at approximately 5:00 pm, no arrangements had been made for the third guest. There were insufficient towels, no bathrobe, and no other provisions for the additional occupant.

To make matters worse, we discovered a very large spider in the bedroom close to the bed. Given the concern that it could have entered the bedding area during the night, I had to remove it myself.

I have photographs documenting the maintenance issues and room conditions referred to above and would be happy to provide them if required.

Overall, the experience fell significantly below expectations, particularly given the premium price paid for what was advertised as the hotel's most exclusive suite.

Our stay at Cocoon Suites was unfortunately very disappointing, especially considering we had booked and paid a premium for what is marketed as the flagship Grand Honeymoon Suite.

While the views of Santorini are undeniably beautiful, they could not make up for the number of issues we encountered. These included a blocked shower drain, a leaking bathroom window, dirty cutlery, missing towels and bathrobes for our third registered guest, a suite that had clearly not been properly prepared before our arrival, and a hot breakfast with extremely limited vegetarian and vegan options.

These are not matters of personal preference, they are basic standards of cleanliness, maintenance and guest preparation that should already have been addressed before guests check in. Paying premium rates should not mean having to identify problems that should have been picked up during routine inspections.

Prospective guests should also be aware that this is a small boutique sanctuary rather than a full-service hotel or resort. There is no restaurant, no bar and no shared infinity pool. The plunge pool for our suite was accessed from outside the room rather than directly from inside, and both the balcony and plunge pool area could be overlooked by several neighbouring suites. As a result, we found there was very little privacy, which was particularly disappointing given that this is marketed as a honeymoon suite.

Another important consideration is accessibility. The boutique is built into Santorini's cliffs and involves numerous steep stone steps, many of which have no handrails. In our opinion, this makes it unsuitable for families with young children, many elderly guests, or anyone with mobility issues. Even guests without mobility concerns should exercise caution, particularly after dark, as there was very limited lighting on some of the walkways during our stay. Navigating the steep, uneven steps at night without handrails requires extra care, especially after an evening out when you may be tired or have consumed alcohol.

Following our stay, we raised these concerns with the boutique in detail. Rather than acknowledging the shortcomings or taking ownership of the mistakes, the responses we received consistently suggested that the issues could have been resolved had we reported them during our stay. While that may be true, it overlooks the fact that these problems should never have existed in the first place.

We were also disappointed that, instead of offering a genuine apology, much of the correspondence focused on defending the boutique by referring to the many five-star reviews left by other guests. We have never questioned that others may have had wonderful experiences, but those reviews do not change or invalidate what we experienced ourselves.

During the correspondence, we were informed that Cocoon Suites is not a hotel or resort but a small boutique sanctuary built into Santorini's natural caves. We appreciate that distinction. However, we found this difficult to reconcile with the way the property is promoted on booking platforms and elsewhere as a five-star hotel, which understandably creates expectations of facilities and service that, in our experience, were not met.

Our review is based solely on our own stay and is supported by photographs. It has been written honestly because reviews should reflect genuine guest experiences, both positive and negative, to help future travellers make informed decisions.

Had the limitations regarding the facilities, privacy and accessibility been made clearer before booking, we would likely have chosen different accommodation. We sincerely hope the boutique addresses the maintenance, housekeeping and service issues we encountered, as the setting itself has great potential.

Unfortunately, our experience did not reflect the premium standard we expected from a property marketed at this level.