Review of 1864 The Sea Captain's House & Spa, by Jeroen Bergmans

Just a few steps from the main street of the picturesque village of Oia on Santorini, Sea Captain's House feels more like the smart home of a naval big-wig than a boutique hotel. It consists of three, grand 19th-century houses built in the traditional Santorini style with Renaissance flourishes. The labyrinth of steep staircases and corridors lined with books and statues, and the warm welcome offered by the owners and their two friendly dogs will make you feel instantly at ease.

Guests at Sea Captain's House start their day with a 'lazy' champagne breakfast which is served any time on the roof terrace. Ambrosia and Ambrosia & Nectar, the two restaurants run by the hotel's owners, will send over delicious modern Greek dishes for lunch or dinner on request. And if guests get thirsty whilst soaking up the sun beside the roof-top Jacuzzi, there's an honesty bar and a small wine cellar that they can help themselves to.

The Sea Captain's House has recently extended its spa, The Caldera Massage Studio. It now offers an impressive range of treatments including massages, mud treatments, manicures, pedicures, saunas and aromatic baths. It also sells the hotel's range of organic beauty products, essential oils, shower gels and josticks.

All three suites are spacious and opulent with vaulted ceilings, waxed wooden floorboards and antique, four-poster beds piled high with cushions. Large, marble bathrooms and mini bars packed with complimentary mineral water and soft drinks will make you feel right at home. The Captain's Suite is the most impressive as it has its own small, flower-filled terrace.

As the Sea Captain's House has proved very popular and is often fully booked, the owners have bought two additional houses round the corner to cater to long-stay guests. Falling Stars is a cave house typical of Santorini and Villa Ambrosia echoes the architecture of the main building. Both have the same panoramic views enjoyed by the boutique hotel and have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, sleeping a maximum of five in each.