| ATH-EWR Flight Price vs Points | SLH Name | Hotel Price vs Points | Pros | Cons |
| Emirates first class: ~S14,000; Award Booking: Emirates 170K points (taxes ~$300) | Canaves Oia Epitome | $800-1200/ night or 35-40K Hyatt points | Best Santorini views, customer service, wonderful breakfast, heated pool. | Small gym |
Canaves Oia Epitome is an SLH property located in Santorini, Greece, and it has beautiful sunset views from 49 luxury suites and 24 pool villas.
https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/greece/slh-canaves-oia-epitome/jtrye/photos-reviews
How I Booked the Flights to Greece
We flew directly to Santorini from Zurich after exploring the wonderful Bernese Oberland region. After a 3-night stay in Santorini, we flew to Athens and took Emirate’s first-class flight to Newark.
How I Booked the Hotel
Canaves Oia Epitome is a suites & villas-only hotel and the typical price for the Honeymoon Suite with Plunge Pool retails for ~$1000.
I used 40,000 Hyatt points (category 8 property) to book 3 nights in this hotel.
Canaves Oia Epitome Property Grounds & Check-in
We were upgraded from the “suite with a plunge pool” to Hideaway Pool Suite with a decent size pool.
Hideaway Pool Suite
Hideaway Pool Suite has a king-size bed and a nice bathroom along with a rain shower. Our suite also featured a Mediterranean garden behind the bathroom/toilet area with large windows. There is a grand glass window with views of the Aegean Sea you can watch from the king bed. There is a private veranda with a dining area right next to your heated private pool and there are two loungers to relax and enjoy the unobstructed views of the Santorini sunset.
Canaves Oia Epitome Breakfast
Breakfast is phenomenal in this hotel, and it is fully served in several courses starting from various assortments of bread to eggs of any style. We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast every day during our stay.
Gym
The hotel gym was very small in a basement behind the reception with a few weights and 2 treadmills. I hope they will redesign the gym section/location since they have a very large property with great views.
Santorini Views
Nearby Dining Options
Canaves Oia Epitome provides free rides to the main town of Oia. Once you are done shopping/dining, you can call or text the hotel on WhatsApp and the driver will pick you up from a set location, which is very convenient.
Emirates First Class Flight ATH-EWR
This flight is also the highlight of our trip to Greece and is still one of the best ways to fly to Europe from the US. We were lucky to have 2 first-class seats due to COVID affected low travel season (October 2021).
Summary
Canaves Oia Epitome is one of the best properties to stay in Santorini and readers with Hyatt points should consider booking at least two nights here to enjoy the sunsets of this island. Free breakfast is one of the best we have ever had along with some of the best customer service.