Istoria Santorini

Every suite at Istoria is named after the word for story in another language, and the one to ask for is the Storia, which needs no translating. It and the Conte are the closest to the shore, and the Storia's 45-square-metre terrace has a hot tub on it and nothing between that and the Aegean. The hotel's own story begins with a mansion on Perivolos beach, on the south-east coast of Santorini, and the tack from its stables has stayed on: a bridle hangs in a whitewashed archway as though the horse has just stepped out. The suites are volcanic stone and terracotta, with arched doors onto their terraces, and four of the six kinds have a hot tub outside. The way to the sea is through an arch in a wall of dark volcanic stone, black doors open and thatched umbrellas framed in it. The sand beyond is black too.

Recommended for couples who would rather have a beach than a caldera view, and nobody under fourteen is let in. It faces the sunrise, which leaves the sunset, and its crowds, to the other side of the island. The pool is long enough for lengths. At Mr. E there is sand underfoot and sailcloth overhead, and Rafail Tsakiris's kitchen cooks modern taverna food: pasta black with cuttlefish ink, tuna carpaccio with lavender and watermelon. Away from the beach, the hotel arranges wine tours, and boats out round the caldera, which show off Santorini's famous cliffs without anyone having to sleep on one.