For our three night total relax in Milos, Greece, we opted for the Santa Maria Luxury Suites & Spa (proposed as an option by our travel advisor), just on the outskirts of the main town, Adamas, and only a very short 10-minute drive from the airport.

Check-in was handled swiftly – faster actually than I could complete the guest registration form and chug down some water in fact, and we were quickly walked to our suite further away from reception, down a hill, and facing spectacularly out over the sea.

We were asked to return for further information on the island and recommendations when we were ‘settled’, but truthfully that never happened.

First impressions of the suite were very positive – as I said, the view from outside on our veranda was stunning, and a place you could easily while away a whole day just chilling out.

The suite itself meanwhile was spacious; opening out past the ‘hallway’ which contained a fridge and coffee machine, into a living room area with desk, long in-built couch, and plenty of room to store your belongings/suitcases/whatever you may have brought.

Into the bathroom, which housed a large walk-in shower (good pressure, water was always warm whenever we needed it), single sink, and an array of towels as you can see. There was also a speaker and control panel, from which you could play a collection of relaxing sounds. At first, this was slightly weird but I came to love having the ability to put on some music without much thought.

Almost certainly the result of booking through our trusted travel advisor, we were also provided with a complimentary half bottle of wine to help take the stress off our journey (not that it was particularly stressful, and also came with its own wine provisions courtesy of the airport lounge).

Our bedroom, again, was bright, spacious, and enjoyed wonderful views out across the veranda and to the ocean and mountains in the distance, on the far side of Milos.

One really key aspect of this property that I loved, was that breakfast was served directly to our suite each morning; we filled in an order card the next morning and then, each morning, a few minutes after waking up, a veritable banquet would be laid out, outside on the patio.

Our failure to return to reception to hear their advice cost us dearly in terms of walking time on our first trip into town; we walked the long way out the driveway to Adamas, taking nearly 40 minutes. In fact, there’s a much more direct short-cut to nearly just outside our suite that took only about 12 minutes from the town centre.

At the elevation that Santa Maria Luxury Suites sits at, the coastal breeze can be quite intense at times – certainly you wouldn’t want to leave an empty glass just sitting around or it could quickly take flight – and as a result, we visited the pool but dared not enter.

The pool is compact but neither did we ever see anyone use it, so that was hardly an issue. There’s also a pool bar and restaurant – the food here was pretty good, although as you can imagine, at ‘hotel prices’ when compared to dining in town.

If I had one piece of feedback it would be that the staff at the pool bar weren’t particularly enthusiastic – you’d have to get up and ask for a menu for example, or when a (mostly full) beer blew clean off the table and mostly soaked me (joy of joys), there was a passing comment that the glass must be made of strong stuff not to break – but certainly no offer of any napkins, or would I need another. There is however a 10% discount (as of the time of writing in September 2024) for paying in full, in cash.

Overall, despite that one area of possible improvement, we loved our time at the Santa Maria Luxury Suites – it was a real treat, with wonderful views, great proximity to town, and a stunning suite with all the luxuries and tranquillity we needed for our few nights’ downtime.