While it's possible to stay elsewhere on Santorini, most travelers want a cliffside room with a caldera view, and if it happens to be a cave carved into the cliffs, so much the better. Here is a selection of hotels that provide it all. A few hotels restrict children due to the precariousness of some of the rooms, and access is almost always by steep steps, sometimes quite a few of them.
1. Hotel Cavo Mare, Thirassia, Santorini
Hate doing/staying/being where everyone else goes? Try experiencing Santorini from a special perspective - on the volcanic island of Thirassia in the caldera itself. You'll have a great vantage point to see Santorini itself, some distance from the tourist hordes, and, nearby at Nea Kameni, the chance to enjoy local hot springs emptying into the sea.2. Aressana Hotel, Fira, Santorini
This luxury hotel is located in the heart of Fira (Thira), and is undergoing a complete renovation in the winter of 2006-2007. It makes a specialty of wedding and honeymoon packages. Not all of the rooms have a caldera view, so if that is important to you, be sure to ask.3. Icons Hotel, Imerovigli, Santorini
Large rooms at luxury prices. While they are built into the cliffs, they are fully-finished and may not have a true "cave" feel, but they do have great views from the terraces. Other hotels are considering them the one to beat.4. Atlantis Hotel, Fira, Santorini
One of the most luxurious hotels on Santorini, the Atlantis Hotel offers a number of rooms carved into the cliffs.
5. Kavalari Hotel
With just 19 rooms, this small hotel on the cliffs at Fira still retains some of its original character as a sea captain's house. Some of the rooms are carved into the cliff walls, while others have a traditional but less stony atmosphere. It's honeymooner- and gay-friendly and relatively low-priced for Santorini cliffside rooms. Posted rates for doubles start at around Euro 130 in the off-season.
