Hotel Review: Summer Senses Luxury Resort
Booking
My husband and I were traveling to Greece for our honeymoon in July. We knew this was peak season and the hotel prices were expensive. I looked on the World of Hyatt app to see which hotels were available for when we were traveling and came across Summer Senses. I already had booked Domes White Coast in Milos and was looking for another luxury stay on a different Greek island. We booked Summer Senses Luxury Resort for 29K Hyatt points per night for 4 nights. Learn how to book Hyatt award stays with Chase Ultimate Rewards Points here.
Location
I had no idea what to expect when booking our stay in Paros. Coming from Milos, Paros was a much larger island with a big more of a party vibe! The popular “party” area of the island with nightlife and club like restaurants is located in Noussa, which on the entire other side of the island (around 40-50 minutes away by car). We made our way over there one night, but if you are looking to party, head to Noussa!
The resort was about a 45 minute drive from the Paros ferry port. We arranged a private transfer from the resort to pick us up from the ferry port and bring us back to the hotel. We were so happy we did this, because the Paros ferry port was extremely crowded with people and a bit overwhelming. Our driver was waiting with a sign for us to take us back in a Mercedes sprinter van, which was very comfortable for the long drive!
The resort sat on top of a big gated white hill overlooking the ocean. Our first impressions of the resort were that it was huge! It was way bigger than the hotel in Milos that we had just come from. This resort has one hundred rooms and suites and two large swimming pools and restaurants to choose from. The resort was so big that golf carts were used to get from one part of the resort to the other. Although this hotel did overlook the water, there was no direct beach access from the resort. You had to leave the resort and walk down the steep hill to get to the ocean. Additionally, the resort was right next to a beach club that played loud music all day. This didn’t bother us too much, but it was not a quiet and relaxing stay.
Room
We booked the standard room, which was the Deluxe Room Sea View. It was on the ground floor and included a patio sitting area with a view of the ocean. We did inform the hotel we were staying for our honeymoon and we were hoping for a complimentary upgrade, but we didn’t get one. They did bring a bottle of wine for us with a fruit and nut plate welcoming us when we got to the room. Overall, the room was average size and nothing special. If I were to return I would definitely book one of the suites with the private pool!
Food
Since this resort is part of the Small Luxury Hotels collection, breakfast was included in our stay. It included a big breakfast buffet with Greek and American style options and included complimentary coffees and iced lattes. The breakfast buffet was crowded each morning. We were there in July and it was a popular time to be staying there. We never had to wait for a table, but there were a lot of people each morning at breakfast. The buffet is inside and you are able to choose a table outside overlooking the pool area. We did enjoy the amount of buffet options, however we loved the made to order breakfast menu at Domes White Coast Milos better.
A few other notes about the breakfast buffet: there were swarms of flies in the fruit each day that was not appetizing. Also, the food is not labeled properly and my husband ate yogurt made out of nut milk when he is allergic to nuts 🙁 We even asked a waiter if it contained nuts and he assured us that it didn’t. Thankfully my husband realized after he took one bite and was able to avoid a full blown allergic reaction.
We had lunch one afternoon at the Gaia Restaurant that looks over the pool. The menu was very expensive (especially compared to Milos prices) and the food was not our favorite. We did not eat there again, but opted to order food from the pool bar instead (which was a a tad cheaper).
One night we decided to treat ourselves to the Galazia Hytra restaurant, which is “in collaboration” with a Michelin star restaurant at their location in Athens. This restaurant is on the property and we were able to make reservations through the hotel concierge. The food was delicious and we felt that it was a true fine dining experience. We definitely recommend eating here one night of your stay!
Spa
One thing that we loved about this resort was that it included a spa! I splurged one day and booked a 30 minute massage, which was terrific! The resort gifted us a coupon for a percentage off a massage for honeymoon, which was a thoughtful gift! The free amenities were the sauna and showers. It was a bit underwhelming, but it was a nice way to relax and enjoy a morning out of the hot Paros sun!
Overall
I think my husband and I would give the Summer Senses Paros a 7/10. It was a beautiful resort, but there were some areas that were lacking for us. There were a lot of families at this resort (which is totally fine!), but not great for a honeymoon. The location of the hotel was not in walking distance to anything and we had to pay for taxis to get around. The hotel was loud at times and it did not have a relaxing atmosphere. There were a few times when we asked the front desk to bring us certain things (i.e., ice, iron) and it never came 🙁 The food was pricey and nothing special in our opinion. Overall, it was a completely free stay so I cannot complain too much, and was clean, new, and had beautiful views of the ocean!
