Santorini sells one view, and most of its best-known houses are built to face it. Istoria holds two addresses. The first is the black volcanic sand of Perivolos, on the quiet southeastern coast. The second is the caldera rock at Firostefani, 13 km away.
The house has 21 suites and villas across two addresses: 12 suites, Perivolos, and 9 suites and villas, Firostefani. It arrived in two stages, Beach 2018, Cliff May 2026. Interior Design Laboratorium drew the architecture and interiors at both ends, and the house belongs to Kalia Konstantinidou and Antonis Eliopoulos, who both have long ties to the island.
Perivolos, the first address
Perivolos is a 3 km stretch of black volcanic sand on the eastern side of the island, 10 km from the port and 13 km from the airport, and it is the part of Santorini the day crowds leave alone. The length of beach directly in front of the house is reserved for its guests, who walk to it from their suites. Umbrellas and sunbeds are set out there, and drinks and snacks are served until sundown.
Arched doorways run through the 12 suites, each turning towards a terrace of its own, most of them with an outdoor hot tub or a pool. The largest of them is the Storia Suite, 50 sq m on the second floor with a 45 sq m terrace over the beach. Behind the suites, a large pool finished in green-grey artisan tile work sits inside protective walls, with the sunken Circe Bar on one side of it. The materials are terracotta, wood and concrete against marble-topped consoles and low ceramic pendants, with oversized stone pots, volcanic stone and a planting of ancient olive trees, herbs and aloe.
Firostefani, the second address
The Cliff opened in May 2026, and it is the opposite proposition on the same island: nine cave-style suites and villas carved into the caldera stone, looking across the water at the submerged volcano. There are five room types. Luma is 30 sq m and intimate, Nara 44 sq m, Tale 50 sq m, each of the three with its own outdoor hot tub. Verse, at 70 sq m, is arranged around a shared pool for a couple or a small group. Villa Epos, two bedrooms, 135 sq m, private pool, adds a fully equipped kitchen and generous living areas, and sleeps up to four.
Cliff guests have full use of the pool, the restaurant and the spa at the Beach, with a complimentary shuttle twice a day between the two addresses, arranged in advance. The Cliff’s own service begins with breakfast brought to the suite or its terrace between 8am and 11am, chosen the day before.
Where the name comes from
Istoria is the Greek word for story, ιστορία, and every room in both houses carries that word in a different language. Saga is Icelandic, Rakonto Esperanto, Recit French, Tarina Finnish, Conte Catalan, Storia Italian.
The house traces itself to Christina Tassou, who reached Santorini in the early 1970s and was caught by the same contrast it is now built on. She made her first home among the cave houses above the volcano, then found a different kind of freedom on the southern coast, where the Aegean meets volcanic sand and her horses could roam by the sea. Between the two she found the essence of the island, one side elevated and contemplative, the other grounded and elemental.
The table and the spa
The Beach has one restaurant, Mr. E, Executive Chef Rafail Tsakiris running the kitchen. Breakfast is served from 8am to 11am and all-day dining from noon to 8pm, built on seasonal island produce and a freestyle approach to the traditional recipes behind it.
Elios Spa works only with organic, regionally derived materials: wraps, massages and facials with natural oils, from 10am to 7pm daily. Treatments can also be taken in the suite or villa, which is a Cliff guest’s privilege alone.
Who is this for
Istoria suits a traveller who wants both of Santorini’s faces and would rather not choose, and a family or a group who want a door that closes on a private pool. Perivolos is the island at its slowest: a long dark shore, umbrellas to the water, lunch that runs into the afternoon. Firostefani is the other register, cool stone rooms and a long sit above the volcano. The drive between them is about 30 minutes.
