Vedema, a Luxury Collection Resort, Hotel in Megalokhori

Stay Dates - 26 to 31 August 2025 My family and I are Marriott Ambassador Elite members who consistently travel over 100 nights a year and spend significant amounts with Marriott. Vedema was one of the most disappointing Luxury Collection stays we’ve had, and it wasn’t because of Santorini—it was because of the hotel’s condition and the way management handled our stay from the very beginning. The property has aging units that are overdue for renovation. The first suite (which we booked with points) we were placed in had a moldy-smelling AC unit, visible sand and dust on the floors (It is an arid island, but this should be clean), and even broken glass left on the floor (we have a toddler and that was a huge issue). Before anything else went wrong, I met with the General Manager (Konstantinos Chatzikonstantinou) to address these issues and he said he’d address it in the coming days (not immediately). Even at that point he reeked of cigarette smoke, something I’d never expect from the leader of a luxury property. Then once he moved us rooms two nights later, came a much more serious problem, a staff member entered our villa without knocking. He rang the doorbell once then immediately walked in while my wife was asleep and unclothed, with our toddler sleeping in his crib. A complete violation of privacy and basic guest safety. Instead of handling the situation swiftly, the hotel made it worse. Despite knowing how unsafe and uncomfortable this made my wife, they sent the same employee back to our villa alone the next day to apologize in person. Something we never asked for and did not want. I requested a modest gesture to acknowledge the severity of what happened—50,000 points or €200 off the bill. When I brought all of this to management’s attention, their focus shifted to explaining why we should feel grateful for the “upgrade” they gave us. The hotel was nowhere near full, and the GM openly admitted he was intentionally holding back the newly built private pool villas (1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom) “in case someone booked last minute.” That’s not a gesture of goodwill; that’s unsold inventory. Elite upgrades are a standard Ambassador benefit and not an acceptable substitute for accountability after a privacy breach. This contrasts with our preceding stay in Oia, which made Vedema look even worse. Before arriving, we stayed at Canaves Epitome, a Hilton SLH property in Oia. We are Hilton Diamond members, but spend far fewer nights and far less money with Hilton. Canaves Epitome hotel was near 100% capacity during our stay, yet they upgraded us to a beautiful two-bedroom private pool villa with a caldera view and treated us exceptionally well from start to finish. That’s what true luxury hospitality looks like. Vedema has some units that look nice in photos, but it is night and day between the old original units and the newly built ones. The two bedroom pool villa we finally ended up in was a pleasant space. But luxury isn’t defined only by newly bu

Title: Serious privacy breach, dismissive management, a property well past its prime, and a shocking failure of Marriott standards

Stay Dates - 26 to 31 August 2025

My family and I are Marriott Ambassador Elite members who consistently travel over 100 nights a year and spend significant amounts with Marriott. Vedema was one of the most disappointing Luxury Collection stays we’ve had, and it wasn’t because of Santorini—it was because of the hotel’s condition and the way management handled our stay from the very beginning.

The property has aging units that are long overdue for renovation. The first suite (which we booked) we were placed in had a moldy-smelling AC unit, visible sand and dust on the floors, and even broken glass left on the floor. Before anything else went wrong, I met with the General Manager to address these issues and he said he’d address it in the coming days (not immediately). Even at that point he reeked of cigarette smoke, something I’d never expect from a leader of a so-called luxury property.

Then came a much more serious problem: a staff member entered our villa without knocking. He rang the doorbell once and immediately walked in while my wife was asleep and unclothed, with our toddler beside her. A complete violation of privacy and basic guest safety.

Instead of handling the situation with care, the hotel made it worse. Despite knowing how uncomfortable this made my wife, they sent the same employee back to our villa alone the next day to apologize in person—something we never asked for and did not want.

I requested a modest gesture to acknowledge the severity of what happened—50,000 points or €200 off the bill. When I brought all of this to management’s attention, their focus shifted to explaining why we should feel grateful for the “upgrade” they gave us. The hotel was nowhere near full, and the GM openly admitted he was intentionally holding back the newly built private pool villas (1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom) “in case someone booked last minute.” That’s not a gesture of goodwill; that’s unsold inventory. Elite upgrades are a standard Ambassador benefit and not an acceptable substitute for accountability after a privacy breach.

The contrast with our preceding stay in Oia made Vedema look even worse. Before arriving, we stayed at Canaves Epitome, a Hilton-affiliated property in Oia. We are Hilton Diamond members but spend far fewer nights and far less money with Hilton. Canaves Epitome hotel was near 100% capacity during our stay, yet they upgraded us to a beautiful two-bedroom private pool villa with a caldera view and treated us exceptionally well from start to finish. That’s what true luxury hospitality looks like.

Vedema has some units that look nice in photos, and the two bedroom pool villa we finally ended up in was a pleasant space. But luxury isn’t defined only by architecture. It’s defined by professionalism, responsiveness, and respect for guest safety. Vedema failed on all three.

For anyone considering this property: be aware that the rooms can feel old and neglected, service is inconsistent, and management seems more focused on protecting revenue than protecting guests. This was not the experience we expect from the Luxury Collection or from Marriott.

I don't normally write reviews. I attempted multiple times to resolve my issues at the lowest levels possible within the hotel then directly with my Personal Ambassador. Since I didn't receive a sufficient response in my opinion, I'm posting this review for other potential guests to consider.