Is there a better place to stay in Santorini? For one thing, the service here is beyond wonderful: quiet, unobtrusive, perfect. It took me several days to realize that the reason that my terrace was sparkling clean early each morning was that very early each morning, someone had swept and mopped it. Astra is on a cliff side in the hamlet of Imerovigli with spectacular caldera views, plus vistas over the promontory of Skaros and the absurdly picturesque ruins of a small Venetian fortress. Much of Astra’s appeal is that it creates the impression of a small hillside whitewashed village—that is, if a village had an elegant central pool surrounded by dwellings, many of which had even more pools of their own. The rooms at Astra, from the compact studios to the expansive luxury suites, have sybaritic bathrooms with walk-in showers and enough towels to open a small boutique. There are no tired anonymous prints on the walls here, and none of the tiresomely predictable flimsy pseudo bed canopies in the bedrooms. Instead, there are individual touches: wood or marble sculptures, low marble tables. But the real answer to what makes Astra so special is its manager George Karayiannis, who is endlessly helpful, charming, deeply knowledgeable about Santorini, and helps plan weddings and honeymoons here.