Honeymoon Hotel in Santorini

BTW, "Ocean view" in Santorini is a misnomer -- it refers to places that overlook the EAST side of the island. I think what you are looking for is a place with the "caldera view" that looks into the deep water harbor where all ships come. When a hotel website says "seaview" it is essentially revealing that it does not have the famous caldera view. In june it CAN get quite warm, so also look for a pool hotel, since beaches are not what Santorini is noted for (they are black & gritty and are all on the far side of the isle). Also beware photo angles that try to show a hot-tub to be a pool. Be sure, if the hotel really has a pool, it WILL say say so.

If you just want an overview of what's available in your price range, you might go to booking.com and put in some "dummy dates" such as "june 5 - June 12" if you indeed want 7 days, and specify a location, such as Oia, Fira or Firostephani. (there is another called Imervogli but its isolation pretty much requires car rental, which doesn't fit with your "quite poor" characterization). When you get the list of hotels, you can sort by lowest price first;

I suggest a good look at Firostephani... this is on the north fringe of Fira Town ... easy to walk to the clubs & nightlife of Fira, but NO tour busses or tour crowds, AND rates are about half that of Oia hotels. Here's an example of what I mean: booking.com shows caldera view rooms for THIS early June at 3 pool hotels - http://www.agnademaapartments.com -- THIS year about $2100 for 7 nights (300) and , http://www.ira-hotel.com - for same period is $1,621 ($275?) Or Villa Ilias, almost the same.

That's if you want to spend 7 days on Santorini. Some couples like to spend 3-4 days there just sitting on their balconies sipping wine, then go on to a nearby Isle like Naxos (where luxe beachfront rooms in June go for $70 - $110), for a more active time ... hikes, scooter rides to far beaches, exploring hilltop villages,marble ruins in green mountainsides etc. You have of course seen the "poster photos" of Santorini ... here's a photo album from Naxos https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634605629689/ just to show the contrast ... a green fertile island, golden sand beaches, no tour groups or cruise crowds. Just for a change.

Whatever you choose, homework pays dividends in the best possible experience. And planning is part of the fun!

Hey. Congratulations on the wedding and the honeymoon :)
I find it after many trails and errors that booking a whole trip in one place - flights+hotels, is usually much cheaper when you go on a trip shorter than 2 weeks. Over two weeks is a different story.
If you're stay for 3-4 weeks or more - Evgenia Villas & Suites have rooms going for 150$ even, Antonia Hotel in Fira is even less. Depends on what you'd like but a view to the ocean is not hard to come by in Santorini and you have a Best Cheap Hotels list at TripAdvisor. If you're going for a week or two i'd suggest checking out RoutePerfect's trip planner. Anyway 250 $ is a pretty good budget for Santorini so I think you'll manage to find what you're looking for :)

Thanks to both of you for all your help and wisdom! Quick follow up question - my fiance has this vision of walking out onto a beach and/or laying on the beach with cocktails (can't blame him...that does sound like a GREAT way to spend a honeymoon). Do most people take boat tours to get in the water? How are the beaches? Are there that many? I know the rooms I am looking into are mostly cliffside, so a great pool would be a key feature.

We are only spending 3-4 days in Greece so we are comfortable spending a little more to be exposed to as much of Greece as we can. Again, thanks to everyone who is sharing advice - it is SO SO appreciated :)

Oia is the most beautiful and romantic village overlooking the caldera. For hotels in your price range with a pool take a look at Strogili Houses, Rimida Villas, Olympic Villas, Nikos Villas, Kima Villas, Nostos Apartments, Filotera Villas, Delfini Villas, Atrina Houses, Esperas Houses and Fanari Villas. There is also a lovely cafe/pool complex in Oia that's free if you buy food and/or drinks http://www.lioyerma.gr

for Santorini, I sent u a website of a FIrostefani place within your budget that has its own pool with a caldera view ... for your husbands fantasy. For lying on a BEACH with a cocktail, you'll need to split your time between Santorini and another island, as I mentioned. Just fantasizing a wonderful beach on Santorini will not make it real. But superb beaches are just 2 hours away on a nice ferry.

Lee is THE expert on the village of OIA and is the total Master of hotel rates and amenities there. And all those hotels he listed as within your budget DO have pools, but I don't know that they also have a caldera view. You'd need to check them site by site.

They all overlook the caldera.

As far as Santorini's beaches are concerned, as long as you're not looking for a tropical, white sugar-sand beach, Kamari and Perissa/Perivolos are your two main options. The're black sand/pebbles/grit and hot on the feet, but the water is still wonderful for swimming.