The Greek Islands are proving as popular as ever this year, so for people who are looking for a last glorious blast of sunshine before the autumn sets in, these are the newest — and coolest — additions to Greece’s hot, hot, hot hotel scene.
One&Only Kea Island
When the warm meltemi winds are not blowing, this is an easy 50 minutes door-to-door by speedboat from One&Only’s Athens outpost, One&Only Aesthesis. But if they are, then hop on a ferry and you will be there within an hour.
Regardless, this is a hotel you don’t want to miss. It is also an island you don’t want to miss. First inhabited in 3000BC and later settled by Phoenicians and Cretans, it is popular with the moneyed Athenians due to its proximity to the capital, but its mountainous terrain, mixed with fertile valleys remains largely unspoilt. Known for its wine, honey and almonds, its particular dry-stone walls with regularly spaced vertical standing stones, which cover the landscape differentiate it from the other islands. Its capital is charming, red terracotta-tiled roofs and colourful facades switch up the white-washed Greek norm.
Some twenty minutes away lies the new One&Only, a triumph of design by acclaimed architect John Heah. Sixty-three villas in local stone, come with private infinity pools which not only really are private (private should mean private not just, as increasingly seems to be the case, seen by your neighbours to right and left) but also are large enough to do lengths in, even if the temptation is just to float whilst admiring the views down to sea beneath.
Interiors are honestly some of the loveliest I have ever seen; sun-dappled space which meanders from the bathroom where a tub sits under the window with a view, through the bedroom where a sky light allows in yet more light to the sitting room which finishes with a sofa which curves around the wall and opens out onto a large wooden deck inset with the pool, loungers and a table to eat at.
Eating is another highlight here. In the main restaurant indulge in Greek food at its best; try the orzo ‘Giouvetsi’ with langoustine, or opt for something simpler by the pool like the zucchini fritters or red snapper ceviche. If you want something from further afield try the Asian-influenced sea bass with ginger jalapeno sauce down on the beach at Bond. Where they also have a particularly delicious rosé from Tinos, another Cycladic Island. Talking of which….
Doubles from €1,750 in low season. oneandonlyresorts.com
Odera, Tinos
A ten-minute helicopter ride away from the party island of Mykonos, lies soulful Tinos. This island has long been a favourite of the ‘if you know, you know’ crowd, and is justly famous for its beautiful dovecotes which are scattered all over the landscape — a left over of Venetian times — and also for its 19th century Church of Panagia Evangelistria, where a holy icon hangs which brings pilgrims (many on their knees) to pray before it.
Until now though, there has been no luxury hotel from which to explore this lovely island. Step up Odera, a boutique hotel with interiors by Studio Bonarchi which draw on Tinos’s traditions and local artisans and craftsmen to create a 77-room hotel which brims with sense of place (note the nod to the islands dovecotes woven in to the architecture). It sits in a pretty bay, above a secluded beach but should you be more of a swimming pool kind of person, you couldn’t be in a better place.
On the top level of the hotel, rooms open out onto a 75-metre-long swimming pool, which runs the length of the terrace. On the next layer down are rooms which have small private pools and below that are the signature suites which open out onto a huge terrace with a vast private pool which stretches out to the sea beneath it. And then there is the even bigger main pool, with terraces jutting out into it with sun beds on and the ancient olive tree which stands above it, reflected in the still waters.
In the pool in the dimly lit spa, it is Richard Wilson’s ethereal ceiling installation 20:50, which is reflected on its surface. ‘Water, water everywhere’, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge would have said, immersing guests in an aquatic wonderland which sets a new benchmark on this lovely island.
Book it: Doubles from £295. oderatinos.com
The Phāea Blue Palace Boutique Hotel, Crete
The Blue Palace has been a reference for several decades from its Cretan location between the little fishing village of Plaka and the port of Elounda. Just across the water, lies the picturesque isle of Spinalonga, one of Europe’s last leper colonies, more recently made famous by Victoria Hislop’s book The Island. But this year the Blue Palace has re-invented itself splitting into two separate entities. One is Phāea, with 47 rooms managed by second generation hoteliers and sisters Agapi and Costantza Sbokou, who have made a name for themselves with their respect for the traditions and philosophies of Greece, interwoven with deep family values and pride of their Cretan heritage. Evidence of the latter is immediately obvious when you step in through the lobby and are greeted by the handloomed embroidery of the sister’s grandmother.
Art which celebrates the Greek identity is everywhere with pieces by the Greek ceramicist Melina Xenaki and artwork by Philippos Theodorides. It continues at the table with handcrafted ceramics by luxury lifestyle brand Themis Z and Nisaki Mu, a ceramicist from Crete.
But the food here is more than reason enough to settle down at the table. From the Blue Door Taverna with its authentically delicious Greek dishes — memorable taramosalata with warm pita bread to freshly grilled fish to the innovative Phāea Farmers Feast, which celebrates the farm to table ethos, allowing guests to choose their ingredients with a farmer and the hotel chef.
Next year Rosewood debuts in Greece, managing the other part of the Blue Palace with 154 rooms and suites which is currently under renovation. Watch this space.
Book it: Doubles from £282. bluepalace.gr
Andronis Minois, Paros
Recently renovated and rebranded as the first outpost of the Andronis group in Paros (the group dominate the hotel scene in Santorini) is the Andronis Minois. A few minutes away from the attractive town of Parikias, to which a shuttle bus runs regularly, and where you should pop in to see the Temple of Panaya of Ekatontapiliani, a historic Byzantine church complex, this little hotel offer white-washed cottages clustered around a swimming pool and a restaurant which draws on local ingredients to offer dishes like Froutalia from Tinos with local sausage, potatoes, and gruyere from Paros.
Book it: Doubles from £315. andronis.com
Gundari, Folegandros
Lastly there is Gundari, another first for this Cycladic Island which until now had no luxury boutique resorts. Famous for its much-photographed Orthodox church of Panagia which stands on a hilltop with a mesmerising white path which zig zags up to it, it is a beautifully unspoilt island with a wild and rugged landscape and inhabitants which number some 700 in summer and 350 the rest of the year.
On the south-eastern coast, lies Gundari, whose name means ‘rocky place’. Athens-based design studio, Block 722 have drawn on the natural materials of the island to bio-climatically design 25 suites and two villas in red-rust limestone, built to face south to protect them from the summer Cycladic winds.
All have heated pools (but for real privacy and size opt for the subterranean deluxe cave suites) and simple interiors with roughly hewn stone basins and floors of local marble. The restaurant, Orizon, sits beside the main pool which stretches out to sea, serving dishes like carpaccio of sea bass with citrus and cucumber sorbet from a menu created by acclaimed Greek chef Lefteris Lazarou.
Some ten minutes away by car is the Chora of Folegandros, where three squares in a row boast churches and lime trees and cafes which spill out onto the cobbles. Neighbouring that is the Kastro, an impressive 13th century fortress built by the Venetians, which totally transports you to another time and world. And isn’t that what travel is all about?
Book it: Doubles from £464. gundari.com
