Sea views, sunsets, and sultry, starry nights – the essential elements of a romantic holiday in Greece are very accessible. But it’s not as easy as you might think to find a hotel that lets the scenery do the talking. Plenty of hotels in Greece know how to put on the rose-petal-strewn ritz for lovers and newlyweds. But we think the places with real sex appeal are the ones that are naturally comfortable in their own (naked, sun-kissed) skin. Quietly seductive rather than desperate to impress, these romantic Greek hotels all have a distinctive personality and a strong sense of place. You don’t have to be on honeymoon in Greece to fall for their charms, but it would be a shame to stay at these hotels solo.
- EROS KEROS, KOUFONISIABest for: Stargazing to a soundtrack of sighing wavesWhen Anita Papantoniou first visited Koufonisia 30 years ago, there was not much but a huddle of whitewashed cottages. The only way to get there was on the Skopelitis Express, a hardy little ferry boat that still services the Small Cyclades, a constellation of tiny, time-warp islands. These days, high-speed catamarans churn up the milky-blue harbour and chic villas have replaced spartan rooms to let. But this low-slung island ringed by fluorescent bays still has an easy, go-slow charm. Papantoniou (who also created the lovely Corona Borealis hotel on nearby Naxos) spent years perfecting this discreet retreat. Four houses surrounded by stone walls are furnished with family heirlooms, handmade ceramics and vintage textiles. Named after the Greek god of love, Eros Keros is quietly romantic without a hint of schmaltz.Price: Doubles from about £215
Website: eroskeros.gr
BOOK NOWSTEFANOS SAMIOS
- THE VASILICOS, SANTORINIBest for: Private dining à deux, paired with exuberant wines from the hotel’s sister winery, Vassaltis VineyardsSantorini has been so successful at selling itself as a destination for loved-up couples that it can sometimes feel like a theme park for honeymooners. Not The Vasilicos, a hotel with genuine heart and soul. This seven-suite hideaway, teetering on the edge of the cliffside village of Imerovigli, used to be the summer house of Vassilis Valambous, a bon viveur who loved to entertain friends and family. His daughter Daphne Valambous’s immaculate taste is evident in every thoughtful detail: regal purple parasols, wildflower bouquets, bedside volumes of Greek poetry. Suites are far roomier and airier than Santorini’s typical cave houses and yes, most do have the obligatory plunge pool with giddying caldera views. (The others share a sleek heated pool.)Price: Doubles from about £290
Website: booking.com
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- VERINA ASTRA, SIFNOSBest for: Infinite views and thoughtful staffSlotted into a burnished hillside, this low-key hotel is all about tuning out the noise of modern life. There’s nothing around but the distant smudge of white Greek villages and islands hovering on the horizon. No sounds but hypnotic cicadas, jangling goat bells and the clink of ice cubes in your glass of rosé as you ponder whether to dip into the stone-paved infinity pool or wander down to a rocky bay protected by a blue-domed church. Rooms are gentle and calm, with big beds and picture windows draped in grey and sand linens. But you’ll spend most of the time on your perfectly private veranda, gazing at the blue view. The definition of effortlessly sexy.Price: Doubles from about £115
Website: booking.com
BOOK NOWRead the full review of Verina Astra, SifnosThe Greek island hotel with the best viewsPLACES TO STAYThe Greek island hotel with the best views1900, SYMIBest for: The heart-quickening patina of the period details.Symi has some of the finest neoclassical architecture in Greece, a legacy of the sponge divers who brought great wealth to this little Dodecanese island in the 19th century. Bang on the harbourside, the Mastoridis mansion was abandoned for years, its intricate ceiling paintings and patterned cement tiles faded and forgotten. Now local architect Dimitris Zographos has transformed this very special house into a four-room hotel. Ingenious details include a minibar concealed in an Ottoman closet and a sea-view shower full of semi-tropical plants. There is no reception but there are two honesty bars – one on the landing, where musicians once serenaded guests enjoying cocktails on the roof terrace.Price: Doubles from about £190
Website: 1900hotel.com
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- ARISTIDE, SYROSBest for: Glamorous bedrooms with stucco ceilings and triple mattressesWith its marble staircase and Doric columns, the lobby of this neoclassical mansion makes a grand impression. Aristide is located in Vaporia, the most aristocratic neighbourhood of Syros’s stately capital, and its nine suites combine original features and colourful contemporary flourishes. But guests get plenty more than plush bedrooms: as well as an art gallery, there’s a secret garden for Champagne breakfasts with Greek bottarga and smoked trout, a shiny brass bar that serves classic cocktails and a glorious roof terrace for sunset aperitivos with sea views. A spa and artists’ residency programme are in the works.Price: Doubles from about £155
Website: hotelaristide.com
BOOK NOWALEXANDROS PETRAKIS
- SHILA, ATHENSBest for: Sexy bathrooms with brocade curtains and plenty of copper. One even has a swingBilling itself as a ‘hotel particulier’, this Twenties townhouse is tucked away in the swish Kolonaki district of downtown Athens. The ground floor feels like a louche salon, with its low-lit library and a piano in the parlour. All six suites have an ethereal vintage aesthetic: salvaged marble sinks, gilt mirrors, daybeds upholstered in crushed velvet. The whole place feels like a film set – not surprising, given that creative director Eftihia Stefanidi used to work for Secret Cinema. Stefanidi curates every detail from the organic lavender and basil body wash to the linen kimonos. You can buy the sensual photographs off the walls and even some of the whimsical creations, such as an upcycled chandelier made with beeswax candles.Price: Doubles from about £160
Website: booking.com
BOOK NOWTHE PATRICK AND JOAN LEIGH FERMOR HOUSE, PELOPONNESEBest for: The private cove at the bottom of the glorious garden‘Paddy’ and Joan Leigh Fermor designed this extraordinary house – a ‘loose-limbed monastery/farmhouse with massive walls and cool rooms’ – in the 1960s. This literary landmark on an enchanted headland outside the seaside village of Kardamyli has now been carefully converted into a summer rental (in the winter, it hosts scholarly retreats). The peachy limestone buildings are camouflaged by fig, cypress, and oleander trees. Sunken benches and tables fashioned from slabs of marble offer glimpses of the sea. Striking interiors blend Byzantine, Ottoman and British features: arched colonnades, peaked fireplaces, tartan armchairs. Thousands of books and facsimiles of original works by the Leigh Fermors’ friends, John Craxton and Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, decorate the sun-dappled walls. If you can afford it, rent the whole house. If not, the writer’s studio in the garden will have to do.Price: From about £775 per night for the studio and £3,885 for the whole house
Website: booking.com
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- AMANZOE, PORTO HELIBest for: Full-blown indulgence in blissful isolationPoised on a hilltop with commanding views across the Peloponnese, Amanzoe is opulent in the extreme yet deliberately discreet. The setting is serene, the design muted, the mood hushed. Scattered like an amphitheatre around the Mediterranean gardens are 38 pavilions (there’s nothing so plebeian as a bedroom here) that feel more like serviced apartments. Every pavilion has a bathtub big enough for two, a bed big enough for three and a perfectly private pool bordered by fragrant shrubs, so you need never venture out. But it would be a shame to miss the sunlit spa and beach club, a chauffeur-driven ride through the olive groves.Website: aman.com
Price: Doubles from about £865
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PLACES TO STAYThe Greek island hotel with the best views1900, SYMIBest for: The heart-quickening patina of the period details.
Source: cntraveller.com
