Our Recommendations
The Greek islands we return to ourselves.
Greece is larger than the three islands everyone knows. And even there, some houses take their setting seriously rather than staging it.
This selection gathers addresses where light, material and cooking belong together — and where the drive from the airport is no argument against going.
Why this recommendation exists
In Greece the question is rarely which island, but which house on which island. The island sets the rhythm; the house sets the stay.
What this recommendation is not
If you are looking for nightlife and large beach clubs, Mykonos serves you better than most of what is listed here — with one exception.
The houses
01 — Paros
White lime, local stone and concrete in a very reduced language — one of few new Cycladic houses that reads as architecture rather than postcard.
Why this house
Paros in a quiet register: Cycladic architecture without the postcard gesture, and easy for two weeks with no plan.
02 — Folegandros
A house on an undeveloped cliff, built from volcanic stone and set so deep into the slope it is barely visible from the sea. Folegandros has no airport and no scene — which is the point.
Why this house
Folegandros is awkward to reach and quiet for exactly that reason — for travellers who put landscape above convenience.
03 — Mykonos
Twenty-seven suites on a slope above Ornos Bay, built in Cycladic manner with stone walls and timber. Proof that Mykonos can be quiet without leaving the island.
Why this house
Mykonos for those who like the island but prefer the noise as an outing rather than an address.
04 — Kourouta, Peloponnes
A 1920s wine factory on the Ionian Sea whose concrete tanks became rooms. Raw, still and entirely undecorated — architecturally the most singular thing in Greece right now.
Why this house
The Peloponnese instead of an island: a converted wine factory by the sea, spare, intelligent and pleasantly unpretentious.
05 — Mystras, Peloponnes
A retreat on the slope below the Byzantine ruins of Mystras, built around a subterranean domed pool hall. The programmes are serious rather than decorative.
Why this house
When a journey should begin quietly — Mystras inland, before moving on to the sea.
Pure Voyage Notes
Is island hopping worth it?
Rarely in the form it gets planned. Ferries are cancelled when the meltemi blows, and two islands in eight days usually means two broken travel days. If it has to be two, we suggest islands in the same group with a direct connection — Paros and Folegandros, say — and at least four nights in each.
Noted by Pure Voyage
When does the wind matter?
From mid-July to mid-August the meltemi often blows across the Cyclades for days at a time. The sea stays lovely, but beach days and boat trips shift around. Early June and the second half of September are calmer, warmer than expected and noticeably emptier.
Noted by Pure Voyage
Related journeys
Cyclades, Dodecanese, Ionian Sea
Related reading
Continue through Pure Voyage
Not a catalogue, but a next step: the houses, routes, countries and essays we would mention at this point in a conversation.
Hotels
Addresses that belong beside this page.
Journeys
Routes that open up this region.
Destinations
The country at a glance.
Journal
Further reading before you decide.
An Invitation
One hotel that convinced us, with our advice on suite and season. The openings that actually matter. And a destination at its best right now. No offers, no advertising.
