Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The terrace of the Three Admirals Lounge, above the all-day Oliviera restaurant Courtesy of the hotel One of the challenges of selling the Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, admits a marketer, is her answer when prospective clients ask which island is home to the resort. It’s not in Santorini, nor in Mykonos, nor in Crete. But in a summer when Athens is limiting visitors to the Acropolis and Santorini is suffocating under the weight of cruise passengers , that unexpected location turns out to be a blessing.
When it opened last summer, it made a statement. The powers that be at Mandarin Oriental—which operates in popular destinations around the world from Sanya to Lake Como—decided that their first outpost of Greek hospitality should be on the mainland. And so, the hotel debuted as part of the master-planned, sustainability-minded Costa Navarino golf development in the Messenia in the southwest Peloponnese.
As in the larger resort, the designers and hoteliers of the Mandarin Oriental aimed to preserve the coast’s wild seascapes and honor its 4,500 years of history. The 99 suites and villas are built into the site of the hill, with low profiles and green roofs that make the resort appear to blend into the landscape. Although it’s only the second season and the plants are still growing in, the grounds will soon look like a slightly prettier version of the surrounding area.
Gardeners replanted 2,700 olive trees—which has some obvious benefits for the hotel restaurants, but more on those later—and planted more than half a million native shrubs. The resort is built into the side of a hill Courtesy of the hotel If living in harmony with that diverse nature is part of the brand’s philosophy, so is a very thorough, very careful sort of hospitality. That’s in Mandarin Oriental’s DNA, of course, but the staff here say it’s mixed with philoxenia , the local word for a particular sort of welcome and kindness extended to guests.
It can be translated as “friend to a stranger” or “fond of the unknown guest.” In any case, the service is solid. MORE FOR YOU Netflix’s Best New Movie Arrives With A Perfect 100% Critic Score Trump Reposts AI-Generated Images Claiming Taylor Swift Fans Support Him Microsoft Issues Mandatory 2FA Login Deadline Alert The clearest example is the “picnic” that’s part of an e-bike excursion organized by Costa Navarino.
After a ride through the olive groves and a brief stop at the perfect horseshoe of Voidokilia Beach, guests end up at a long dining table on the terrace of a modest hillside chapel. There, village-grandma-types have laid out a spread of grilled vegetables, spanakopita, fava bean purée, meatballs and quiche. Their welcoming smiles need no translation.
A more polished version of that idea is on display at the hotel’s five restaurants and bars, especially the most casual, all-day venue, Oliviera. Breakfast, for example, begins with the presentation of a large board holding small plates of cheese pastries, cured meats, fresh fruit, Greek yogurt with honeycomb and other cold dishes. Guests choose what they want, bypassing the food waste—and ick factor—of a buffet and the austerity of a fully a la carte morning.
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The other hotel restaurants are fully alfresco affairs beside the enormous, sinuous swimming pool. Tahir serves Levantine cuisine such as homemade falafel, grilled kebabs, and shakshuka with shrimp. At a small bar counter within that space, called Pizza Sapienza, an Italian chef uses a wood-fired oven to turn out a pizza tasting menu—an unusual restaurant concept, to be sure, but one that’s won accolades at the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, where chef Daniele Cason launched it and landed it in the Michelin guide.
Like the restaurants, which of course use as many local products as possible, the suites and villas are filled with custom-designed furnishings, hand-knotted rugs and geometric wood carvings made by area artisans. The inspiration is the Greek 19th century, as well as the relaxed natural beauty of the Messenia, so a pale, soothing terra-cotta is the foundation of the color palette. This is rounded out with shades of sand and soft blue, an extension of the views from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The suites also have private pools. A guest suite GEORGE APOSTOLIDIS PHOTOGRAPHY The spa hits all the Mandarin Oriental high notes, with extensive water facilities, an East-meets-West treatment menu, a 25-meter swimming pool that flows from indoors to outdoors, and daily yoga and movement classes on a sunny terrace when weather allows. The sea is another fine option for swimming, relaxation, wellness or play, with toys from paddle boards to water skis available at the hotel’s Ornos Beach Club.
A note of caution: The connection to nature is strong, and much of the resort, particularly the restaurants, is open-air. And while the Costa Navarino summer season is long, stretching from April through November, the hot Greek summer is not so long. Bring a jacket.
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