Why Stay?
Forty minutes south of Athens, where the Temple of Poseidon floats above Grecotel Cape Sounio like a permanent guest, the resort's recent transformation has quietly raised the bar on what luxury on the Athens Riviera can be.
The setting does a lot of the work: pine forest reserve meets archaeological site, two private beaches give access to Aegean seabeds still scattered with ancient ruins visible whilst snorkelling, and 139 terracotta-hued bungalows and villas cascading down the hillside's natural amphitheatre, every terrace angled toward either Poseidon's columns or the open sea. Which is where internationally renowned osteopath Vicky Vlachonis enters the picture. Her client roster – Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Gwyneth Paltrow – has serious credentials, and here, her "Elevations of Wellness" programme centres on an open-air hydro-tonic therapy pool positioned for direct temple views: therapeutic treatments meeting the landscape rather than fighting it.
Eight restaurants work the spectrum from Yali's floating seafood platform to the new poolside venue where wood-fired ovens operate in full view, though it's the art-filled lobby and pine-clad gym that signal how thoroughly the refresh has penetrated. Lavrio Port, 10 minutes away, opens island-hopping routes through the Cyclades, but Athens – despite sitting less than an hour distant – becomes surprisingly easy to forget once the resort's rhythm of sea, stone and cypress shadow takes hold.
