Do Mykonos & The Greek Islands in Luxury With These Hotels

Photo Credit: Kalesma Mykonos

There is luxury, and then there is Greek-island luxury: arriving by private boat with the Aegean glittering around you, disappearing into a villa carved into a volcanic cliff, watching the sun sink into the sea from a pool that appears to have no discernible edge. The finest hotels in Mykonos and the surrounding islands understand that the setting has already done much of the heavy lifting. Their task is to make the experience feel effortless, intimate and entirely your own. These are not simply the most beautiful hotels in Greece, although they are certainly that. They are the properties that have perfected their particular corner of paradise, whether through extraordinary privacy, deeply intuitive service, destination-worthy dining or an atmosphere so seductive that leaving—even for another Greek island—feels almost impossible.

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Kalesma, Mykonos

The Sophisticated Insider

Mykonos may be famous for excess, but Kalesma proves that the island’s greatest luxury is knowing precisely when to pull back. Set high above Ornos Bay, the hotel unfolds like an exquisitely reimagined Cycladic village, all whitewashed walls, warm stone, sculptural furniture and private terraces suspended between sea and sky. The mood is intimate rather than ostentatious, drawing a fashion-conscious crowd that has nothing to prove and prefers its glamour delivered quietly. Every accommodation has been designed to feel less like a hotel room than a private Mykonian residence, with expansive outdoor living spaces and pools made for disappearing into for an afternoon. The interiors possess a sensuous minimalism—natural textures, bleached woods, linen, stone and even rare Rick Owens furnishings—that feels far more considered than the island’s usual sea of white. At Pere Ubu, local flavors are treated with polish but not preciousness, while sunset gatherings around the fire pit capture the conviviality of a private house party rather than a resort production. Add its discreet service, intimate scale and ability to feel completely removed from Mykonos while remaining close to everything that matters, and Kalesma becomes the choice for those who have already experienced the island’s louder side and are ready for something substantially more sophisticated. Vogue has aptly positioned it as the address for the fashion crowd, but its real achievement is making Mykonos feel personal again.

Canaves Oia Epitome, Santorini

The New Santorini Standard

Santorini has no shortage of hotels promising romance, infinity pools and cinematic sunsets, but Canaves Oia Epitome manages to deliver the fantasy without many of the compromises that typically accompany it. Located just beyond the bustle of Oia, the resort offers something exceptionally valuable on this famously vertical island: actual space. Its villas and suites feel generous rather than ingeniously compressed, with private pools, broad terraces and enough separation to create a genuine sense of seclusion. The architecture replaces Santorini’s more predictable cave-hotel aesthetic with a moodier vocabulary of volcanic stone, pale interiors and striking geometric forms, allowing the landscape—not decorative excess—to remain the star. Yet Epitome’s appeal goes beyond the view. Service is polished, anticipatory and notably personal; the restaurants make staying in for dinner feel like the superior choice rather than a concession; and the west-facing setting provides unimpeded sunsets without requiring guests to navigate Oia’s nightly crush of spectators. This is the Santorini hotel for travelers who want the island’s iconic beauty without surrendering privacy, comfort or a sense of calm. It takes everything people come to Santorini hoping to find—the light, the romance, the drama of the caldera—and packages it in a way that feels contemporary, deeply luxurious and refreshingly civilized.

Santa Marina, a Luxury Collection Resort, Mykonos

The Mykonian Grande Dame

Trends come and go quickly on Mykonos, but Santa Marina remains because it possesses something newer hotels cannot manufacture: provenance. Family-owned for decades and occupying a private peninsula above Ornos Bay, the resort combines the ease of an established Mediterranean estate with the polished amenities expected by the international crowd that returns season after season. Its greatest calling card is Mykonos’s only genuinely private sandy beach, sheltered from the island’s notorious winds and accessible exclusively through the resort—a rare privilege on an island where even the most beautiful stretches of sand can become highly public theater. Days unfold between the beach, twin infinity pools and the Ginkgo Spa, while Buddha-Bar Beach supplies just enough scene, music and yacht-watching to remind guests that they are still on Mykonos. The rooms and suites are elegant, but the sprawling villas are where Santa Marina truly enters another category, offering private pools, full-service living and the discretion required by celebrities, royalty and families traveling with entourages. What makes it enduringly special, however, is its ability to be several things at once: glamorous but not exhausting, family-friendly without sacrificing sophistication, social when one wants it to be and deeply private when one does not. Santa Marina is not chasing the next version of Mykonos luxury; it helped define it.

Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge, Mykonos

The Romantic Original

Before every Mykonos hotel came with a private pool, a sculptural terrace and a sunset cocktail program, Bill & Coo understood that true boutique luxury depended less on spectacle than on intimacy. The hotel remains one of the island’s most romantic addresses because everything—from the restrained design to the exceptionally attentive service—has been calibrated to make guests feel as though the entire property is operating around them. Its suites look toward the Aegean from just outside Mykonos Town, close enough to dip into the island’s nightlife but sufficiently removed to recover from it in peace. The atmosphere is grown-up, seductive and resolutely polished, centered around a luminous infinity pool and the Sunset Lounge, where evenings unfold at precisely the languid pace one hopes for in Greece. Dining has always been central to the Bill & Coo identity, elevating the experience beyond the usual resort formula, while its Valmont spa and more private Coast Suites provide further opportunities to retreat. There may be newer hotels with more extravagant architecture, but Bill & Coo continues to excel at the element that cannot be captured in a photograph: the feeling of being recognized, remembered and genuinely looked after. It is less about announcing that you have arrived in Mykonos than creating the dangerous temptation never to leave. Vogue continues to recognize it among the island’s essential stays, particularly for travelers seeking exclusivity without isolation.

Photo Credit: One&Only Kéa Island

One&Only Kéa Island

The Private-Island Power Move

One&Only Kéa Island does not merely raise the luxury bar for its namesake island; it changes the conversation around what a Greek resort can be. Positioned on an almost untouched peninsula within easy reach of Athens by speedboat, the property feels simultaneously remote and extraordinarily convenient—a combination that immediately makes it appealing to private-yacht travelers, time-conscious power players and anyone unwilling to lose an entire day to ferry logistics. Villas cascade down the hillside toward a protected bay, each with its own pool, expansive indoor-outdoor living spaces and uninterrupted views of an Aegean landscape that still feels wild. The architecture is substantial yet sensitive, using Greek marble and local stone to create something more elemental than the expected whitewashed Cycladic fantasy. Days can be as lazy or ambitious as one wishes, moving between the beach, spa, sailing, diving and explorations of Kéa’s ancient sites before dinner overlooking the water. Yet the resort’s true distinction lies in the One&Only machinery operating beneath the serenity: highly personalized service, serious culinary ambition and an ability to anticipate the needs of guests accustomed to the world’s most elite resorts. Condé Nast Traveler praised the location for its extraordinary seclusion and included the property on its 2025 Hot List, while Vogue identified it as one of the country’s most significant new arrivals. This is not simply another beautiful Greek hotel; it is the archipelago’s newest power address.

Grace Hotel, Auberge Resorts Collection, Santorini

The Infinity-Pool Icon

Few hotels are as visually synonymous with Santorini as Grace Hotel, where the infinity pool appears to pour directly into the caldera and the whitewashed village of Oia shimmers in the distance. Yet reducing Grace to its famous view would miss why it remains one of the island’s most desirable stays. Set in Imerovigli, often considered the caldera’s more refined and peaceful alternative to Oia, the hotel occupies a privileged position above Skaros Rock, delivering extraordinary sunsets without placing guests in the middle of Santorini’s most congested corridors. The aesthetic is pure Cycladic restraint—curves, white stone, sunlight and flashes of deep blue—but Auberge brings a distinctly elevated warmth to the experience, replacing the coolness of many design hotels with highly intuitive, personalized hospitality. Suites open onto private terraces and plunge pools, breakfasts are leisurely affairs rather than hurried buffets, and the spa embraces treatments inspired by the island’s volcanic landscape. There is romance everywhere, but it never feels manufactured; Grace is elegant enough for a landmark honeymoon yet serene enough for travelers who simply want to disappear above the Aegean for several days. Its infinity pool may have launched a thousand travel fantasies, but the service, privacy and soul of the property are what keep it firmly among Greece’s modern classics.

Katikies, Santorini

The Caldera Classic

Katikies is the hotel many travelers have been picturing long before they ever reach Santorini. Carved into Oia’s cliffs in a cascade of whitewashed arches, hidden stairways, cave-like suites and brilliant blue pools, it captures the island’s dreamiest visual language with almost impossible precision. The setting is unapologetically romantic, with terraces seemingly floating above the caldera and private corners designed for long breakfasts, chilled Champagne and the kind of conversations that stretch well past sunset. While countless hotels have borrowed its aesthetic, Katikies retains the authority of an original: the service has the polish of a grand hotel despite the property’s intimate scale, the culinary program gives guests little reason to battle for reservations elsewhere in Oia, and its multiple pools create small pockets of serenity even at the height of summer. The hotel does not attempt to reinterpret Santorini or strip it of its fantasy. Instead, it delivers the most immaculate and rarefied version of exactly what travelers came for. For a first visit, a honeymoon or any trip requiring full cinematic impact, Katikies remains almost impossible to surpass. It is not the newest address on the island, nor does it need to be; it is the enduring blueprint against which many of Santorini’s luxury hotels are still measured.

Parīlio, Paros

The Design Devotee

Paros has evolved from Mykonos’s quieter sibling into one of the Cyclades’ most compelling luxury destinations, and Parīlio was instrumental in giving the island its new visual identity. The hotel rejects decorative clichés in favor of an almost monastic beauty: thick stone walls, sweeping arches, neutral linens, handmade ceramics and sculptural furniture that reflect the island’s landscape without mimicking it too literally. At its center sits a striking cross-shaped pool, framed by boulders and low-slung loungers, which serves as both social heart and design statement. Yet Parīlio’s minimalism never feels cold. There is an earthy sensuality to the property, reinforced by local artwork, warm service and a restaurant rooted in the flavors of the Cyclades. Its location near Kolymbithres and Naoussa allows guests to access Paros’s beaches, tavernas and increasingly glamorous nightlife, but the hotel itself remains a serene cocoon. It is the ideal choice for the traveler who notices the curve of a doorway, the weight of handmade pottery and the exact quality of late-afternoon light. Vogue has celebrated Parīlio for its artful atmosphere and unmistakable pool, but its deeper appeal lies in its ability to make simplicity feel indulgent. This is not luxury piled high; it is luxury edited beautifully.

Andronis Luxury Suites, Santorini

The Honeymoon Heavyweight

Andronis Luxury Suites understands the assignment better than almost any hotel in Santorini: privacy, seduction and uninterrupted caldera drama. Built into Oia’s cliffside, the property’s whitewashed suites unfold through a labyrinth of arched openings, hidden terraces, cave pools and outdoor Jacuzzis, creating the delicious impression that every guest has been given a private piece of the island. This is a hotel that leans wholeheartedly into romance, but its appeal is not limited to honeymooners. The accommodations are spacious by Oia standards, the views are consistently extraordinary, and the service operates with the polished confidence of a property that knows exactly why its guests have come. Dining at Lycabettus—perched dramatically above the caldera—turns dinner into a full sensory event, while the spa provides a restorative counterpoint to days spent navigating Santorini’s steep paths and sun-drenched villages. Andronis does not attempt understatement; its best suites are unapologetically indulgent, designed for private breakfasts, late swims and evenings spent watching the lights appear across the cliffs. For travelers seeking the quintessential Santorini experience turned all the way up, this is the hotel that delivers the fantasy in full.

Phāea Blue, Crete

The Soulful Reinvention

Crete requires a different kind of hotel from the Cyclades. Its beauty is earthier, its history deeper and its culinary traditions too compelling to be reduced to another generic whitewashed resort. Phāea Blue understands this distinction. Overlooking the storied island of Spinalonga from the coast of Elounda, the intimate property represents a thoughtful reinvention of the former Blue Palace, exchanging the scale and formality of a traditional resort for something more personal, culturally rooted and quietly luxurious. The design draws on Cretan craftsmanship and natural materials, while the experience places real emphasis on the island itself: its food, its producers, its landscapes and its rhythms. Guests can move between the private beach, considered wellness experiences and meals that feel connected to the surrounding region rather than imported from an international luxury playbook. The mood is relaxed but deeply refined, appealing to travelers who want five-star comfort without losing the sense that they have actually come to Crete. Where some Greek hotels create self-contained worlds designed to keep the destination at arm’s length, Phāea Blue invites it in. That sense of place—paired with extraordinary views, warm hospitality and a more conscious vision of luxury—makes it not merely one of Crete’s best hotels, but one of the most meaningful stays in the Greek islands.

For more of Haute Living’s current travel coverage, explore The Top 10 European Summer Destinations for the Rich & Famous and Where the World’s Wealthiest Travelers Will Actually Go This Summer.

THE HAUTE READ

The best luxury hotels in Mykonos and the Greek Islands include Kalesma Mykonos, Santa Marina Luxury Collection Resort, Canaves Oia Epitome in Santorini, and One&Only Kéa Island, spanning Mykonos, Santorini, Paros, Kéa, and Crete.

At a Glance

The Sophisticated Insider: Kalesma Mykonos | The New Santorini Standard: Canaves Oia Epitome | The Mykonian Grande Dame: Santa Marina | The Romantic Original: Bill & Coo | The Private-Island Power Move: One&Only Kéa Island | The Infinity-Pool Icon: Grace Hotel Santorini | The Caldera Classic: Katikies Santorini | The Design Devotee: Parīlio, Paros | The Honeymoon Heavyweight: Andronis Luxury Suites | The Soulful Reinvention: Phāea Blue, Crete

FAQs

What are the best luxury hotels in Mykonos? The best luxury hotels in Mykonos include Kalesma Mykonos, Santa Marina Luxury Collection Resort, and Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge.

What is the best hotel in Santorini? Grace Hotel, part of Auberge Resorts Collection, and Katikies Santorini are both considered among Santorini’s most iconic luxury hotels, particularly for caldera and infinity-pool views.

Which Mykonos hotel has a private beach? Santa Marina, a Luxury Collection Resort, has Mykonos’s only genuinely private sandy beach, sheltered from the island’s winds and accessible exclusively through the resort.

What is the newest luxury resort in the Greek Islands? One&Only Kéa Island is among the most significant new luxury arrivals in Greece, named to Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Hot List for its seclusion.

Which Santorini hotel is best for honeymoons? Andronis Luxury Suites is widely considered Santorini’s top honeymoon hotel, built around cave pools, private terraces, and uninterrupted caldera views.

What is the best luxury hotel in Paros? Parīlio is considered Paros’s most celebrated design hotel, known for its cross-shaped pool and monastic, minimalist architecture.

Is there a luxury hotel in Crete overlooking Spinalonga? Yes — Phāea Blue in Elounda overlooks the island of Spinalonga and is a reinvention of the former Blue Palace resort.

What is the most understated luxury hotel in Mykonos? Kalesma Mykonos is known for its restrained, intimate approach to luxury, favoring quiet sophistication over the island’s louder party scene.

Which Greek island hotel offers the most privacy for villa travelers? One&Only Kéa Island and Santa Marina in Mykonos both offer private villas with pools designed for guests seeking discretion, including celebrities and royalty.

What makes Grace Hotel Santorini’s infinity pool famous? Grace Hotel’s infinity pool in Imerovigli appears to pour directly into the Santorini caldera, making it one of the most photographed images in luxury travel.

What is the oldest established luxury resort in Mykonos? Santa Marina has been family-owned for decades, giving it a sense of provenance that newer Mykonos hotels haven’t yet built.

Which hotel is best for travelers who want Cretan culture rather than a generic resort? Phāea Blue in Crete is built specifically around local craftsmanship, food, and producers rather than an international luxury-resort template.