Our first evening was spent in the hotels main restaurant, Apnea, which translates to ‘breathless’ and the al fresco views of the Aegean sea as you tuck into the modern Greek cuisine certainly take your breath away. Local fresh seafood dishes are the head chefs speciality and we enjoyed fresh Cretan cherry tomatoes with carob rusks and sea fennel, grilled Scorpion Fish with kakkavia sauce and fennel, milk-fed lamb with fermented grains, eggplant and grape leaf, all washed down with a local cocktail created by the restaurants’ mixologist.
Breakfast and lunch is served in their other restaurant Plateia which is nestled into the heart of the complex with a sunkist terrace and poolside dining tables. Start your day with traditional Greek dishes such as milk pie or strapatsada (scrambled eggs combined with a rich tomato sauce and salty feta) or my favourite – the Greek pancakes (the head chef Theodore’s grandmother’s recipe – delicious) … all washed down with a Greek coffee and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. For lunch, we opted for a meze of Octopus with wild greens, Greek salad and the classic Charcoal Beef Soutzoukaki but the star of the show was the Garides Koiladas – intensely red king prawns fished at a depth of 300 metres in the Valley of Ermionida – a very sought after delicacy and an absolute must if you love your seafood. The majority of the staff are of Greek origin and service was warm and natural. Being an independent hotel, it benefits from not having ‘over-trained’ staff.
You’ll also find an artisanal bakery onsite serving sandwiches, pastries, fruit tarts, tea and smoothies for a more relaxed and informal refuelling. We took our pastries and juices to the central chill out area to soak up the sun whilst devouring them.
And finally, onto Aroma the charming onsite wine bar which features a curated collection of local and international wines. Paired with local cheese platter or Greek tapas. Divine. Like your ‘κρασί’? (greek for wine – you’ll need this word in your vocabulary), book their wine tasting class for an elevated experience.