The Best Places to Eat and Stay in Greece

Infinity pools stacked toward the sea set the visual tone at this family resort on the Peloponnese coast, where the grown-ups have a spa and the kids have their own pool, club, and a pottery wheel to terrorize. The restaurant leans into the region's olives, produce, and seasonal larder, best taken on the waterside terrace. Kalamata, Mystras, and the Mani are all within easy reach when the poolside eventually loses its pull.

Perched in the Pindus Mountains at 1,350 meters, this family-owned luxury resort makes a quiet case for skipping the islands entirely. The restaurant is named for the local elevation and serves modern Greek cooking with mountain views that put the menu in context. The Aspen Wellness spa looks out over the same dramatic landscape. The Michelin Guide has it among its selected hotels, which in this corner of the Greek mainland feels like insider information.

An Ottoman complex built along Kavala's Byzantine walls, now a luxury hotel where the old schoolrooms are suites. Domed ceilings, marble columns, handmade rugs, and ornamental lanterns fill every corner, and some rooms have copper sinks and garden views. Breakfast arrives on Limoges porcelain in a glass greenhouse; late nights belong to a memorably moody bar. Sleeping somewhere this historically protected does feel a little like checking into a museum, which is mostly a compliment.

A former grocery store, sturdily built from native stone, now a boutique hotel perched on a sheltered harbor at the far end of the Mani Peninsula. Most rooms have sea views and vaulted beams, a few suites add open-air hot tubs or terraces, and across the street the hotel keeps a private beach setup with umbrellas and an outdoor bar. The candlelit stone-terrace restaurant draws locals in the evenings, and the hotel's boat handles cave excursions by day.

Adults-only resort on a Zakynthos hilltop where water covers nearly half the property, pools stretching toward the Ionian Sea from almost every angle. The philosophy here is "slow living," which means meditation walks, bread baking, and actual slowness coaches on call, though the surroundings mostly do that job themselves. Interiors run to stone, wood, and neutral tones. One restaurant keeps its wine and olive oil in a walk-in cave, which is hard to argue with.

A former importer's warehouse on the southern tip of the Mani peninsula, where the Ionian and Aegean meet at a rocky cliff edge. The stone buildings have been around forever, and a small on-site museum gives the rooms their backstory, including the Tower Room, which once housed the family and still wraps you in a full 360 degrees of coastline. Breakfast spreads wide, and the terrace menu leans into fresh seafood and Maniot tradition.

The vaulted cellar on the ground floor was once used to press grapes, and you can still feel that in the bones of this 1930s stone villa turned private rental in a quiet Arcadian village. Two master bedrooms, a Finnish sauna, a heated jacuzzi, and indoor and outdoor fireplaces make it a full retreat for a small group. Every stay comes with a complimentary meal at the local tavern, which is either charming or the best orientation tour imaginable.

An adults-only beach resort on Zakynthos with 92 suites, all facing the Ionian Sea, and a spa that genuinely stops people mid-stride. The interiors lean into classic Greek-island white and cream, which sounds like a cliche until you're standing on your balcony watching distant islands dissolve into the blue. Three restaurants, two bars, an infinity pool, and a small beach club round out a property that manages to feel quieter than its size suggests.

A two-kilometer private beach on the Peloponnese mainland, which tends to quiet the usual debate about whether you really need an island. This Ionian-facing resort spreads across villas and suites done in whites and warm neutrals, with windows sized for the view. The spa pool is lined with columns that recall a Greek temple, which is either over the top or exactly right depending on your mood. Dining runs from a beachside taverna to Mediterranean gastronomic meals at sunset.

Fir trees and hiking trails are the only neighbors at this restored stone lodge sitting high in the Peloponnese highlands. Once a soldiers' sanatorium, it was eventually converted into a luxury mountain retreat, with pale wood interiors, linen duvets, heated floors, and copper bathtubs in some suites. The wellness area leans into the setting with a cave pool, forest sauna, and hammam. Truffle hunting and horseback riding are on the activity list, which is a commitment to the bit.

Sitting on its own small peninsula north of Agios Nikolaos, this art-forward resort feels more private than its neighbors without making a show of it. Bungalows sit close to the waterline, villas come with plunge pools, and a rotating collection of art rewards a slow walk around the grounds. Four restaurants, a dive center, and windsurfing keep things from getting too meditative, though that's mostly a suggestion.

Stone cottages, open fireplaces, and wood-burning stoves tucked into a fir-and-cedar gorge near Lake Plastira: Montanema is a small resort village that someone built by hand, literally one stone at a time, after stumbling onto the site during a hike. The restaurant runs off three wood-fired ovens and a kitchen garden, with a cellar full of small Greek producers. It's the kind of place that makes you want to arrive in fog and stay until spring.

Stone walls, fireplace-warmed suites, and valley views that make you feel like you've climbed somewhere the rest of the world can't easily follow: this mountain suite hotel in the villages above Ioannina is built for people who want a spa weekend with altitude. Leather furniture, warm wood floors, and an adults-only spa keep things feeling serene rather than rustic-rough. Upgrade to a higher-end suite and you get your own private terrace to contemplate the hills from.

Onyx bathrooms with chromotherapy lighting set the tone: this is a resort that takes its opulence seriously. Suites and villas terrace down toward the beach, most with plunge pools and sea views, and your neighbor's green roof doubles as a garden from your terrace. Stone walls nod to Crete, but the dominant mood is sleek and futuristic, right through to a massive spa complex with an indoor pool and a full roster of treatments.

The building is shaped like a nautilus shell, which either sounds like a gimmick or it doesn't, but the architecture earns it: modern lines, warm textures, and a feel that's Greek without leaning on the blue-and-white playbook. This beach resort on Crete's north coast sits right on the Aegean and a short walk from Rethymno's town center, so you get the pool-and-spa retreat without being stranded in it. Rooms run from generous standards to two-level maisonettes with hot tubs and sea views.

Adults-only resort on a quiet Analipsis beach, where the oceanfront pool is calm enough that you might actually hear yourself think. Rooms lean minimalist with recessed lighting and Guy Laroche linens, and suites add private plunge pools or Jacuzzis. The spa runs open-air treatment rooms, and two dining venues keep things from feeling like a detox retreat. Heraklion's airport is close, which matters more on departure morning than anyone admits.

Chaises half-submerged in an aquamarine pool is the visual that tells you everything about what kind of resort this is. Born as a Miami Beach club, Nikki Beach brings its champagne-and-DJ brand to Greece's northeastern Peloponnese coast, running warm-weather seasons of parties, Sunday brunches, and general poolside pageantry. Rooms lean white and blue with floor-to-ceiling bay views; the higher suites add private pools for anyone who prefers their scene with fewer witnesses.

Local stone and wood hold the building together, the way the Cycladic wind holds everything else apart. Nōstos is a small design hotel on Serifos, a quieter island that hasn't quite been discovered yet, where whitewashed Chora sits above and Livadakia Beach sits minutes below. Every suite looks out over the Aegean, thyme drifts through the courtyard, and the whole thing feels less like a resort than a well-considered argument for doing nothing at all.

Adults-only resort on the southern Cretan coast, a few miles outside Ierapetra, where rooms come in soothing grays and greens and the better suites have their own plunge pools. The architecture earns a second look, the spa is properly equipped, and there are two restaurants on site: one for contemporary Cretan cooking, one for days when you can't be bothered to change out of your swimsuit. The lobby bar skews urbane for a beach property, which sets the tone.

Olive oil at breakfast comes from the hotel's own groves, which tells you something about how this family-run resort on Crete's quiet south-central coast operates. Paralos Irini Mare sits at the edge of Agia Galini, close enough to the village to walk, with 154 rooms arranged in a low village-like sprawl that keeps things from feeling institutional. Many rooms have private pools or Jacuzzis facing either the mountains or the sea.

On a hillside just outside Plaka, a short drive up the coast from Elounda, this boutique resort trades beach-club bustle for something quieter. Rooms, suites, and bungalows lean into pale nautical tones and locally made art, with marble bathrooms and furnished balconies. The concierge books cooking lessons, classic car drives, and sailing excursions, and one guest experience has you picking produce with the chef before sitting down at a communal table.

Cretan marble, chestnut wood, and rattan set the tone across the rooms, bungalows, and suites here, a sprawling Mediterranean resort on Crete's northern coast built around the idea that a holiday should move slowly. Four restaurants lean into farm-to-table cooking with a Mediterranean and Levantine bent, and the kids' club quietly earns its place in the itinerary. Yoga, tennis, cooking classes, and an outdoor cinema fill the gaps between hammock shifts and swims in the Aegean.

Pine forests still scent the air on Spetses, where cars are scarce and the Poseidonion has been holding court in French Riviera style since forever. This grand hotel splits between a restored Historic Wing and a newer contemporary one, with a spa, several restaurants, a private cinema, and an art gallery rounding things out. It's the kind of place that makes a ferry crossing feel like an arrival rather than a commute.

The blue-tiled pool sits at the center of everything, ringed by a plant-filled courtyard where guests drift between leisurely meals and leisurely nothing. This all-suite boutique hotel in Rethymno keeps its palette to whitewashed stone and white-on-white interiors, letting Aegean light do the decorating. Beyond the walls, the old town's medieval streets wind past a harbor full of sailboats and a stone lighthouse that looks painted there.

Whitewashed walls, earthy neutrals, and straw and wood details spread across a rocky stretch of northern Crete's coastline give this adults-only resort the feel of a small village rather than a hotel. Dining options include a Cretan taverna, a seafood spot with sea views, and private dinners in an olive grove. The spa runs to an indoor pool, sauna, ice fountain, shiatsu, and acupuncture, which covers most bases.

The lagoon pools are woven so thoroughly around this adults-only Crete resort that every room gets a blue water view, and the overwater bungalows have private decks with direct pool access. Six restaurants cover Greek taverna through Mexican fusion to steakhouse, there's one bar, and all-inclusive is an option. The Anassa spa runs Elemis treatments alongside sauna and Jacuzzi for the post-padel crowd who take recovery seriously.

Rooftop gardens sit above each suite at this boutique resort near Kissamos, helping regulate the temperature the old-fashioned way, without a thermostat in sight. The aesthetic is pared-back neutral tones and raw textures, but the real through-line is a commitment to local Cretan craft, from the handmade furniture to the botanical massage oils in the spa. The on-site restaurant leans seasonal and creative, and the team can point you toward nearby hiking trails when you run out of excuses to stay put.

Suites named after Ottoman and Venetian landmarks give you a sense of the layered history this five-star hotel is leaning into, planted on 1866 Square a short walk from the old Venetian port. Rooms run to marble, brass, and natural wood, with vintage regional photography on the walls. The rooftop restaurant looks out over the White Mountains, which is the kind of view that makes you order another carafe just to stay in the chair.

Cubist concrete and wood buildings step down a clifftop on Crete's northern coast, each room and villa fitted with a private pool and the kind of pale-stone minimalism that makes you feel vaguely enlightened. There's no private beach, no grand restaurant, just nine rooms and nine villas with open-plan kitchens and water views, plus an indoor spa pool lit like a fever dream. The Michelin Guide has it among its selected hotels.

Grecian pottery, trailing greenery, and earthy textures make the interiors feel halfway outside, which is apparently the point. This adults-only resort near Rethymno leans into a bohemian-minimalist look that sits somewhere between a design hotel and a festival campsite, in a good way. The beach is a short walk, the vibe is social rather than hushed, and the Michelin Guide has it among its selected hotels.

The old dyeing pits in this industrial-chic boutique hotel are now an outdoor pool, which tells you everything about how the conversion went. Four connected 19th-century tanneries on Chania's rocky shoreline became a place where exposed stone walls, vaulted wood beams, and travertine bathrooms coexist without awkwardness. Every room faces the Aegean. The spa does too, and so does the terrace restaurant serving modern Cretan food. Selected by the Michelin Guide.

Archanes is the kind of Cretan village where tourists are still the minority, and this boutique hotel, a short walk from the main square, leans into that. A traditional stone house with wooden beams, it's been fitted out with minimalist decor and bespoke lighting, so it reads more like a stylish private home than a hotel. The duplex suites have proper kitchens, cozy living rooms, and lofted sleeping areas reached by wooden stairs. A courtyard pool completes the picture.

The W brand's signature playfulness lands on a spectacular stretch of Ionian coastline in Messinia, dialed back just enough to let the landscape breathe. This is a full luxury beach resort, so the rooms trade fluorescent-pink modernism for something warmer and more organic, which the Peloponnese rewards. A dazzling infinity pool and a lavish spa sit between you and the sea, with a golf course a short drive away for those who apparently need more to do.

Twelve suites perched above the golden-sand bay of Pollonia, each with a sea-view terrace and most with a private plunge pool. This whitewashed boutique hotel reads as a Cycladic village scaled down to honeymoon proportions, with no shared restaurant, just al fresco poolside dining and room service keeping things deliberately quiet. The team keeps a list of local skippers, geologists, and walking guides for anyone who can drag themselves away from the water.

Stone houses scattered through a valley whose Greek name, Aspros Potamos, translates directly to "white river," which is also how the place got its name. These self-catering cottages in a remote eastern corner of Crete run from studios to four-bedroom layouts, each with a shaded terrace, a full kitchen, and a modern bathroom tucked behind traditionally built walls. The pool is large, the common areas are not, and dinner means a short walk to the village of Makrigialos.

Terracotta blocks clustered like a hillside village, connected by pools that catch the Aegean light, set the tone at this design-forward resort on Samos's eastern shore. Rooms come as swim-up suites, private-pool retreats, or rooftop escapes, all done in linen, rattan, and concrete. The Beach House handles food and cocktails by the firepit. Pythagoreio's harbor and tavernas are just beyond the gates, which is a useful corrective when the poolside spell gets too comfortable.

Grikos Bay sits right there through the window, a stretch of translucent blue framing bobbing sailboats and steep green islets, and the whole point of this small family-run boutique hotel built into the hill above it is that the view never really leaves you. Every room has a private balcony, breakfast goes on the breezy terrace, and the mosaic pool mirrors the same blue. Getting here takes some doing, which the guests who find it tend to consider a feature.

Low-rise honey-hued stone houses scattered across sand dunes and wild Antiparos scrubland, each with its own pool, terrace, and open-air shower. The Rooster is a boutique resort that leans hard into the landscape rather than fighting it, with driftwood four-posters and sandwashed plaster walls doing the decorating. Indoor-outdoor living isn't a marketing line here; the architecture makes staying inside feel faintly beside the point.

An open fire grill anchors the kitchen at this Kolonaki steakhouse, where the beef, sourced from Spain, Australia, and the States, gets wet- or dry-aged before meeting the flame. The room carries the easy confidence of a great European brasserie, filtered through something distinctly Athenian, glasses stay full and conversation doesn't need encouragement. It landed on the World's Best Steak Restaurants list, the only entry from Southeast Europe.