Kalesma Mykonos is a chic hillside retreat overlooking Ornos Bay, blending modern design with Greek tradition for an exclusive escape from island buzz.
Aleomandra, Mykonos, Mikonos 846 00, Greece Get directions
"Kalesma Mykonos offers panoramic views and a minimalist style focusing on natural beauty. Spacious suites come with chic furnishings and private plunge pools. Dining options include Pere Ubu, specializing in Greek small plates." - Travel + Leisure Editors
"Kalesma Mykonos is a luxurious, hilltop retreat offering 25 suites and villas with private infinity pools and expansive patios. The design emphasizes natural materials and a seamless indoor-outdoor connection. The hotel also features a top-rated Mediterranean restaurant, Pere Ubu, and was included on the T+L 2022 It List." - Travel + Leisure Editors
"Kalesma is recommended for the fashion crowd, providing stylish accommodations that cater to trendy travelers." - Chadner Navarro
"A Hot List 2022 hotel For his new-wave retreat, restaurateur Aby Saltiel secured a stellar spot between the beaches of Ornos and Agios Ioannis (of Shirley Valentine fame), a world away from the busy thrum of town. But rather than a traditional Cycladic reimagining, he and business partners Makis Kousathanas and Sofia Kousathana have pulled together something altogether cooler. When you add fashion designer Rick Owens’s furniture and Serbian Aleksandar Vac’s artwork, the atmosphere takes on a certain edge. That’s not to say it is intimidating. Kalesma means invitation, and everything here is to be used, enjoyed or sat on, even if your bikini bottoms are wet from the pool. And the thrust for the owners is still very much a celebration of their Greek roots and local craftsmanship. In the dappled shade of a pergola is Pere Ubu restaurant, where guests chat while sipping spirulina cocktails or tucking into cauliflower tarama and grilled octopus. Couples from New York exchange notes about the Hamptons; a photographer paces around trying to capture the light. The mix is eclectic—aesthetes and party lovers, as well as those looking for some downtime. But there’s no hierarchy or competition to get the best suite or villa: all three types of accommodation—including the larger villas that sleep up to eight guests—have their own pool, with interiors designed by Vaggelis Bonios of Studio Bonarchi and architecture by hip Athens-based K-Studio in milky stone and sugar-cane-brown wood, and in a nod to island tradition, the ceilings are made from osier willow. Once a week, on the sunset side, everyone gathers around the firepit and a DJ plays a few sets. —I.Z." - Becky Lucas
"Mykonos is already as desirable as any destination in the Mediterranean, and the luxe and alarmingly stylish Kalesma only raises the stakes. It’s set on a hilltop on the island’s west side, fifteen minutes from town, and feels like a private refuge — one whose 25 suites and villas pay tribute to classic Cycladic architecture as well as modern interior design, and feature Rick Owens furnishings among their adornments." - Mark Fedeli
