From approx. €260 a night · best value Oct
A restored early-19th-century tower house near Cape Tainaron, at the southern end of mainland Greece.
The house is best value in October, from approx. €260 a night. It is most expensive in July and August, up to approx. €400.
OctoberBest value
Typically €260 a night
Around 35% less than in July
Climate22 °C by day, 19 °C at night · about 3 rainy days
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Vathia is a village of stone towers near the southern tip of the Mani, where the last slopes of the Taygetos run down to the open sea. Tainaron Blue Retreat stands just above it at Kastri: a three-storey defensive tower with the mountains behind it, the sea in front and an infinity pool outside the door.
Architects Kostas Zouvelos and Kassiani Theodorakakou bought the ruined tower in 1994 and restored it over about five years; the first guests arrived in 2015. The structure was left as it was, inside and out, and plumbing, power and air conditioning were fitted as discreetly as possible. There are four rooms of 14 to 25 m², with Coco-mat linen, Nespresso machines and sculptures by Nikos Karalis.
Maniot defensive architecture, carefully restored
Tower houses are the signature of the Mani: austere stone keeps built at crossroads and on high ground to control the land and hold off attack, and lived in during quieter times.
The whole hotel
Infinity pool, sun terrace and stone patio
Outside the tower, the infinity hydrotherapy pool was laid out to follow the lie of the land. Around it are a sun terrace, a stone patio and a small outdoor shrine.
The whole hotel
Master Suite with Sea View
The Master Suite occupies two levels at the top of the tower, with original stone and woodwork and sea views towards Cape Tainaron. At 25 m², it is the largest of the four rooms.
Junior Suite with Mountain View
A 22 m² suite facing inland, towards the slopes of the Taygetos that rise behind the tower.
Executive Double Room with Sea View
An 18 m² double room with sea views that opens straight onto the infinity pool.
Classic Double Room with Mountain View
The smallest room, at 14 m², is beside the main tower rather than inside it, and looks towards the mountains.
The tower stands at Kastri, above the village of Vathia. Cape Tainaron, the southernmost point of mainland Greece, is a few kilometres away; myth placed a gateway to the Underworld there, and according to Pausanias a temple of Poseidon stood on the cape. The fishing coves of Porto Kagio and Gerolimenas are close by.
The Restaurant
The small restaurant cooks for hotel guests only. Chef George Samoilis, the culinary consultant, has built a short menu on Maniot recipes and local produce: mixed greens with smoked siglino pork, the catch of the day, beef tataki, local orzo with sweet wine, sun-dried tomatoes, capers and smoked monastery cheese. All the wines are Greek.
Harbourside restaurant · Gerolimenas · approx. 15 min by car
Kyrimai's restaurant sits on the water at Gerolimenas' old harbour, in stores and a tower restored by the Kyrimis family. Lunch brings octopus pitari and orzo with Gytheio prawns from the wood oven; dinner is a menu built on small Mani producers.
Taverna · Areopoli · approx. 40 min by car
Areopoli's oldest taverna, run by the same family since 1926, with a small green courtyard on the pedestrian lane and tables up on the roof terraces. The kitchen cooks Mani food: tsouchti, pasta with browned myzithra and fried eggs, rooster with noodles, sausage with orange.
Fish taverna · Porto Kagio · approx. 10 min by car
Antonis Grigorakakis, a fisherman's son, has run this taverna on Porto Kagio bay since 1990, with striped-cloth tables set on the shingle by the water. Fish from the Laconian Gulf and a spread of starters.
Bar · Areopoli · approx. 40 min by car
An all-day bar in an 1860 stone house in Areopoli's old town, with a roof garden. Breakfast and coffee in the morning, cocktails at night, some made with local prickly-pear juice.
Chosen by CINCIN, not paid for. Travel times are approximate. Opening hours and menus change, so please check with the venue before you go.
