Review: Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino

Why book Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino?

A game-changer in luxury for Greece hotels. For those already acquainted with The Westin Resort Costa Navarino, The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort and W Costa Navarino, it's a new level of comfort for this collection of hotels. The views of the bay – and sunsets – are mesmerising, and unlike some hotels with ‘hillside’ view (read, ‘carpark’), each and every room overlooks the glittering waters. There are some direct flights to Kalamata, but otherwise, it’s a breezy three-hour drive from Athens, and, with a stay in the Greek capital, it makes a great two-stop trip.

Set the scene

The resort is located in the Peloponnese on the Messinian coast in a protected bay. The pretty village of Pylos sits in view to the left and the island of Sphacteria in front. The almost futuristic design overseen by homegrown studios and architects is focused around curves – from afar the main complex has accents of 1960s Hollywood or Frank Lloyd Wright’s modernism. Using local materials such as terrazzo and rattan, the complex is surrounded by maturing gardens alive with Cabbage Whites and bursting with rosemary, lantana and oleander. The central pool with swim-up bar is flanked by restaurants and high-end fashion stores including an Orlebar Brown, and there's a separate adults-only pool. The vegetation topped private pool villas sit comfortably and organically in the landscape and the 225m sandy beach offers calm swimming conditions. It fuses family-friendly with a big focus on wellness and outdoorsy living (golf is still a big draw here) and first-rate gastronomy with top-name chefs. But with a lowish number of rooms and prices from $2,200, it’s really about privacy and exclusivity here.

The backstory

Captain Vassilis Constantakopoulos, who founded the TEMES group – which owns Costa Navarino – grew up in the region and one day vowed to bring its beauty to the wider world. After making his fortune in shipping, he opened the first area of Costa Navarino in 2010, a sprawling family-friendly spread made up of various resorts with golf courses and a tennis club. Last year the group added the adults-only W which lies to the east of the Mandarin Oriental.

The suites and villas

There are 99 suites, of which 48 are pool villas set into the hills with further rooms located on top of the curvaceous main hotel building. Starting with 67 square metres, rising to 134 square metres for the largest two-bed suites, even entry-level rooms can accommodate a family of four. Bespoke is the word, from the latticed wooden bedframes to the satisfying soft closing minibar stocked with local products such as Adonis keto crackers and Corphes artisanal chocolate. They aim to instil a sense of place with books on Greek myths and The Peloponnese to locally-made rugs inspired by traditional Greek dress, and the framed antique fan emblazoned with an old Messenian map. There are many thoughtful touches – a handmade olive wood marquetry backgammon set by Greek company Manopoulos, a full shoe cleaning set, large format Ortigia toiletries plus instinctive and easy to use lighting, shower controls and curtain systems (hurrah). Pool villas are designed with proper living in mind, with work/dining spaces and lounge areas indoors and outdoors, and floor-to-ceiling windows allowing uninterrupted views of the bay. Custom kimonos are perfect for the warm days, but there are also fluffy robes and beds with soft Quivera linens that offer the deepest sleep. The garden Pool Villas have outdoor showers as well as huge indoor ones. Custom-designed electric bikes are provided for each guest – which can help with the undulating landscape (although everything is easily walkable). A region loved by travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor, there are his novels left in rooms for guests to read – his Mani immerses you into this lesser-known region.

Food and drink

Very impressive, under the watchful eye of Bertrand Valegas – the executive chef and an alumnus of the Four Seasons Astir Palace Athens. Out is the breakfast buffet here; instead, guests are brought a ‘paramana’, which means a tray of breakfast tapas with local specialities, from an interesting smoked turkey with chocolate (tastier than it sounds) to home-made yoghurt flecked with honeycomb and pistachios, the sweetest figs, milk cake or local goats' cheeses. From the menu, you can choose other locally inspired dishes such as their fennel pie. At the same restaurant (Oliviera) you can find Greek dishes such as seabass with courgette flowers in the evening. Next to the pool is the Middle Eastern restaurant Tahir, where silky baba ganoush and pitta bread cooked in the wood-fired oven kick-off supper. For exemplary mid-golf (or just mid-lounging) guacamole or club sandwiches, the French-inspired clubhouse is a five-minute buggy away. The showstopper at the resort is the pizza Omakase menu created by chef Daniele Cason at Pizza Sapienza, an eight-course tasting menu of the Roman style of pizza, made with four types of flour, proven for 48 hours and topped with delicacies such as freshly picked courgette flowers and local horta (a bitter green) with ‘nduja. The wines here are the best in all the resort (the options by the glass could be improved elsewhere). Next season an Italian ice cream truck arrives poolside.

The spa

Bathed in a citrus palette – including woven yellow chairs and a lime tree in the atrium – the spa is inspired by the company’s traditional Eastern roots. The signature chi massage is based around meridian lines – a questionnaire determines which is most suitable for you – and the company’s bespoke oils are used in the massage, which is good, although maybe not one for those requiring serious pummelling. By the end of September, an indoor-outdoor 25-metre spa pool will open and seven dedicated spa treatment rooms. A fitness centre next door comes with indoor and outdoor Technogym equipment and thoughtful touches such as a stretching booklet and addictive bottles of pepper and ginger kombucha shots in the fridge. There are free classes including a GM run – a 3.5km or 7km lung blasting jog around the property – and yoga on the outdoor Wellness deck and tennis courts are coming next year.

The neighbourhood

It’s a 10-minute drive west to Pylos, where you can stroll around the marina or dine on freshly caught fish or a five-minute east stroll to the fishing village of Yialova. Next to the Mandarin Oriental is the newly-opened Navarino Agora, part of the Costa Navarino stable. Here you can find restaurants from Guacana (excellent Pisco Sours), Cretan goat ice cream and the Apoella boutique selling local designers. From a seafaring nation, it is no wonder most of the day's activities can be spent on the waters on a boat or kayak. There is a shuttle to the Costa Navarino complex, with its many restaurants, golf courses (there is also the Bay golf course adjoining the Mandarin) and excellent tennis academy. One of the most tranquil ways to explore is via paddleboard to Turtle Island from the neighbouring W hotel watersports centre. Take a picnic on the tiny island, which contains a monument to the British soldiers who helped the Greeks in the Battle of Navarino in 1827.

The service

Slick and smiley, trained under the talented eye of GM Raul Levis, lately of Barcelona MO. Luggage arrives in the room almost as soon as you open the terrace doors; housekeeping is spot-on – phone cables are neatly wrapped up in customised Velcro ties, and a computer left on the side comes with a fabric cleaning cloth placed on top. There are daily treats, from plates of sheep’s cheese and figs to fan-shaped chocolates. Service in restaurants – and knowledge of the food and drink – is impressive all round. There are poolside attendants on call who also point out the helpful stations with complimentary suntan lotion on. A dawn run reveals armies of gardeners mowing golf courses, watering olive trees and tidying borders.

For families

There is a temporary kids club in a few suites, but this will move to a permanent location next spring. There’s a complimentary kids club from zero upwards, with nostalgic video games for teens. Babysitting is a very punchy 180 Euros for three hours – three hours is the minimum. The garden suites have sliding doors to separate the bedroom from the living room with its sofa bed. Amenities for children include custom baseball caps, bags and turtle soft toys. There are Greek-inspired activities, from an ‘archaeology' dig to mythological storytelling around a fire pit and clay pot making.

Eco effort

No single-use plastic. Recycling will be operated across the site, targeting an overall zero waste.  Soon, a significant part of the electricity used by the resort will be produced on-site through renewables, for net zero carbon by 2030.

Accessibility

There are five accessible Bay View Junior suites with roll-in showers, elevators, adapted doorbells and closed caption TVs.

Anything left to mention

As with all the other hotels in the stable, there will be residences coming in the near future, located on the hills to the left of the resort. There will be a further five three-bed villas and a five-bed Royal Suite next year.

While the experience is luxurious from the moment you hop into the purring air-conditioned Mercedes from the airport, the airport experience itself can be disappointing – queues for passport control are tediously long (on this trip it took two hours to get through), so try and sit as far upfront the plane as possible to be first off – it makes a massive difference.