Add a Touch of Your Favourite Greek Hotel to Your Home

How often have you walked into a hotel room and wanted to know where the pillow cases are from? Or had a drink at the lobby bar and – before you’ve even finished your gin and tonic – lifted up the glass looking for the name of the brand?

If you would like to include some luxurious interiors and decor to your home- from bath and bed sets to coffee tables and teacups- here are a few chic pieces found in some of Greece’s leading hotels that you can now display in your own abode! 

COCO-MAT, Athens

Our pick: Bedhead and mattress

With four boutique hotels in the Greek capital alone, COCO-MAT is all about offering style and comfort, especially when it comes to their guests’ sleep. This unique brand is also one of the country’s leading producers of handcrafted beds and you can choose from a range of their locally made mattresses and headboards that are all made in Northern Greece, from locally sourced materials including wood, wool, cotton, and seaweed. 

Astir, Four Seasons Hotel, Athens

Our pick: Bedsheets 

An iconic hotel set on the glamorous Athens Riviera, Astir is nothing less than pure luxury. Chances are as soon as you check-in, quite a few pieces will catch your eye, and what stands out for us are the bedsheets that not only look stylish but also offer a decent night’s sleep. These crisp cotton sheets and duvet covers come with the hotel’s discreetly embroidered logo, and the soft feather pillows are available too. 

SOHO ROC HOUSE, Mykonos

Our pick: sofa, coffee table, and bar cart

This bohemian boutique hotel overlooking the Mykonian sea combines Cycladic curves and nature-inspired interiors. Throughout the gorgeous spaces, you will find plush sofas, mix-and-match cushions, shelves full of cookbooks and ceramics that you can easily picture in your own home. And from velvet armchairs and brass drinks trolleys to luxe sofas and coffee tables, all the staples of the retro interiors found here can be sourced from Soho Home

Amanzoe, Porto Heli  

Our pick: Ultimate Bath Set

Known as one of Greece’s most luxurious hotels, this wellness retreat offers an exclusive and decadent experience, as Amanzoe’s sleek look is second to none. One of the best experiences during your stay here will no doubt be centred around the spa, where you can completely relax and unwind. And now you can have the ultimate at-home spa experience with Aman skincare range, which includes Purifying Auric Cleanse Bath Salts, Nourishing Golden Body Serum, Nourishing Body Mist, and Grounding Smoked Body Butter. 

Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens

Our pick: drink glasses

This 18th Century landmark is unquestionably Athens’ most luxurious hotel. Immaculately restored to the height of its old-world grandeur, it is perfectly located at Syntagma Square, in the heart of the city. Here you can wine and dine with uninterrupted views of the Parthenon and if you would like to add some Grande Bretagne glamour to your next dinner party you can choose from a range of their drinking glasses, or pick up a few pieces such as candles, infusers, as well as tea sets. 

Ikastikies Suites, Santorini

Our pick: pillowcases

Ikastikies is a Cycladic-style boutique hotel that is charming and cozy, and as soon as you lay your head down on their soft pillowcases, you will no doubt want to sleep on them time and time again. Made of natural fabrics – these silk pillowcases are inspired by Santorini’s black volcanic stones and the island’s sugar-cubed white-washed homes.

 

 

Athens’ 6 Most Romantic Dinner Spots

We may not be able to get there for Valentine’s Day this year but these restaurants should be bookmarked for future reference. 

Romance is certainly a very subjective notion – a luxurious dinner in a stunningly decorated Michelin-star restaurant might be romantic for some, while a souvlaki in a cozy pocket of Athens may be just as romantic for others. In this feature however we focus on the more classically romantic restaurants of the city, and although there are so many of them, the ones selected here are sure-fire winners for a grand majority of Athenian and foreign diners both.

The GB Roof Garden Restaurant

Awarded for its quality menu, sophisticated ambiance, excellent wine list and startling Acropolis views by Wine Spectator, the Grande Bretagne Hotel’s rooftop restaurant (on the eighth floor) is nothing if not glamorously romantic. The menu, created by Sotiris Evangelou and Asterios Koutsidis, centres on Mediterraean cuisine with ethnic touches. Luxurious ingredients and a creative, playful and modern approach offer you a delight that equals the panoramic visual beauty of the Acropolis, Lycabettus hill, the Panathenaic Stadium and Syntagma Square. This is also a great spot for starting your night on a high note for a cocktail and finger foods or nibbles at the roof garden bar.

A: Syntagma Square

Insights Greece - Athens' 6 Most Romantic Dinner Spots

Travolta

Seafood lovers can find an even deeper connection to each other and the riches of the Greek seas at this place. Its quirkiness – from being named after a Hollywood star to calling itself a ‘fish tavern’ while it serves some highly sophisticated and gourmet dishes and even its location in Peristeri, not exactly an area one would think of for dining out – have definitely contributed to its popularity. Here the romance comes more from the exchanges of delighted glances as you indulge in exciting flavours, rather than from the ambiance or decor. It can be fun for a couple to explore classic tastes like red mullet calamari served up in novel and highly palatable ways – such as a carpaccio of red mullet with sea urchin, or cuttlefish with orzo. There is a good selection of raw fish dishes too, including sushi and tartare. 

A: Agiou Pavlou 33, Peristeri

Insights Greece - Athens' 6 Most Romantic Dinner Spots

Scala Vinoteca

Healthy, modern, sea-focused yet delicately indulgent enough to leave you feeling giddily satisfied, the menu is focused on a concept of fine dining that can please most palates. From ravioli filled with pear, aged pecorino cheese, jamon and mushrooms to Black Angus steak or lobster bolognaise and several ‘sharing platters’ you can clink forks over, this place also has a friendly service and cutting edge, warmly rustic yet also edgily romantic vibe.

A: Sina 50, Kolonaki

Aleria

Located in a beautifully refurbished neoclassical house with deco in warm tones and a fireplace, as well as a lovely garden for al fresco dining in summer, Aleria introduces you to Greek cuisine with a playful and healthy twist. Chef Gikas Xenakis combines modern techniques with old fashioned or classic recipes and local ingredients, offering a sense of innovation and discovery to diners. Dishes such as pumpkin puree with truffle and chestnuts or giant gigantes beans cooked in a red sauce with capers , yuzu and celery are as strange-sounding as they are delicious. 

A: Megalou Alexandrou 57, Metaxourgeio

Insights Greece - Athens' 6 Most Romantic Dinner Spots

Cafe Boheme

Smart-casual, small and buzzy, this place is ideal for a dimly-lit Mediterranean feast that is as elegant and flavoursome as it is unpretentious. Attracting the city’s high-profile professional crowd in their low-key moments, the bar/restaurant is ideal for talking business at lunch and love at dinner. Dark wood, unique paintings by British artist Alison Wagstaffe covering the walls, tables decorated with flowers and candles and a real sense of privacy amongst the crowd are all romantic pluses at this central yet out f the way place. With a Mediterranean focus, the menu changes according to the season and is loyal to the concept of fresh, Greek and seasonal ingredients. Sample seafood, risottos, homemade thin crust pizzas, traditional dishes with a modern twist and a wonderful wine menu starring some of the best local wines.

A: Omirou 36, Kolonaki

Top 3 Spas in Athens

Nothing can soothe your body, mind, and soul like a good dose of pampering. We visit the best spas in the heart of the city.

Over the last few decades, Greece has developed a notable and highly respectable wellness scene, with spas and holistic centres now able to compete with some of the best of their kind in the world. Offering cutting-edge treatments and using excellent designer product lines, with complex and imaginatively decadent treatments for the body, soul, and face, these bliss centres can offer the most gratifying gift any tired being could wish for during the high-stress- any other time of year. Let’s face it – nothing beats the experience of walking into a place feeling foggy-headed and bedraggled, only to step out one, two, maybe even five hours later feeling and looking completely renewed. The effects may fade after a few days, but the memory of how lovingly and expertly every inch of you was handled, of the pacifying and luxuriant environment, meditative lighting, deep heart-opening fragrances, and tranquil sounds will not ever leave you. 

As a pampering freak, I have cunningly made it my life mission to discover the best of what the world has to offer in terms of therapies, treatments, and holistic healing methods. In travels to Mexico, Japan, and Southeast Asia as well as throughout Greece, finding real healing – from backstreet miracle workers and anomalous shamans to highly trained teachers and sophisticated therapists at uber-luxurious wellness paradises – has been a serious and fascinating path of study for me. To guarantee you will enjoy your spa experience during your time in central Athens, here are my top three selections.

Insights Greece - Top 3 Spas in Athens

Hammam Baths

The only one of its kind in the heart of the Greek capital, the Turkish-inspired baths in historical Thisseio offer a true getaway from contemporary urban reality. Guests usually start with the Hammam, a circular, white marble steam room where, wearing nothing but your ‘pestemal’ traditional hammam towel you can spend as long as you like sweating it out, alleviating yourself every so often from the heat by pouring cool water over yourself from a bronze basin. There are many options for hair, face, and body treatments and therapies to follow, in which the massage therapists use black or olive paste soap, Dead Sea mud, the exfoliating ‘ketseas’ natural bristle brushes, and other traditional Turkish goodies to enhance the pampering. Before returning to reality, you can enjoy sipping herb tea and munching on Turkish delight in the relaxing communal area.

A: 17 Aghion Asomaton & 1 Melidoni, Athens 

GB Spa

Like entering another dimension, one where the lavish décor and top-notch pampering expertise is truly unparalleled, the GB Spa is by far the city’s best (and one of the most expensive!). Guests are encouraged to relish the essence of the spa (‘salute per aqua’ or health by water) experience by connecting to the water element first – starting with a leisurely dip in the ozone-rich pool with curative thick sea salt and following that with an excellent choice of around five steam rooms, such as the Herbal Suite, where you can meditatively inhale the essences of Greek organic herbs like thyme, oregano, and lavender, or the Amethystos Grotto, where the walls are covered in a mosaic of amethyst stones and the steam is infused with pure eucalyptus oils. Outside the steam rooms are showers with six different settings, from Tropical Rain to Summer Shower, as well as two marble foot baths with hydromassage. ESPA products are used in all treatments, such as high-tech facials and massages, among which are deeply restorative, two-hour-long Ayurvedic rituals, the hot-stone Balinese massage, salt scrubs, and slimming, detoxifying or soothing body wraps. For instant beautification, Spa Manager Anne Speck recommends the Signature GB facial, Prickly Pear Luxury Facial inspired by the 15th-century Japanese Kobido lifting massage.

A: Hotel Grande Bretagne, Syntagma Square 

Insights Greece - Top 3 Spas in Athens

Aegeo Spa

Based in Crete, Aegeo Spa magnetizes the achy-limbed in all forms at its various spa centres in Athens, located at the Electra Palace and Electra Metropolis Hotels, as well as across the St George Lycabettus Hotel. It welcomes guests for “flash” treatments – from a deep back and neck massage to a glow-inducing facial – as well as determined day guests who have made serious recovery their mantra. The modern and elegant spa inspires in clients a real sense of trust via its warm and friendly staff, expert treatments, and excellent Babor products, as well as products that originate in Crete, such as olive oil and raki (distilled grape alcohol), both of which are used in the super-relaxing signature Cretan Massage. Another special treat at Aegeo is the Ancient Greek Massage, based on ancient healing principles as taught by Hippocrates and including circulation-boosting and exfoliating skin brushing with a horse-bristle brush, cupping, and warm olive oil for intense muscle relaxation. Aegeo’s most unique therapy by far is the Wish Massage, a four-hand massage in which the client makes a wish before the therapy, that the two masseurs focus on throughout the treatment. Aegeo’s menu includes a variety of effective beauty therapies too, from microdermabrasion using precious stones and masks with gold to the instantly brightening Collagen Booster facial.  

A: 15 Mitropoleos St, Athens 

Top 5 Tea Houses in Athens

Few things are more delightfully decadent than catching up with good friends over a cup of tea. From hotel restaurants to proper teahouses, here’s where to go on the weekend (or any day of the week really) for the best tea Athens has to offer! 

Grande Bretagne Hotel

The ultimate “proper” English afternoon tea drinking ritual can be enjoyed in the polished Winter Garden City Lounge of Athens’ plushest hotel. The service is set for two and you can choose from a variety of 16 classic and lesser known tea blends. Friendly to the philosophy expressed by the Dowager Countess (so exquisitely played by Maggie Smith) in Downton Abbey, “nothing succeeds like excess”; and fully honouring authentic the British high tea tradition, your blend of choice will be served in an elaborate China teapot and cups along with warm scones and fresh clotted cream, to be topped with the hotel’s rich marmalades; fluffy white finger sandwiches filled with cucumber or egg mayonnaise with cress or  smoked salmon, vibrantly coloured macarons, profiteroles and other pastries.

A: 1 Vasileos Georgiou A’, Syntagma Square

“A woman is like a teabag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”  – Eleanor Roosevelt

Insights Greece - Top 5 Tea Houses in Athens

To Tsai

With an award winning architectural design (architect Giorgos Batzios was awarded the European Architecture Awards for his design in 2017), To Tsai serves and sells tea varieties from around the world in pots relevant to where the tea comes from – Japanese tea is served in cast iron pots, Chinese tea in clay pots from Yixing and other teas in porcelain pots. Over 500 varieties imported from tea-producing countries by Mlensa Hellas are served in the warm yet minimal environment. Soft lighting concealed behind rows of timbre panels, (“to resemble a sunrise”, the architect has said) creates a Zen Japanese vibe that enhances the feeling of restoration. To Tsai also serves a high quality selection of light meals such as freshly made salads, eggs Benedict and quiches as well as desserts, including vegan options. A great option for a business brunch.

A: Alexandrou Soutsou 19, Kolonaki

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”  C.S. Lewis

Insights Greece - Top 5 Tea Houses in Athens

Petite Fleur

Now with three stores in Athens (Kolonaki, Pangrati and Halandri), this cozy cafe serves around 25 varieties of ethically sourced tea blends in a colourful, stylish environment. With a mix of old school charm and a playful vintage theme (a piano, ‘60s vinyl records, an old record player, faux early-19th Century tiled floor, a jazz music soundtrack and furniture reminiscent of the Belle Epoque in Paris) it serves heartwarming teas such as Ceylon Black Wood with orange peel and cinnamon stick, green gun powder and Kusmi, as well as a delectable variety of hot chocolate and coffee beverages, always accompanied by delicious desserts and satisfying snacks. The perfect spot for catching up with a friend for a few hours of serious banter. 

A: Omirou 44, Kolonaki, Platia Platia Eleftheroton 16,  16, Halandri and Aminta 1 (Proskopon Square) Pangrati

“I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Insights Greece - Top 5 Tea Houses in Athens

Madras – House of Tea for sophisticated takeaway

Inside the Bolani Stoa in central Athens you’ll find this delightful little store, which boasts one of the largest varieties of tea in Europe – 400 to be precise, with imports for 14 tea producing countries in Asia and Africa. With 45 years of experience under his belt, owner Stefanos Papatzialas has a well-trained staff of flavour experts who can explain, inform and recommend brands and varieties. The Madras company also creates their own trademark blends with aromatic plants and fruits, with wild, organic, pest-free Greek herbs and more. Here and in the Piraeus store you can take tea to go rather than linger over a cuppa, but the proprietors are planning to open a store in Athens where customers can drink tea in house. Just what you need when you’re on the go on a cold winter day.

A: 7 Voulis, in Stoa Bolani, Syntagma, Notara 21, Piraeus 

“Tea … is a religion of the art of life.” – Kazuko Okakura

Insights Greece - Top 5 Tea Houses in Athens

Cafe Taf

One of the capital’s best coffee shops also serves a great cup of tea. Selling a broad variety of herbal, fruit and black or red tea loose leaf blends created by the British Suki Tea brand, first set up in 2005 by Annie and Oscar. Popular choices include Lemon and Ginger, Red Berry, Green Tea Sencha and Mango Tango but there are also more classical blends like Earl Grey and Breakfast Tea. The ambiance is urban chic with colourful touches and minimal furnishings, perfect for a working morning.

Insights Greece - Top 5 Tea Houses in AthensA: Emmanouil Benaki 7-9, Exarcheia

“If you are cold, tea will warm you;

if you are too heated, it will cool you;

If you are depressed, it will cheer you;

If you are excited, it will calm you.” – William Ewart Gladstone