Poseidonion Grand Hotel
The 105-year-old Poseidonion Grand Hotel is to Spetses—a car-free island popular with elite visitors—what The Plaza is to New York: a much beloved landmark. Originally owned by the local hero who saved the island’s pines from deforestation, the Belle Époque building fell into disrepair until a shipping magnate and his family restored it to its former glory: Not long after the property reopened in 2009, it hosted a wedding party for Prince Nikolaos of
Greece. Modern conveniences like flatscreen TVs, a pillow menu, and marble baths join original architectural elements like wrought-iron balconies. The hotel maintains its own organic farm, which supplies much of the produce and eggs you’ll see on your plate, and where you can indulge in an open-air cooking class or communal meal. What it doesn't grow, it carefully sources from other local farmers and serves in four on-site restaurants. You can often find the owners welcoming guests as if they were arriving at the family home, then pointing them toward one-of-a-kind experiences like natural olive oil soap–making classes and beekeeping workshops, as well as cycling, hiking, and fishing.
