by I once took a family trip to a Greek island for a late summer break towards the end of August. One morning while we were eating breakfast on the terrace the owner of the hotel sniffed the air and announced deliberately: “I smell Autumn.”
Well in Mykonos in September you can’t smell it but you can also feel it slap you in the face. The famous Meltemi wind blows across the island almost non-stop during a post-summer flit to the most famous Cyclades.
On the other hand, the Aegean sun, which was still quite strong in September, does not become too intimidating because the wind shear effect acts as a natural air conditioner. On the downside, eating out can be dangerous as menus, napkins and the odd salad leaf slide across the table.
We were staying at one of the island’s new breed of five-star contemporary boutique hotels, the Ornos KenshÅ located above Ornos beach a few miles outside of Mykonos Town itself. Celebrity guests seeking R&R seclusion there appear to have included TV presenters reality TV stars Vicky Pattison and Millie Mackintosh, Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan and singer Lindsay Lohan.
The 25-room hotel, 10 situated on a hillside, is cleverly designed around an 80 square meter tea-mint colored pool surrounded by olive trees, wooden decking and some of the most comfortable bedrooms ever. , lounge on.
There are glass screens to keep out the worst of the gusts, but even so, the terrace above the pool with the best views of the bay was closed for two days during our stay due to the strength of the wind. It’s no surprise that the KenshÅ shuts down for the winter season as early as October.
The hotel, which opened in 2016 and was named the world’s best new boutique hotel the following year, has always prided itself on its understated contemporary design, a cool counterpoint to Mykonos’ superclub reputation as the Ibiza of the east. Mediterranean .
The color palette is a riot, if you can have such a thing, with tasteful taupes, mushrooms and beige, down to the staff’s baggy linen uniforms, as well as more traditional Cycladic whitewashed walls. It had a bit of a peak Noughties feel about it and sometimes I was crying out for a burst of color amongst the blonde wood and gray stone. Where there was a flash of something more attractive, such as the burnt copper light fittings and Tom Dixon candle holders thought it was something of an aesthetic relief. However the overall effect is muted.
The emphasis is very much on local natural materials such as the bar stools made from tree trunks. And just to wrap it up in its sustainable credentials the hotel boasts that seven trees are planted for every one used.
Each room on the terrace has its own pool or hot tub. KenshÅ seems to be a Japanese word that describes the state of enlightenment or self-insight. You’ll definitely get a bit of that at the start of the day as you lie in your personal Jacuzzi in the Aegean sun sipping a morning espresso. So very different to the usual 5am scramble.
The hotel has the only rock cave Spa in Mykonos, a cave with craggy boulder walls where you can lie in a massage chair that vibrates in time to the music. There are two treatment rooms, a steam bath room, an indoor Jacuzzi, a salon and beauty salon and tropical rain beds — an energetic experience that had a bit of a fishmonger’s lick feeling about it, although not, I must say, bad. way.
Executive chef Ippokratis Anagnostelis elevates ‘Greek with an Asian twist’ cooking to a serious dining level of ambitious gastronomy delivered from open kitchens. I knew we were in for something pretty special as soon as they took the best hits from the old Greek favorite taramasalata up. Apart from the familiar tub of pink and celeriac, this was the ‘smoked tara cream’ with tomato confit, koulouri bun bread with sesame. The cooking has a light touch, and the fusion influences are kept subtle, as in the sauteed calamari that came with a yuzu dressing.
The 160 Euro tasting menu is a long journey that starts brilliantly with an intensely flavored ‘tomato ball’ – described as “dehydrated santornini cherry tomatoes, herbs and sun-dried tomato emulsion” and ends with 10 more courses later with olive oil. chocolate.
As with all the best hotels, it’s the staff that really make them, and the KenshÅ staff were well-drilled, friendly, knowledgeable and in one case, delightfully eccentric, never crossing that line into intrusiveness. . Best of all, they knew exactly where the most sheltered spots were to keep out of that weak wind.
Rooms start from £230.37 per night including breakfast with a 10% early booking discount. The season is from May 1 to October 20. kenshomykonos.com
