Hello, and Happy Friday! Sadly all my posts from Crete are now over, but never fear - there are two more ones based in Mykonos coming your way, starting with today's! I present to you a photo diary from Kivotos, the hotel we stayed at during our time there. As you might already know, we flew with Aegean Airlines. To get to Mykonos we flew first from Heraklion to Athens and then from Athens onto Mykonos. The views were top notch flying over all the Greek islands, so I thought I'd include a few snaps from way up yonder!
We were picked up from the airport in Kivotos' private car (very swish,very air conditioned, very lovely) and headed straight to the hotel, which is only a ten/fifteen minute drive away. As soon as we arrived and walked through the cacti-filled entrance I knew we were in for a treat.
We were taken past the art gallery, where Greek contemporary art is displayed as part of Kivotos Art Projects, through the guest relations area (major home inspo right there) and over to the beautifully decorated welcome room for a glass of champagne.
It's like something straight from the depths of Pinterest isn't it? We sat down to our drinks and some chocolates and were given a little bit of background about the hotel. The owner travels the world and collects individual pieces and sculptures along the way, so, not only is the hotel filled to the brim with treasures, each suite in the hotel is decorated completely differently from the next. They've welcomed everyone under the sun, from Calvin Klein to John Legend to Donatella Vercace and everyone in between and, as well as all that, have just won Gold in the Greek Tourism Awards. Impressive stuff, eh?
We were then taken up to our room, which was hidden up THE cutest little white steps and behind a mahoosive cactus.
We were greeted with a huge fruit platter - SO very welcome after a day of flying - and a bottle of wine. We decided to be Sensible Susan's and save the wine, so cracked on with exploring the room, fruit in hand.
Visually, the room was stunning. Minimal but luxe, which is no easy feat. It had everything you needed; minibar, iPod docking station, TV at the foot of the bed, a desk, a bar... and the most delicious little chocolates on your pillow (think Ferrero Rocher but better) which were topped up every day. And then, oh boy, THEN I realised I hadn't actually checked out the bathroom yet. Wait until you see this...
Beautiful, isn't it? The free-standing bath, the futuristic blue lighting, the chandelier, the mirror on the ceiling (really). I was like a fat kid in a candy shop. No wait, I was like me in a candy shop.
After admiring the Bvlgari toiletries, complete with fresh flowers, we popped on the light so that we could take in a little more of the bathroom, only to discover that their was a TV position directly at the end of the bath. Oh mumma. It was still light outside at this point so I said goodbye to Rob (who claimed he was too weary to go on, which I later found out actually translated as, 'I'm going to stay in and eat the chocolates and watch SATC') and went out to see some more of the hotel.
10 points if you can spot Wally. I mean Rob.
I knew exactly where I wanted to head... You guessed it, the pool. I was totally caught off guard by how beautiful it was, especially those big, turquoise crystals which my 10 year old self would have begged my Mum to hide in her handbag. The pool had just closed for the night, so I took a few snaps and wandered over to see the hotel's private yacht. It's an exact replica of a pirate ship from 1812 - amazing - and is available for day or weekly cruises, perfect for honeymooners.
At that point I realised I'd actually been away quite a while, so headed back up to the room to see my little Roberto.
... Who had turned on all the atmospheric lights around the bed and set himself up a little den. I wasn't kidding when I said about the chocolates and SATC. Ever wondered what boys do when they're alone? Well there's an odd little insight for you. After he'd finished claiming he only watched it, 'because it was all that was on TV', we got ready for dinner and opened the bottle of wine to enjoy on the balcony as the sun set.
Not a bad view for a Monday night, is it? We headed into Mykonos town for our meal, but I'll be talking about that in my next post so I'll skip right on to day number two at Kivotos!
Before we went for breakfast we had another baby explore of the hotel in daylight, and - if possible - it looked even more stunning than the night before. All turquoise and beautiful, like the kind of thing I often pull up on google images and sigh at. My eyes could have stayed there all day, but my belly had other ideas and gave a massive rumble as if to say, 'ok people, move it along, I need me some breakfast'.
As expected, breakfast was a beautiful affair, which included both international and local delicacies as well as more traditional choices, like cereals and continental and cooked breakfasts.
You can eat inside in the wonderful breakfast room (above) or head outside to eat on the terrace. We, being the sun-craving Brits that we are, headed outside onto the terrace to soak up the views with an OJ in hand.
After breakfast we headed down to Kivotos' private beach which, because of the crescent shape, is sheltered completely from the wind. It was still in the process of being set up as it was only beginning of season, but looked beautiful nonetheless.
Guests can enjoy cocktails, soft drinks and refreshments and - wait for it - massages down here during the day, as well as one of Kivotos famous candlelit dinners at night. After spending some time hanging out and playing in the sea, we headed up to enjoy an afternoon at the pool.
Just lovely, innit? We ordered some cocktails - not alcoholic, it was 26 degrees and I'm not a maniac - and settled down, book and ipods in hand, for the afternoon.
We didn't have long as our flight left at lunchtime, so we enjoyed some breakfast and headed down to the pool - walking slowly so our eyes could enjoy one last visual feast - and spent the last of our time there.
I hope you liked this post and aren't dribbling at the mouth too much from all the beautiful views. I'll be back next week with the last of my Greece blog posts, focusing on what to do in Mykonos!
Thank you so much again to Kivotos, Blue Palace, a luxury collection resort and spa, Aegean Airlines and Discover Greece for organising such a wonderful trip. And, for more on Greece, check out www.discovergreece.com!
