Ostraco

Funky island retreat on a hill above Mykonos Town, with minimal white interiors and super-friendly staff

Mykonos, the original Cycladic haunt of the 1960’s, is back in vogue. And the in-place to lay your head is the stylishly minimal Ostraco. It sits on a hill above the impossibly pretty horseshoe-harbour of Chora, with long views out to a scudding blue sea. Guests lounge around on sumptuously cushioned day-beds in bamboo-shaded pergolas, or top up their tans on white-clad sunloungers around an amoeba-shaped pool. In the evening, the place comes alive with music, lanterns, cocktails and a party-soul bartender: a fitting prelude for a night on the tiles (or rather cobbles) of Chora’s labyrinthine alleys, glitzy restaurants and laid-back dance clubs.

But it's the supremely cool interiors that really take your breath away: a few bold drops of colour (a hot pink rug, three orange candles glowing in an alcove) against a backdrop so brilliantly white that you’ll be wearing your Armani shades inside. And it could not be more romantic: wrought-iron four-posters with billowing canopies, heated outdoor jacuzzis in the suites, even a pair of immaculate chapels on hand in case you pop the question.

Highs

• The rooms’ pared-down aesthetic is the last word in Greek island chic
• With 21 rooms, the mood is intimate and sociable (it is still family-owned)
• Manager Fotis and his excellent team provide faultless, friendly service
• You can take a day-trip to ancient Delos, shop (or bop) till you drop in Chora’s designer boutiques and clubs, hang out among the perfect bodies of Paradise beach, or jump on a bus or fishing boat to a quieter cove

Lows

• Some road noise in the rooms nearest the street
• It’s a steep 10-minute walk (or short taxi ride) into town
• The island can be very windy in summer
• Mykonos is the most expensive island in Greece, and Ostraco’s rates reflect this