Rooms

There are 45 rooms in total. Each is individually and neutrally designed with warm, earthy colours and traditional fabrics and textiles in keeping with the hotel’s holistic, minimalist approach. The emphasis is on luxury, with handmade mattresses designed to fit the contours of your body and sprayed with olive oil to keep your skin soft as you sleep. Euphoria Junior Suites have raised seating areas and most guestrooms open onto private terraces overlooking the groves. Some have steam showers (note, only a few have baths) and all have noise insulation.

If money’s no object, the Mystras Suite is the owner’s favourite, while the 100m2 Byzantium Grand Suite at the very top of the retreat boasts its own concierge service, private garden and hot tub.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Bluetooth sound system
• Hairdryer
• In-room treatments available
• Iron
• Minibar
• Mosquito net
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

At Gaia restaurant, the emphasis is on health and wholesomeness. But don't let that you put you off; meals here are delicious, varied and packed with flavour. Most of the produce originates in the local Peloponnese countryside (or the hotel’s own kitchen garden) and is mostly organic but not exclusively vegetarian/vegan – some diets demand steak, pork and eggs. Coffee and alcohol are discouraged but if you really fancy a sundowner, there’s a small lobby bar that serves beer, wine and light cocktails.

If you book onto a spa programme with a nutritional focus you get your meals individually tailored to your needs. On arrival, you're given a quick blood test (not as brutal as it sounds - just a finger prick!) and then the menus are crafted by the kitchen staff to provide you with the right balance and nutrition.

There’s only the one restaurant on site, and it’s largely communal, but the surrounding area does have a few modest bars and eateries serving more traditional Greek cuisine, such as Taverna Pikoulianika or Chromata.

Features include:

• Bar
• Restaurant
• Room service

Activities

• There’s almost no limit to the wellness offerings at the hotel: Finnish sauna, infrared sauna, sensory deprivation pool, Kneipp Therapy waterwell, meditation rooms, yoga studios (and aerial yoga sessions), massage rooms, a gym (with personal trainers) as well as a host of classes in everything from nutrition to self-awareness.
  
  
• Go cycling or walking in the enormous (78,000 sqm) private forest in the garden.
  
  
• A trip to the ruins of nearby Mystras, with its frescoed chapels, 15th-century palace and hilltop castle, is a must.
  
  
• Explore the trails into the foothills of Mt. Taygetos: one leads up the river valley near the hotel, another to the cave-chapel of Langadiotissa (a favourite), while a third follows a spectacular stone mulepath to the village of Anavriti, set beneath snow-capped peaks.
  
  
• Drive to Gythion (45 mins), a medieval port town that boasts some fantastic fish restaurants, or Monemvasia (1.5 hours) which is situated on a small island dubbed the Gibraltar of the East. Once a getaway for Venetian aristocracy, it’s famed for its vaulted alleyways, churches and artisan workshops.

Kids

This isn't really a family resort so no children under 14 are allowed, and only those aged 16 or over can use the spa – with their parents’ permission.

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Located in the heart of the Peloponnese, Euphoria Retreat is a 2.5-hour drive from Athens or less than one hour from Kalamata.

By Air:
Fly into Kalamata (95km) or Athens (247km).

From the Airport
From either airport, you could get a taxi or arrange a transfer via the hotel, but you might want a hire car to explore the area. See our car rental recommendations.

Alternatively, if you want to arrive in style, a helicopter transfer can be arranged on request.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.