Category: Santorini (page 1 of 12)

The cinematic splendour of Santorini and Mykonos

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Unmistakably Katikies is a visually stunning promotional film for the Katikies Hotels in Santorini and Mykonos

 

Visual rush: We’re really enjoying a just-released promotional video that we think superbly captures the magical atmosphere and exhilarating beauty of Santorini and Mykonos, two of the most popular and well-known islands in Greece.

Unmistakably Katikies is a cinematic-style travel  film that the media company Beautiful Destinations produced as part of a promotional campaign project for the Katikies group of seven hotels and villa properties on Santorini and Mykonos. The film premiered on February 16.

Featuring FPV (First Person View) video cinematography, the 4-minute film takes viewers on a thrilling ride above Santorini’s spectacular caldera cliffs, Red Beach, Black Beach and Ammoudi Bay, as well as through the maze of cobblestone streets in Mykonos Town, capturing remarkable vistas and the islands’ incomparable scenery during the flight. Of course, there are plenty of breathtaking views of the luxurious Katikies hotels and villas, too, including rooms, restaurants, pools and corridors.

Details of the filming project, including a list of the movie team members and a description of how the project came together, can be found in a February 16 post on the Beautiful Destinations page on Facebook.

Below are links to the Katikies website and social media pages, where you can find full information about the hotel and villa properties, along with photos and videoclips:

Web:  Katikies 

Instagram: @katikieshotelsantorini

Instagram: @katikiesmykonos

Instagram: @katikiesvillasmykonos

Facebook: @Katikies

 

Where to go in Greece: A video guide to 25 beautiful places

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25 most beautiful towns to visit in Greece is a 27-minute film from Lifestyle Hal

 

So many pretty places:  A new video from a popular travel blogger might prove inspiring and helpful to people who are hoping to visit Greece for the first time, but don’t yet have a clue where they would like to go.

25 most beautiful towns to visit in Greece was released January 22 by U.K.-based photographer/videographer Hal, whose Lifestyle Hal travel channel on YouTube has nearly 32,000 subscribers.

We think the film is worth checking out by would-be Greece travel newbies since it provides a good introduction to some of the country’s leading island and mainland tourist destinations.

The video clocks in at just over 27 minutes, profiling each place in its own distinct and succinct segment of approximately one minute apiece. Beautiful aerial and ground-level video footage is accompanied by a voice-over narration in which Hal describes key features and attractions which distinguish each destination.

We feel the video’s title is a bit of a misnomer, though, since the film focusses primarily on islands, rather than towns, with a pair of major archaeological sites — Delphi and Delos — included in the list, along with the magnificent monastery-topped rock formations at Meteora, and Sarakiniko beach on Milos island.  

The film doesn’t reveal any off-the-beaten-path hidden gems or secret hideaways — all of the places that Hal highlights are long-established, well-known tourist draws reachable on regular ferry or flight schedules or, in the case of a handful of spots on mainland Greece, along major roadway routes.  But all are beautiful and well worth visiting as we can personally attest, having been to 16 of the spots on Hal’s top 25 so far.

And even though we’re familiar with all of the destinations, we still enjoyed watching Hal’s video of gorgeous sights and scenery, and hearing his personal perspective on each place’s attractions and attributes.

 

Travel mag suggests best Greek islands to visit in 2022

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Conde Nast Traveller best Greek Islands article

 

Island mini-guides:  If you’re hoping to pay a first-time visit to the Greek isles in 2022, or make a return trip to see one or more islands you’re not already familiar with, travel journalist Rachel Howard might help you find the places most suitable to your personal tastes and holiday priorities.

Howard writes extensively about Greece travel destinations, and her work appears regularly in leading international magazines and newspapers.

Her latest article for Conde Nast Traveller magazine,  The best Greek islands to visit in 2022, is a mini-guide that profiles nearly two dozen islands, ranging from such perenially-popular tourist magnets as Corfu, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and Rhodes, to less-commercial and much quieter places in between, like Folegandros, Symi and Ithaca.

 

 

Howard’s guide suggests 23 islands she feels might be “the best” for specific traveller lifestyles and preferences, such as Serifos for “naturists and purists,”  Ithaca for “lovers and loners” seeking a “mythical retreat,” Zakynthos for “seaside holidays with toddlers or teens,” Paxos for “the perfect blend of seclusion and sophistication,” and Hydra for “a long weekend with the art crowd.” Of course, her list also includes islands that will be appealing for noteworthy natural features and distinctive local characteristics, like Amorgos for “deep blue seas and wide open spaces,” Tinos for “traditional villages and knockout tavernas,” Symi for “castaway coves and a picture-perfect port,” and Naxos for “endless sandy beaches.”

Looking for a honeymoon destination? An island renowned for exquisite cuisine? A decadent party haven or an authentic hideaway with a bohemian buzz? Howard has recommendations for islands perfect for those features, and more.

Her easy-to-read piece mentions highlight attractions on each island, top things to see and do, and places to stay.

The article is illustrated with a photo of a scene on each island (except Skiathos, for which the editors mistakenly selected a photograph of Elia beach on Mykonos), and is peppered with links to additional photo galleries, travel guides and previously-published magazine reports about some of the destinations.

 

New Radisson Blu Zaffron luxury resort opens on Santorini

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Radisson Blu Zaffron Resort on Santorini swimming pool

The Radisson Blu Zaffron Resort is a luxury retreat that opened in August 2021 at Kamari beach on Santorini

 

Newly opened: We regularly receive emails from readers asking us to recommend accommodations at Santorini beach resort areas — requests we’re not well-positioned to respond to since we haven’t been to the island since 2006, and have only stayed at caldera-side hotels when there.

But when someone recently asked if we knew of any stylish luxury hotels near one of the island’s beaches, we actually could suggest a place for them to consider — we had just received a media release announcing that a brand-new 5-star hotel had opened its doors.

The Radisson Blu Zaffron Resort opened in August at Kamari, a seaside village popular for its lively bar- and cafe-lined beach promenade, and an open-air summer cinema. Designed and built in traditional Cycladic style, the Radisson Blu Zaffron is an exclusive luxury retreat situated a short stroll from the resort area’s bars and restaurants, and just 150 meters from the black volcanic sands of Kamari beach.

 

Photos of the Radisson Blu Zaffron Resort on Santorini

 

The resort complex is comprised of 103 guest rooms and suites, as well as stand-alone villas, appointed with what the hotel website describes as “minimally sumptuous interiors.”

The luxe accommodations are “are all about supreme comfort in a sophisticated ambiance, topped off with indulging amenities to make you feel pampered. Designed for discerning travelers who appreciate refined luxury, the rooms and suites follow a traditional Cycladic outline with arches, smooth lines and cotton-white walls embellished with an exotic boho-chic décor and high-end furnishings,” the website says.

 

Room, suite and villa categories available for booking through the website include:

♦ Superior room with either ground-floor terrace or upper-level balcony;

♦ Premium room with terrace and outdoor whirlpool;

♦ Premium room with terrace and private plunge pool;

♦ Junior suite with balcony;

♦ Junior suite with terrace and private plunge pool;

♦ 46-sq-meter Suite with separate living area, work desk and private balcony;

♦ a Presidential suite which can sleep 4 adults in 2 separate bedrooms, has a private balcony, and is equipped with either a whirlpool or a plunge pool on a private terrace;

♦ Villa with terrace; and

♦ Villa with terrace and private plunge pool:

 

Spa gym and pool at the Radisson Zaffron Blu Resort on Santorini

Radisson Blu Zaffron Resort on Santorini swimming pool

 

The Radisson Blu Zaffron’s recreation facilities and common amenities include two centrally-situated swimming pools furnished with 80 comfy sun loungers.  Guests can enjoy coffees, cocktails and other beverages at the pool bar, as well as ice cream, snacks, sandwiches, panini, burgers and more.

The Calliste Wellness centre offers a variety of relaxation and stress-reduction treatments including facial and body massages, along with nail salon treatments.

The resort also has a meeting room that can accommodate up to 80 people for corporate events and business meetings, as well as social gatherings and receptions.

 

Radisson Zaffron Blu Resort Santorini restaurant and cuisine

Resort guests can savour tastes of Italy in the Radisson Blu Zaffron’s two in-house restaurants, Zefferino Ristorante and Belloni Trattoria.

The menu at the fine dining Zefferino Ristorante spotlights “meticulously selected dishes with raw ingredients brought by local Italian producers, honoring the rich gastronomic heritage of the Emilia-Romagna and Liguria regions as well as the Zeffirino family, who have been awarded the title of ‘Ambassador of Italian Cuisine’ thanks to their Genoese Pesto brand.”

Belloni Trattoria boasts an open kitchen and relaxed, laid-back atmosphere where guests can enjoy a mix of Greek and Italian dishes for lunch, and classic, traditional Italian cuisine for dinner.

 

The Radisson Blu Zaffron is operated by the tourism and hospitality firm Fais Group, in partnership with the Radisson Hotel Group.

Full details of the hotel’s accommodations and facilities can be found on the resort website, while its social media pages include numerous photos of the property.

Facebook:  @RadissonBluZaffrontResortSantorini

Instagram: @radissonbluzaffronsantorini

Web: Radisson Blu Zaffron Santorini

We haven’t heard back from the reader to whom we suggested looking into the Radisson Blu Zaffron, and don’t know if they wound up booking there for their Santorini holiday. But so far, the resort has been racking up excellent customer reviews on TripAdvisor, booking.com and Google, among others.

Writers report on mood, hopes & fears at top Greece travel spots during & after the nation’s Covid-19 lockdown

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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

At his Greece Summer 2020 press conference on Santorini on June 13, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis formally announced Greece’s re-opening for summer tourism. Impressive backdrops for the international media event included views of the island’s clifftop village of Imerovigli (top photo) and a glorious sunset over nearby islands (bottom). Greece went into lockdown in late March to protect its citizens from the Covid-19 pandemic, and on June 15 began reopening its borders to tourism.

 

By mygreecetravelblog.com

 

“Greek tourism is back.”

Those words — spoken by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during an international press conference on Santorini island June 13 — must have been sweet music to the ears of people around the world who have been hoping to holiday in Greece this summer.

 

Please click on the link below to continue reading on page 2 of this post.

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20 tantalizing reasons to visit Santorini island

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If Santorini is already on your list of places to visit, you’ve probably got a few main reasons for your choice — including the island’s world-famous sunsets and its breathtaking caldera scenery. But there are many additional features and attractions that make Santorini an appealing holiday destination, and local photographer, filmmaker and graphic designer Nikos Korakakis reveals them in his newly-released video 20 reasons to visit Santorini in 2020! 

Produced in collaboration with the Santorini Archive Project, the 3-minute film spotlights the island’s fascinating historic sites, incomparable geological features and extensive range of activities for visitors.  If you haven’t been considering Santorini for your next trip to Greece, the impressive images in Korakakis’s video might well inspire you to give the island a closer look.

 

Our quarantine reads Part 2: Greek hotels and restaurants on travel hot lists for 2020

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Rendering of the main swimming pool at Royal Senses resort on Crete

A rendering of the main swimming pool at The Royal Senses Resort & Spa, scheduled to open in late June on Crete.  The Royal Senses was included on The Telegraph‘s list of 10 amazing new Greek island hotels to book in 2020.

 

Four Seasons Astir Palace Athens website hotel photo

The Four Seasons Astir Palace Athens, a legendary hotel on the Athens Riviera that re-opened last year following extensive renovations. The hotel was profiled this spring by World Traveller magazine.

 

A short social media promotional clip for Kaliya, a much-anticipated new restaurant opening this summer in Fira, the capital of Santorini. Kaliya is among several sumptuous Santorini dining spots cited by World Travel magazine.

 

Where to stay, dine and drink: Each winter and spring, major newspapers and travel magazines publish articles describing new and noteworthy places to stay and visit in Greece, and this year they’ve done it again, even though the Covid-19 pandemic turned international travel planning upside down and left everyone wondering if there would even be a tourist season in 2020.  Would any of the hotels, resorts, restaurants and bars described in the travel media be able to open this year?

It looks like there might be part of a summer travel season after all, now that the Greek government has announced (on April 28) its plans for lifting lockdowns, gradually restarting the country’s economy, and possibly re-opening its tourism infrastructure and facilities as early as July. Although details about when — and which — foreign visitors will be allowed to enter Greece are still up in the air, it appears summer holiday travel to Greece will be a possibility for some people.

Given that hopeful prospect, we have compiled this post to highlight travel articles we have read over the past month during our own coronavirus home quarantine.   It’s a round-up of recommendations and travel reports for hotels, resorts, villas and restaurants in Greece that captured the attention of international travel media experts.

If you’re among the fortunate people who get to visit Greece this summer and experience any of the properties and establishments described in these publications, do drop us a line once you’re back home, to let us know how you enjoyed them.

 

 

The Times article about 30 best places to go in Greece

 

If you’re having trouble choosing where to go once Greece re-opens its borders to international tourists, The Times article 30 best places to stay might help you narrow your options. Then again, it could confuse you even more, since it describes so many outstanding accommodations to consider.

Whether it’s adults-only on Santorini, kid-friendly on Rhodes, eco-conscious on Crete, a rustic mountain retreat or a luxury hilltop villa, the newspaper’s top picks cover most travel lifestyles, though the list does lean mainly towards higher-end and design-forward hotels. 

Hotel, resort and villa recommendations on the newspaper’s list include the following Greek island regions:

♦ Crete

♦ Antiparos, Folegandros, Mykonos, Santorini, Serifos and Syros in the Cyclades island chain

♦ Corfu, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Kythira, and Lefkada in the Ionian group of islands 

♦ Hydra and Spetses in the Saronic Gulf

♦ Skiathos and Skopelos in the Sporadic isles, and

♦ Kos and Rhodes in the Dodecanese archipelago

For mainland Greece and the Peloponnese, the article suggests stylish accommodations for:

♦ The Athens Riviera

♦ Halkidiki

♦ Monemvasia, Nafplio and The Mani in the Peloponnese;

♦ Parga, Perdika, Sivota and the Zagorochoria areas of northwestern Greece.

 

Santorini hotels, restaurants and wineries

World Travel Magazine February-March 2020 cover

Canaves Oia Epitome luxury hotel was the shooting location for the cover photo for World Travel Magazine’s February/March 2020 issue

 

When Nasos Kouzelis wrote What’s New Santorini?,  tourism-related businesses on the island were excitedly preparing for the launch of the 2020 travel season. “In just a few days’ time,” he said, restaurants would be setting their tables and wineries would be polishing their glasses to welcome their first guests of the year. His article was originally published in the February/March 2020 edition of World Travel magazine, so Kouzelis would have submitted it to the editors weeks before Greece went into lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those opening plans have since been put on ice, of course, and at this time no-one knows exactly when Santorini’s tourist season for international travellers will finally start.

But by the time that happens, there will be even more built-up anticipation for the opening of some eagerly-awaited new restaurants and hotels that Kouzelis describes, along with the return of some much-talked-about accommodations and dining spots that made their debuts in 2019.

Among the hot spots Kouzelis mentions:

♦ in Oia village: the Canaves Oia Epitome and its Elements restaurant, and the Andronis Arcadia Hotel and its Opson restaurant;

♦ in Imerovigli village: Cavo Tagoo Santorini hotel and its restaurant, OVAC, plus OMMA Santorini hotel and restaurant;

♦ in Fira, the island capital: Katikies Garden hotel, Panigiri Restaurant, and the brand-new Kaliya restaurant;

♦ at Monolithos beach: the Nikki Beach Santorini Resort & Spa;

♦ at Baxedes beach near Oia: the all-day lounge restaurant Laze;

Avantis Cellar Door winery and restaurant in Kontochori near Fira, and Mikra Thira winery on nearby Thirasia island.

The article is illustrated with beautiful pictures by Christos Drazos, one of the most sought-after professional hotel and restaurant photographers in Greece.

 

Please click on the link below to read about more travel publication profiles of hotels and restaurants on Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Crete, Corfu, Rhodes, Ios and the Athens Riviera.

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Enticing video urges travellers to keep dreaming about going to Greece after the Covid-19 crisis

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Until the time is right, dream away! features 2 minutes of alluring natural scenery, monuments, and top tourist destinations in Greece

 

Dream on: Greece tourism officials have produced an inspiring video of sights, scenery and outdoor activities to encourage travellers to keep dreaming about taking a trip to Greece once the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

The 2-minute film,  Until the time is right, dream away!,  includes stunning aerial, ground-level and even underwater views of some of the country’s outstanding scenery, including mountains, rivers, valleys, beaches, coastlines, vineyards, monuments, historic sites, villages, cities and islands.

We recognized nearly two dozen places shown in the video — Chania, Loutro and Preveli on Crete, Corfu, Zakynthos, Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, Delos, Milos, Thassos, Skyros, Sounion, Athens and Thessaloniki — but couldn’t put place names to many more scenes that looked familiar.

The film may make you feel wistful, especially if the pandemic forced you to cancel plans to visit Greece this spring, as was the case with us. At the same time, however, it’s an inspiring reminder of all the amazing sights and places that will still be there, waiting to enthrall, excite and entertain us, once we can again travel to Greece.

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Related posts:

Greek tourism businesses urge travellers to ‘stay safe’ now, make plans to visit Greece later;

Beautiful places to see in Greece after the Covid-19 lockdowns and travel bans are lifted;

♦ How to visit Greece during your Covid-10 quarantine;

Video spotlights spectacular Greece sights and scenery to send inspiring message

 

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