Messinian Icon is a hotel at Káto Vérga, 7 km from Kalamata towards Mani, on the stretch of coast where the town’s waterfront gives out and the Mani road begins to climb. The building faces west as one piece. That decision settles most of what a stay there is like: every room and every public room looks over the Messinian Bay and the city of Kalamata, and both suites are pitched at the same prospect.

It is a small house by the measure of the Messinian coast, 34 rooms and two suites, and it keeps a season, open April to October. It is classified at five stars, and its address is Evaggelistrias 89-91, at Paralia Vergas. Every bed is a Coco-Mat sleeping system, and each guest chooses between two kinds of pillow. The bathrooms carry a full set of APIVITA products, and the rooms run to cotton bathrobes, a mini bar, a safe, a writing desk and a 43-inch television.

The rooms and the suites

The Senior Suite is 57 sq m, with a 157 sq m terrace, and the terrace carries a private pool and a private bar of its own. Sunbeds sit beyond the pool, looking over the bay and the city. Inside, the master bathroom has a bathtub set to face the water and a separate shower, and the living room is furnished with a large corner sofa-bed, a coffee table and a dining table, so the restaurant’s full menu can be eaten in private. Breakfast can be taken in the room as well.

The Junior Suite is furnished in handmade pieces in earthy colours, with a walk-in wardrobe and a WC of its own. Bedroom and living room both look out to the bay, and the two-person bathtub faces the sea. Dishes from the Sobremesa menu or the snack bar can be eaten in the living room there too. Each suite sleeps three, with a maximum of two adults. The rest of the house runs from single rooms to quadruples, and there is an indoor room of activities for children, with cots and extra beds to be had and baby chairs in the restaurant.

Sobremesa

The restaurant is Sobremesa, Mediterranean in its range of dishes, with a wine list set beside it. The chefs buy their ingredients from producers in Messinia. The same kitchen puts out a Greek breakfast of cold and warm dishes made with traditional products from the Messinian land, with the chef cooking omelettes and snacks to whatever combination of ingredients a guest asks for. Breakfast runs from 7am to 10.30am, there is an early service for anyone leaving before it, and both breakfast and meals can be taken away.

The name is Spanish, and the house chose it for what it describes. Literally the word means over the table. What it means in use is the time kept after a meal, with family or friends, over a cup of coffee or a liqueur, in the company of whoever is still sitting there.

The pools and the wellness centre

There are two outdoor pools and an all-day pool bar, and the swimming runs from early in the morning until sunset. Sunbeds, umbrellas and towels are set out beside the water, and the cocktail lounge serves cocktails and snacks with the bay and the city in front of it. The wellness centre runs to a fitness room, steam room, sauna for four and a room for massage. The facilities schedule also carries a hammam, with beauty treatments on request.

Reception is staffed around the clock, room service runs 24 hours, and the house keeps its own parking. A doctor can be called if one is needed, and luggage is carried for you.

Who is this for

This suits a traveller who wants the water and the western light, with Kalamata near enough for a morning in the town and far enough away for quiet. Days take their shape from the season: a swim before breakfast, a long lunch, an afternoon in the spa, and the light going down the bay while you eat. It suits a couple who want a terrace to themselves, and it suits a family who want a week in one place with the sea in front of them.