Panoptis Escape stands on the highest point of the hillside above Elia Bay, and its name carries the Greek sense of all-seeing. The address is Elia Beach, south coast of Mykonos. Taken room by room, the house is 18 villas and retreats, in categories that run from honeymoon retreats to one-, two- and three-bedroom villas, each with its own pool or outdoor jacuzzi. Taken whole, it is one house: 21 bedrooms, 12 private pools, sleeps 69.
The site runs to 16,000 square metres, of which 1,900 is indoors and 2,500 is outdoor space, pools excluded.
A hill chosen for shelter
Elia is one of the longest stretches of sand on Mykonos and it faces south, so the hillside above it takes the sun from dawn to dusk and is sheltered from the high winds. That is why the ground was chosen. The beach is fine golden sand, part of it laid with sunbeds and umbrellas, part of it left bare, and it is a short walk down from the estate. Panoptis keeps a piece of it for its own guests. The architecture is contemporary and minimalist, and nothing on the hill stands above the estate.
The family behind it
Panoptis Escape belongs to the Myconian Collection, the Daktylides family’s group of 14 houses on Mykonos, six of them on the Elia hillside. George Daktylides opened the 25-room Kohili in 1979, as the island’s third hotelier, and his four sons, Vangelis, Panos, Markos and Marios, built the group out from there: the Royal above Elia in 2000, the Imperial in 2002, then the Villa Collection, Utopia and Avaton. Panoptis is the sixth of the family’s houses at Elia and the newest of them. It opened in 2022, after a short first season in 2021.
The kitchen
The restaurant stands above the bay, and the kitchen cooks Greek and Mediterranean dishes with a contemporary turn from local sourcing: farm-to-table Mediterranean salads, and fish caught for its guests by friends of the house on the island. There is an all-day menu and a midday menu, and breakfast comes either in the restaurant or up to the villa. Guests who would rather not come down take dinner on their own veranda instead, with a butler.
What the whole estate carries
Reserved in its entirety, the estate carries a lounge, an open-air bar, a fully equipped kitchen and an outdoor barbecue area, a spa and wellness studio, private parking and a private helipad for up to three helicopters. The 12 pools are spread across the site, and the living areas are set apart from one another.
Spa treatments are given in the privacy of a guest’s own villa, and there is a Zen area for yoga and Pilates classes. Guests also have full use of the Myconian Collection’s other houses on the island: their bars and restaurants, their pools and spa facilities and the group’s wedding and events locations.
Season and arrival
Closed November to May, the house takes guests from eight years old. The airport is 12 kilometres away and Mykonos Town about 20 minutes by road, and from there the island’s restaurants, boutiques and nightlife are within reach. Panoptis arranges private transfers, yacht charters and helicopter charters on request.
Who is this for
It suits one large party who want a hillside to themselves, up to 42 adults and 27 children across the 21 bedrooms, and equally a couple in a 46 square metre retreat with an outdoor jacuzzi. Days are quiet and unhurried: horseback into the countryside, a private boat around the rocky bays, the Aegean on every side. Mykonos Town and its nightlife are close enough to reach for an evening and far enough to forget on the hill.
