Myconian Villa Collection is set into the hillside above Elia Bay, on the south coast of Mykonos. It is a five-star house of suites and free-standing private villas, every one of them facing open Aegean. It holds 59 rooms, suites and villas, split between suite and villa categories, and they come with private pools or outdoor hot tubs.
The house stands at Elia Beach, Mykonos, a 25-minute drive from Mykonos Town, about seven miles away. Elia is the longest stretch of golden sand on the island, and the house keeps a dedicated area of it for guests; guests of the Agios Sostis and Super Paradise villas use that service at no charge. A shuttle runs into Mykonos Town, charged on the way in and free on the way back.
It opened in 2012, the third of five houses the four Daktylides sons raised between 2000 and 2014. The Daktylides family, Myconian Collection’s owners, have built on Mykonos since 1979 and now run 14 hotels there.
The villas
The villas are named after beaches on the island. Villa Super Paradise, up to six bedrooms, sleeps 14 in its largest configuration. It runs from 250 to 500 square metres inside with 500 square metres of exterior, and is let as a two-, four- or six-bedroom residence. It stands on its own, with private parking, a shaded veranda, an infinity pool and hot tub, an outdoor dining area with a grill, and a lawn.
Villa Ornos runs over two levels and is let as either a two-bedroom or a five-bedroom residence, sleeping up to 12. Villa Agios Sostis takes 190 square metres with a 400-square-metre exterior, and its terrace carries a seawater infinity pool and an outdoor dining area with a grill. In-House Villa Psarou sits on one level, every room opening onto a furnished terrace with a string of five seawater pools that together make a 50-square-metre wet area.
Each villa has a custom-stocked wine cellar, a grill terrace and private parking, and the largest of them run up to 1,000 square metres. Butler service and a private chef can be arranged.
The tables
There are three dining rooms: Nouveau for breakfast and light food through the day, the Infinity Pool Bar and Restaurant, and Cabbanes for dinner. Cabbanes sets influences from Italy and France against Greek culinary heritage, and its list holds rare Greek vintages alongside international wines. Lunch runs from 11am to 7.30pm, dinner from 8pm to 11.30pm. The Anglo-Greek chef Philippos Stampoulis holds both Cabbanes and Nouveau. He began in London, working with Mark Hix, Gordon Ramsay and Jason Atherton.
The spa
The spa is the Rejuvenation Spa, four thalassotherapy pools in a basement lit by skylights, with five treatment rooms around them. One of the pools is heated. Massages and facials use Elemis and Augustus Badiner products.
Where it comes from
George Daktylides dug the foundations of his first hotel himself and opened Kohili, a 25-room guesthouse overlooking the windmills of Mykonos Town, in 1979. The Ambassador, which came after it, was the first five-star house on the island. All four of his sons went to a hotel school in Lausanne before they built the group’s luxury houses, and in 2012, the year Villa Collection opened, George handed the group to Panos, Markos, Vangelis and Marios.
The owners sourced the lobby’s furnishings themselves, among them a Bokhara rug made by hand and a searchlight that worked the Suez Canal in the 1920s. A vintage cream Rolls-Royce stands outside.
Who is this for
Anyone who wants the island at arm’s length. The house sits in a small cluster of Myconian properties above Elia and stands well apart from the others. You get a terrace of your own above open water with a pool on it, and the longest sand on Mykonos below. Several helipads sit on the grounds, and tours of the island by air go from them. Delos lies about 30 minutes southwest by ferry, or a day away by chartered yacht, and holds a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
