The best beach hotels in Greece

This boutique, five-star, adults-only resort clambers in tiers down to its own pristine beach. The style is minimalist modern, verging on stark, with only trickling water features and occasional shrubbery as relief. The fact of having just 74 rooms does lend an intimate, personal feel. Facilities include an appealing spa with indoor swimming pool, two outdoor swimming pools, plus a popular roof terrace with two whirlpool tubs and sun-loungers.

Mykonos Grand fully lives up to the adjective. It’s just uphill from secluded Agios Ioánnis beach, of Shirley Valentine fame. Arrayed in tiers, it looks over Delos and Rínia islets to superb sunsets. Staff here make the place; nothing seems too much trouble, including snaring rare island taxis for guests. A Delos-view ampitheatre hosts yoga or pilates sessions. The beach is essentially private and quiet. A large seawater outdoor pool is equipped with posh day-beds, squishy cushions and shade-pergolas.

The three low-rise wings of this large resort hotel are set amidst mature gardens, its lush lawns planted with cypress, mulberry and palms leading down to the pebble beach, stooked with tropical-island umbrellas, below. Set at the north end of Moraïtika on Corfu’s east coast, it fringes of one its best beaches. Plenty of on-site facilities include tennis courts and beach watersports. Children are well catered for, with a playground and games room, plus dedicated pool and activity programme.

The Skiathos Princess opens out onto the golden sands of Paraskevi beach. There’s an ultra-modern and minimalist pool and bar, a good choice of restaurants and beach-house styled rooms with luxurious touches. It’s well located too, just a short cab ride from Skiathos Town. The rooms combines beach house style with luxury touches, such as daybeds, colourful silk cushions and bold metallic ornaments.

The resort is on the isolated Toúrka Peninsula, Kondókali, behind a pair of sand beaches. Common amenities include a large, elevated salt-water overflow pool, plenty of loungers for the beaches and poolside, a freestanding spa with indoor pool and gym, tennis courts plus watersports out of the private port. The freestanding spa is modern without being sterile, and offers complimentary use of an indoor pool, gym, sauna, whirlpool tub and hammam.

The first adults only property to belong to Marriott’s prestigious Autograph Collection, this stylish design hotel, modelled on the domes of nearby Chania’s Venetian shipyard, has two large pools and a bijou spa. It’s set on its own strip of sandy beach. Public areas are immaculate, with scatter cushions and bean bags strewn over carefully tended strips of grass near two large pools, one of which has a swim up bar and stunning sea views.

The Four Seasons is a six-suite boutique hotel behind one of Hydra’s better beaches, whose big pebbles belie its name (Plákes means ‘slabs’). It’s very peaceful, well out of town, so head-bangers need not apply – there are few better spots to just relax and unwind. It’s a romantic hideaway, and popular with wedding parties and honeymooners. Expect quality jazz on the restaurant soundsystem, beautiful grounds and numerous sun loungers on the beach, which offers decent snorkelling.

The hotel is on the north edge of Ágios Stéfanos Avliotón resort, looking across the straits towards the sunset and Mathráki and Othoní islets. It’s an intimate, contemporary boutique hotel, flavoured with honeymooners and wedding parties. The pool terrace overlooks one of the best parts of the local sands, kept manicured by Delfino Blu’s beach bar. The Mango beach bar offers the likes of grilled vegetables with halloúmi cheese and steamed mussels.

This adults-only beach resort enjoys some of the bluest views on Corfu’s west coast. Its setting is nothing short of spectacular. The resort is framed by cliffs draped in greenery, and it looks straight towards the sea. It has been sculpted to immerse guests in nature’s beauty: rooms have great views, there’s a rooftop bar, and you can gaze out to the Ionian Sea from the pool.

On a promontory dividing Platýs Yialós beach from Psaroú cove, with sweeping sea-views. Petasos’ ‘beach’ is actually a sand-filled lido with about 30 sunbeds, and ladders over the rocks into the water, which is apt to be criss-crossed by the mooring lines of hulking gin-palaces moored just offshore. Perhaps prefer the main infinity pool, two levels with waterfall, instead. It’s also easy to walk east along the coast, or take a taxi-boat from Platýs Yialós to better beaches.

One of only two Marriott Autograph collection hotels in Greece, this luxurious, family-friendly hotel set on a hillside with panoramic views to Spinalonga, the island of Hislop’s best-selling novel, has first-rate service, first-class restaurants, a blue-flag strip of sandy beach and a decent spa. The stylish resort attracts a lot of young families, but there are several adult-only areas and quiet zones where younger children are banned.