Summer is finally on the books. Days stretch long, nights turn velvet soft and the sun lingers like an old friend. With Whit-Monday gifting a three-day weekend, vacation mode flips on in early June.
If you have not locked in an island ticket, no problem. Sounio, where raw beauty meets classical gravitas, sits close enough to Athens to spare both time and money yet still delivers the rush of escape. It is tailor-made for spontaneous planners and city dwellers craving real summer before their official leave.
Set your sights on the freshly renewed Cape Sounio and even a quick detour feels substantial, a sensory reboot that wins over adults and children alike.
The location is privileged and the backdrop spellbinding. Across the bay rises the Doric Temple of Poseidon, one of antiquity’s crown jewels. The Grecotel resort seems carved out of the pine forest, opening onto a private shore while staying just forty minutes from Athens International Airport and ten from the port of Lavrio.
A landmark hotel, newly polished
After a full-scale 2025 renovation, Cape Sounio starts a bright chapter. Architecture nods to ancient temples and lets the landscape lead. Light-washed interiors frame standout works, a site-specific piece by Nefeli Masia, kinetic icons by Takis and design objects that bridge past and present. Service anticipates every contemporary need, earning the property status as a destination all its own.
Peace flows through the public areas and peaks inside 139 hideaways, bungalows, suites and villas that face the Saronic Gulf. Amphitheatrical placement channels the site’s energy while private pools, herb gardens and winding paths pull guests into nature. Soft earth tones and crisp white form a canvas for the blue-green play of sea and pine.
Hero of the lineup is the new 160-square-metre Grand Villa Poseidon. Perched on its own hill, it offers two large bedrooms, separate living and dining rooms, a heat-on-demand pool and a garden path that drops straight to the beach.
Flavors with a view
Four light-filled dining rooms carry the story forward. On The Restaurant terrace, award-winning chef Sakis Tzanetos serves a refined Mediterranean menu that blends estate produce with standout local ingredients, all set against the flood-lit Temple of Poseidon.
Yali’s wooden jetty seems to float on the Aegean, perfect for just-caught fish and Greek meze. Traditional dishes and global classics also anchor the all-day Cape Sounio buffet. Mornings open with hot and cold spreads, vegan hits, made-to-order sushi, crêpes and vintage pastries, and evenings end with rotating menus backlit by gold-toned sunsets.
The new Aegean Grill beside the Grand Pool keeps swimsuit hours with Mediterranean plates fired in an open kitchen and wood oven. For drinks choose the Panorama Lounge Bar terrace, the Beach Bar with fresh-pressed juices that let you stay on the sand or the Pool Bar for die-hard swimmers.
Grand by name and nature, the seawater pool sits beneath sky-high palms while yachts trace the coastline. Younger guests claim their own freshwater pool or the broad, reservation-friendly beach. The Kids Club layers on age-specific adventures, and the Kids Go Free policy covers stays for under-12s in select room types and dates.
Wellness, reimagined
Grecotel’s fiftieth birthday introduces a national first. Cape Sounio partners with Athens-born, LA-based osteopath and wellness authority Vicky Vlachonis. Her Elevations of Wellness program taps the cape’s energy, ancient Greek healing and modern gut science to deliver full-body renewal.
For more than twenty years Vlachonis has refined a mind-body method embraced by Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga, Nicole Richie, Sir Elton John and members of Britain’s royal family. She is an ambassador for UCLA’s Division of Digestive Diseases, author of The Body Doesn’t Lie and co-founder of Saint Supply high-phenolic olive oil with investor Beyoncé.
Launching 5 June, Elevations of Wellness unfolds in the redesigned Cape Sounio Spā, and across the grounds with bespoke sessions that combine therapeutic massage, grounding rituals, tailored nutrition, olive-oil dry brushing, guided hikes and meditation. Food is part of the prescription, highlighting the healing power of local produce.
The spa menu adds Dr. Barbara Sturm facials and advanced RF Clamping and Rejuvenation treatments that spark collagen renewal. A glass-walled hydrotherapy pool and next-gen gym complete the reset.
Cape Sounio offers a modern take on age-old hospitality, where myth and history meet pine-scented calm and summer exuberance. It turns “summer, and the living is easy” into a travel memory that stays.
