There are no words to describe Kinsterna Hotel which makes this post the hardest I’ve ever written of a resort that I’ve stayed in. Beautiful is an understatement, amazing does not even come close, stunning is a shame to say of it as it’s definitely more than that. The best way I can describe this property is this: it’s like walking in someone else’s dream! Its perfection can’t be real, it has to be the works of an imaginative dreamer.
We arrived at Kinsterna Hotel late at night so we didn’t immediately see the views and the surroundings of the property. From what we’ve seen through the darkness of the night though, was a silhouette of what could be the best property we’ll ever stay in. It doesn’t need much light for us to know that our room was tastefully decorated with ample space for 2 people, bathroom’s magnificent with a touch of a Medieval decor and our patio outside boasts of a jacuzzi with what seem to me like a stunning view. I could not wait for the morning to come.
Our Premium Residence
On our first night, we immediately dozed off to sleep. We’ve had quite a long day with little sleep from the Greek wedding we’ve attended the day before. At the first hint of light the next morning, I immediately got up still half-asleep and took my gopro camera outside. I was sure I would want to take a timelapse video of whatever it is that we have as a view from our balcony and I was not mistaken.
The view from our balcony.
One hour later, we walked out of our Premium Residence villa towards the breakfast area. It was our first sight of the property in daylight and we immediately fell in love. It has a rustic beauty and charm – surrounded by lush greenery, cobblestone paths and the 13th-century mansion in the midst of it all. The luxurious feel to it does not come from heavy aesthetics but from its natural, unpretentious beauty. The mansion was beautifully restored while the surroundings complimented its wonderful charm. It made me feel like I’ve traveled back in time.
Their new all-day dining restaurant offers you a commanding view of the 18-acre property overlooking olive and orange groves, fresh herb garden and the vineyards. The menu in their restaurant keeps changing as most of the ingredients they use are sourced out from their own supply. I feasted on cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon and sausages for breakfast of course. The Greek Mister ordered freshly cooked eggs for himself.
Our breakfast view.
That afternoon, I tried out a candle massage in their spa which again has a rustic, luxurious feel to it. It’s absolutely amazing how the simplicity of the design of this property exudes such elegance. Less is more as they say. The candle massage was exactly what I needed that day and after the very relaxing treatment, I took some more photos of the spa and saw the outdoor treatment area with a jacuzzi overlooking the vineyard. Pure bliss!
The spa
There are a lot of activities that you can do while in Kinsterna Hotel, it is in fact what I would say as a destination on its own. Although it’s situated in Monemvasia which is a very beautiful place as well, Kinsterna Hotel deserves two full days at the very least for you to be able to enjoy the whole property itself. It was raining during our stay so we missed out on a lot of activities that they offer.
On good days, you can hike through the vineyards, enjoy a horse ride throughout their estate, use one of their bikes to explore the grounds or even bike up to the castle. You can also join their seasonal activities such as harvesting grapes, olives and help create wine, bread and olive oil at their taverna. Staying for a week in this property will pass by so quickly and you probably haven’t done everything you wanted to take part in.
If there’s one thing that you shouldn’t miss while staying in Kinsterna Hotel it is to tour around the mansion. Thankfully, the sun came out in the afternoon and we were able to do the tour. The mansion is so rich in history that every single part of it has an interesting story behind it. The effort and passion exerted by the owner to restore it back to its glory was incredible! The old photos of the mansion before the restoration took place will say it all.
The “before” photo.
The property has 2 pools, both of which overlooks the stunning estate – we enjoyed the rest of the day by the pool which is more adult-friendly. After having the tour of the mansion and hearing the stories behind each and every corner of the estate, we found it more beautiful.
One of those stories was the architect had to rip up the first plan of the pool as it involved digging up some orange trees instead of working around it. The owner didn’t like the idea of removing these trees so they had to create another plan which would keep these beloved trees intact.
We went back to our room to enjoy some time in the jacuzzi on our patio. It was quite windy and chilly that day so the warm waters of the jacuzzi was exactly what we needed.
We went back to their restaurant for dinner where we met the manager of the restaurant, he was very chatty and friendly. You should definitely look for him when you dine as he’d be able to give you more interesting stories of Kinsterna Hotel. And by the way, the food served for dinner was absolutely amazing too!
Kinsterna Hotel is definitely one of the most fascinating properties we’ve ever stayed in. Its charm, luxury and beauty exudes not because of an extravagant design but mainly because of the rich history surrounding it and how it was lovingly restored with high attention to detail to bring it back to its glory. It’s an unpretentious luxurious hideaway definitely.
On a side note: editing photos and videos I took of Kinsterna Hotel is both the hardest and easiest editing I’ve ever done. Easiest as it doesn’t need much retouch, hardest as I can only choose just a handful of photos to upload on this post and I couldn’t decide which ones to use. Everything came out great as the whole property is so photogenic. It’s so good that as I was going through the photos I was still being amazed by it that I keep forgetting that it was actually me who took the photo and I was in that property myself. The place is absolutely divine!
Here’s a travel video I created of our stay in Kinsterna Hotel and our day tour to the castle.
Premium Residence accommodation for 3 days and 2 nights was provided by Kinsterna Hotel however as always, opinions stated and photos are my own.
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The property looks really amazing, a great place to get away and enjoy some lovely moments. Will definitely keep this place in mind when planning a trip to Greece.
The property itself is beautiful but the things you’ll see around it more gorgeous! A must if you visit Greece.
What a beautiful place. You must have wanted to stay forever. I love how everything is lush and green, and I think it’s cool that they redesigned to keep the orange trees.
Yes, I love how eco-friendly this resort is and the fact that they had to reconstruct the whole pool to save that orange tree. 🙂
What an absolutely stunning place. This is the kind of place I would love to buy and have as my own guest house.
Guest house????? Wow! That’s one luxurious guest house you’re planning to have. :p
Beautiful looking place – love that infinity pool; also love the fact that they redid the design so that the orange trees weren’t destroyed in the process. That’s how modern architecture should be: build with the existing environment, not through it.
Absolutely! There were so many other stories we learned about this property while we were doing the tour and I realized how self-sustained it is. They have everything sourced out from their own gardens even the olive oil and wine! How amazing is that? 🙂
The hotel looks so rustic, but luxurious and the garden is very green and lush, I’m sure it’s the perfect place to relax for the weekend!
It definitely is!
What a place! You’re right, stunning wouldn’t do it justice.
Totally!
What a site waking up to that! I’d be very surprised if the night before I stumbled in from a wedding. I would love going on hikes through the vineyard there. May consider staying there one day!
You should! It’s a gorgeous property! I’m not much of a hiker but I wouldn’t mind walking around their vineyard. :p
Where is this amazing off the beaten path hotel? It looks like you had an amazing time there. Although you did a review about it and the hotel provided the expense, how much does it cost to stay at a place as lovely as this?
The villa that was given to us was around USD500++ per night during the time that we went there which I would say was an off peak season being a September. So it’ll be more expensive during the summer. Expensive but they have all the rights to be. 🙂
Oh man! That places looks amazing! I would love to stay at a place like this for the weekend. It’s so lovely. The mountains, the pool, the seaview. Wow!
I can relate to arriving at a place at night and not being able to see the beauty of the place. It has its ups and downs. I usually can’t wait for the next morning to come.
I woke up so early the next day! I think I only slept for 4 hours that night because I couldn’t wait. Lol.
[…] much as it was hard for us to leave the fabulous hotel that we’re staying in – Kinsterna Hotel, we had to explore the surrounding area for even just a day and explore the nearby castle town of […]
It looks very beautiful indeed! I like the fact that they kept the traditional architecture intact! I visited Monemvasia last month on my way to Elafonisos!
We were unable to visit Elafonisos but everybody has been raving about it to us. We were there for such a short time that going to some other places wasn’t possible – plus, we couldn’t leave the hotel. It’s just too beautiful. :p
[…] took us more than 3 hours of driving from Monemvasia to Nafplio, the hotel was very easy to find which was a good thing as I couldn’t wait to […]
It definitely is beautiful!
I would love to go back there and stay for a longer period of time next time. 🙂
It is funny though because everytime I read your blog, it makes me think that having kids still means a lot of fun traveling the world. :p
You’ve been to quite a lot of places as well in Greece, I guess you’ve covered the essentials already. 🙂
What a charming villa. I would love to stay here!
I would love to go back there! 🙂
What a beautiful seeing, so relaxing
Absolutely! 🙂
Lovely…
Definitely is! 🙂
It is lovely to stay in such a beautiful property every so often. Looks absolutely gorgeous.
The story behind the place is what makes it more beautiful. 🙂
The hotel looks like a palace. And, the views from the pool are amazing. I would love to stay in a place like this!
I think it’s a must to stay in such a place with a rich history behind it. 🙂
Wow – this looks amazing. Forwarding to my husband!!!
Thanks for linking up for #wednesdaywanderlust
“Forwarding to my husband” hahaha.
I hope this post will work out for you. It’s a marvelous property!
This place looks so charming, I can well understand how hard it was to limit your photos (which are beautiful by the way). Thanks for sharing! #WednesdayWanderlust
Thank you. I still have a lot more photos to share, I guess they’re going straight to Facebook page? :p
Looks so elegant and lovely!
Thanks for linking up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/09/shake-those-tail-feathers.html. I hope to see you at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/09/shake-those-tail-feathers.html
It definitely is! 🙂