Monemvasia, Greece | Kinsterna Hotel, Unpretentious Luxurious Hideaway.

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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Kinsterna Hotel
Agios Stefanos, 23070 Monemvasia
Peloponnese, Greece, Tel: +30 27320-66300
info[at]kinsternahotel[dot]gr