Santa Marina, a Luxury Collection Resort, Mykonos

Character and identity

Spread across 20 hillside acres above Ornos Bay, Santa Marina is the only Mykonos resort with its own sandy private beach, calm and largely sheltered from the Cycladic winds. The 114 rooms, suites, cottages and villas climb a green hillside, many with private plunge pools and sea views. Interiors lean warmer than the typical Greek minimalism: bamboo four-posters, natural-edge wood, wood-and-stone double vanities. Two infinity pools, a jetty-mounted beach club, the hammam-inspired Ginkgo spa, and two destination restaurants (Buddha Bar for sushi and Asian fusion, Jason Atherton's Mykonos Social for taverna cooking) anchor a family-owned operation that has been in the Papageorgiou family since 1979.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The defining draw here is the geography: a private, wind-sheltered, genuinely sandy beach on an island that mostly offers pebbles and gusts, paired with cooking that holds its own against the island's old-school tavernas. Spend up for a sea-view suite with a private pool, and request a room nearer the spa if the beachfront bar's night-time thrum isn't your scene.