On the brilliant Aegean Bleu, the sand rich in sparkling minerals, the sun bundles and a rich and generally American clientele hides in a huge monochrome marble and the monitoring of a mosaic swimming pool which cling to the ocher cliffs on the island of iOS. A surface at breakfast in the tables swallowed inside reflective pools aside a sculpture dotted swimming pool. Others could wander in olive gardens or peers inside the Kaleidoscopic Orthodox chapel. In the evening, a few others come to drink cocktails under a sign of neon reading “Create a life of which you can fall in love”, words whose name of this station, “Calilo”, were drawn.
But this is not the height of summer, the peak time to visit Greece And this charming hotel in Art. Instead, these masters of the universe obsessed with privacy have arrived for the generally sleeping shoulder season. So what do they know that you don't do it?
“September is a special moment to visit iOS,” explains the owner of the Calilo, the former street broker and artist, writer and hotel creator, Angelos Michalopoulos. “In summer, the light can be quite hard.
Indeed, a yacht trip around the island reveals only a handful of other boats, transforming the cerulean lagoons into private pools. And although there is a sociable air in Chora's Tavernas, there is no queue for a table. In the small dusty villages of the island and on empty beaches, you will spy on more goats than vacationers for an hour's drive from the port to the house distant from Calilo on Papas Beach.
Through Greece, great expenditure abandons celebration spots at the height of summer in favor of quieter pensions.
Even the ultra-competitive summer atmosphere on the island of Santorini—A 40 -minute ferry from iOS – MELLOWS at this time of year. With only around 20,000 all year round, the island's population swells in summer. There were 3.4 million visitors in 2023, which led residents to request a ceiling.
“We only opened in July, but September was as busy as it was,” explains Evangelia Pantazi, director of senior sales at Sandblu, a new luxury retreat in promising Kamari, with 61 rooms and suites, an infinity pool at half-moon glorious view and its own old ruins. “But the crowd is different. In summer, we have a lot of families, but in September, children are back in school, so we have more couples, retirees and younger people who can work from anywhere. ”
Charlotte Wells, Kent’s world product manager Charlotte Wells, agrees that demographic data change.
“We see a final change in travelers preferences, September emerging as the new ideal point for a Greek getaway,” she says. “The crowd has cleared up and time is always glorious.”
But Wells underlines that it is not only a question of knowing when to go but Where to go: “We strongly recommend exploring hidden jewels like Folegandros, also in the Cyclades, where the new Gundari station has just opened.
Do you want the best rooms at best prices? Fall is time to shine.
Christos Drazos
Other new automotive options could include cypress and honeysuckle swept away the island of Tinos, where the autograph collection recently opened the first luxury hotel on the island, Odera, with 77 rooms and sugar cube suites watching Vourni beach. Or consider the island of Syros, where the new Agini hotel is beckon. Located in the Crayous and Yellow Pink City of Eroupoulis, a 15 -minute walk from the beach, it has 11 rooms in a nineteenth century neoclassical pile. The interiors mix restored Renaissance style frescoes and golden fillings with contemporary furniture, the lighting and ceramics of Portrona Frau, Tooy, Astro and Artemide with a beautiful effect.
“We see an increasing trend in extending the season, in particular because of the increased interest in our golf offers,” adds Raul Levis, director general of Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino, which opened its doors on a molten gold beach in the possibility of the ruin which could allow us to make us confront customers, widening our winter offers.
Calilo is a seaside resort that pours its resources in the shoulder season.
With the kind permission of Calilo
Beyond their four signature golf courses, activities all year round could include philosophy walks with classic scholars through the idyllic Messinian campaign, deep well-being pensions or participate in the olive harvest in late October. The type of activity that will particularly appeal to Europeans, Americans and tool citizens in Southeast Asia and the Middle East countries, who do not necessarily travel only for the sun.
Back on iOS, Michalopoulos – as well as his wife, Vassiliki Petridou, founder of Luxurios Group, and four of their five children – provide four new swimming pool suites in Calilo in time for the season (and out of season). In 2026, they will add seven other suites.
“As we look to the future, we see iOS and Calilo becoming a magnet for those who appreciate tranquility, cultural immersion and exploration out of the path of rhythm,” say Petridou. “The 2025 season and beyond the promise of welcoming even more demanding travelers who aspire to a deeper link with themselves, the environment and the authentic spirit of the Cyclades.”
