It’s a sunny October morning at the archaeological site of Sounion—situated at the southernmost point of the Attic Peninsula, where the Greek mainland stretches longingly towards the Cyclades—and I’m sitting cross-legged, in silence. It’s still early enough that the tour groups in their buses haven’t arrived yet, and I’m cooled by the shadow of the Temple of Poseidon just behind me, a nearly 2,500-year-old wonder of crumbling white marble dedicated to the ancient god of the sea. I don’t think I’ve ever felt the presence of the past so palpably as I do then: my hair whipped by the breeze as I gaze across the Adriatic, the sound of waves gently crashing against the rocks below, seagulls squalling overhead.
Then, I hear a gentle, “Now, slowly bring your awareness back to your body,” reminding me why I’m here: a meditation session at one of the most spectacular spots imaginable to find yourself fully in the present moment. I have that typical post-meditation feeling of lightness and claritys, but also something else—something I find especially strange, as someone who isn’t a particular woo-woo person: a strange kind of energetic charge, as if I’ve just been released from a kind of tether to the ancients. Blame the full moon the night before, perhaps, or the hike it took to get up there, which left me a little light-headed. Either way, it has me poised and ready to dive into my program of wellness pursuits at Cape Sounio, the hotel a little further along the bay where I’ll be spending the next few nights, overlooking one of the most breathtakingly beautiful spots on the Athens Riviera.
As I wander back along the scrubby pathway to the hotel—nestled within a pine forest, and arranged, amphitheater-like, as layers of low-lying buildings descending from the hills all the way down to its two private beaches—it feels a little strange to imagine that the teeming metropolis of Athens is less than an hour’s drive away. But that’s exactly what makes the prospect of staying at Cape Sounio so appealing. Historically, Athens has been where holidaymakers stop for a night or two to visit the Acropolis before heading out via ferry to their week-long stay on one of the islands. With the combination of Cape Sounio and their stylish city center property, The Dolli (more on that later), its owners—the third-generation hotelier Daskalantonakis family, who operate one of the country’s leading hospitality groups, Grecotel—are proposing a different kind of Athenian getaway. A few days in the city, a few days by the beach; the latter still with the option to head into town for some shopping, or to visit a museum or two, or just to wander through the bougainvillea-filled streets of the historic Plaka neighborhood. Essentially, it’s the best of both worlds.
Especially because Cape Sounio offers the kind of secluded, cut-off-from-the-chaos feeling you’d think would be impossible to find so close to the city. It’s evident, however, from the moment you arrive, pulling up the sweeping driveway and into the enormous open-plan lobby and restaurant building, which has been designed as a sleeker, more contemporary echo of the Temple of Poseidon’s architecture, and which you can see perched on a hilltop from nearly every corner of the property. After being whisked by a golf buggy to one of your suites or bungalows or villas—there are actually 139 of them scattered across the estate, though you’d never guess with how cleverly they’ve been arranged (plus, the sprawling array of amenities to ensure no single spot ever gets too crowded, even with plenty of families on-site). You might then find yourself, as I did, in a suite with enormous glass sliding doors to take in the marvelous sea views, with the interiors done up in a calm, contemporary style; think white marble floors, cream bouclé furniture, and minimalist paintings by Greek artists on the wall. If you didn’t feel a sense of calm already, you will now.
The real showstopper here, though, is the spa. Situated at the end of a winding uphill pathway through the pines, there’s a keen sense of ceremony to your arrival: before the entrance, on your left, you’ll find a stunning outdoor mineral pool, a geometric concrete wonder that juts out over the edge of the cliff and offering panoramic views (and probably the best vista of the Temple of Poseidon in the house). There’s a gentle hum of activity as I enter the main building—a soothing medley of glass walls and terrazzo stone floors, the sound of a harp being plucked over the speakers—and take a seat (and down the shot of Living Elixir olive oil that’s quickly placed in my hand) as I prepare for my ancestral cupping massage. Because while the spa here may be beautifully designed, it also has the credentials to back it up: Cape Sounio’s wellness programs are overseen by the Athens-born, Los Angeles-based holistic wellness mastermind Vicky Vlachonis, whose programs are beloved by the likes of Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow. And if it’s good enough for Gwynnie, it’s good enough for me.
My cupping massage involves a dry brushing before being slathered with olive oil and kneaded like dough, a technique inspired by the ancients—if there’s one thing the ancient Greeks knew, it was the benefits of a spa ritual, after all. The following day, I’m treated to a somatic release treatment, which incorporates breathwork to help improve both physical and emotional health. (Or, as Vlachonis puts it, to “release your issues in your tissues.”) As my hour-long treatment reaches its blissful conclusion, whatever issues I might have had loitering in those tissues are firmly dispelled—I head back down to my suite practically floating. As I already mentioned, I’m generally not one for woo, but there is something about the energy of the place that is conducive to a sense of inner stillness: as the sun dips below the horizon and I watch the temple is silhouetted against a tequila sunrise glow from my terrace, I feel truly peaceful for the first time in months.
And I continued to over the next few days of sunbathing and swimming and spa treatments. (Yes, I was there in October, but the weather was still delightful enough to take a sea dip, followed by a lunch of perfectly charred flatbreads with tzatziki and grilled octopus at the beachside Yali restaurant, the sound of the waves lapping by my feet.) But eventually, it was time to head into the city—and more specifically to The Dolli, the sister property to Cape Sounio, situated in the heart of the lively Plaka neighborhood.
Here, you’re greeted first by the eclectic (read: a little bonkers) design of the lobby, which the owners intended to serve as a kind of contempoary Athenian salon—original drawings by Picasso and Jean Cocteau are playfully mixed in with the ancient-inspired bronzes and slick designer furniture scattered across the glossy travertine floors, while an enormous antique table heaves with platters of freshly baked patisserie delights and bowls of candy. My first question, however, was: Where did the hotel get that name? It’s a play on the Greek word for “idol,” I soon learned. Though apparently, they settled on it after a family member decided that the exquisitely proportioned neoclassical building the hotel is housed in, which dates back to 1925, had a distinctly feminine air—making its connotations in the English language feel fitting, too.
The Dolli only opened in 2023—albeit after seven years of meticulous restoration and renovation—but it already has the air, and all of the delightful quirks, of an institution. There’s the laid-back but luxurious feel of the rooms, with their high ceilings and herringbone wood floors and spa-like bathrooms, all fostering the (very much intentional) feeling that you’re staying at a private apartment in the city belonging to a very stylish art collectsor, as opposed to a hotel. Then, there’s the service, which is faultless: kindly and approachable (at only 46 keys, the staff will remember you by name) but not overbearing, the largely local staff take pride in offering their tips for the local area, as I discovered when I was noted I was seeking a pair of sandals and was given a hand-drawn map to a family-owned store just up the road. When reading about the hotel before I arrived, a word that cropped up regularly was “unpretentious”—and after two days of mulling over an alternative way of describings it, I was eventually forced to agree. It really is just that: unpretentious and warm.
On my final day in Athens, it became clearer why. After a little R&R by the pool, I’m met by the charming Odyssia Sifounaki, a late-twentysomething scion of the family who studied in the U.S., but has returned to her home country to get stuck into the family business. The place she really wants to take me isn’t one of the ritzy boutiques in the Kolonaki district, or for a Michelin-starred lunch, but over to a hole-in-the-wall souvlaki spot that has been running since the 1950s. There, she happily regales me with stories of her family history as we wait in a somewhat rowdy queue of locals, before grabbings our wraps of juicy, perfectly seasoned beef and salad—the kick of chili really hits the spot—and continuing to chatter at one of the stand-up tables outside. I wouldn’t exactly say I felt like a local—because whoever really does?—but it certainly was about as close as one can get.
Of course, there are plenty of other, all very lovely luxury resorts dotted along the stretch of coastline from Athens to Attica’s tip, where Cape Sounio lies—as well as many other glittering hotels in Athens—most of which belong to top-tier luxury hotel groups. But what makes Cape Sounio and The Dolli feel so special is, quite simply, the fact that they’re owned by a family, and a Greek family at that. You can really feel it: especially in the way in which The Dolli, despite its high-end trappings, feels woven into the fabric of the city, and the sense you get that everyone who works there is proud to do so. (At luxury hotels, it’s rarer than you might think.)
On my final evening, I headed up to the rooftop restaurant, Dolli’s, where I tucked into a bowl of lobster linguine with the Parthenon glowing yellow and mighty in the near distance—surely one of the greatest dinner views in the entire world—my immediate thought was, This is how you do Athens right.
Really, though, if you’re considering a trip to Greece this summer and planning to spend merely an overnight in Athens, you’re missing a trick. Factor in the time to spend a few days down at Cape Sounio instead, wandering its beaches and temples. That’s how you do Athens right.
