21 Best Hotels and Resorts in Europe and the UK: The Gold List 2026 | Condé Nast Traveler

"The first time I stayed here, in 2015, there were just seven rooms, and the cliffside setting on the wild eastern coast of Sifnos felt like a gamble. Upon opening, there was no restaurant, but breakfast was a celebration of Sifnian flavors—flaky pies, local cheeses, seasonal fruits—delivered to each suite in a straw basket, served in handmade ceramics crafted by the island’s potters. An infinity pool, added later on, created the illusion of floating on the unbroken horizon. The young owner-managers, Isidora Chandeli and Miltos Salemis, had recently fallen in love and had big dreams for their new venture. Fast-forward a decade and this is one of the country’s most exceptional hotels. The 16 rooms and suites have better bathrooms and even bigger terraces than the initial seven but share the same back-to-nature aesthetic. Solicitous staff waft between the alfresco tapas bar and thatched cabanas of the Elemis spa, while chefs putter among the kitchen gardens, harvesting ingredients for heirloom salads for Bostani, the hopelessly romantic field-to-fork restaurant. Isidora and Miltos are married now, and their hotel baby is all grown-up—but the laid-back vibe and sense of place are very much unchanged." - CNT Editors