Kyrimai Hotel
Hotel · Peloponnese
Ν. Λακωνίας, Gerolimenas 230 62, Greece
Highlights
Historic stone hotel with sea views, pool & delicious food
Historic stone hotel with sea views, pool & delicious food
"A small, historical, family-run hotel partly contained in a 19th-century fortress. Offers warm, quiet rooms with direct access to the sea. Located in the quiet port of Gerolimenas, it provides a tranquil retreat with divine dishes like braised quail."
"Situated on Greece’s wild Mani Peninsula, Kyrimai is a complex of stone buildings that dates back to the 1870s, when the region’s then-mayor turned the small harbor of Gerolimenas into a major trading post. Today the descendants of that visionary politician run this atmospheric resort, which has 23 rooms and suites, each uniquely decorated — try to book the three-story Tower Room, which has panoramic views of the Mediterranean. In the heat of the afternoon, you can float serenely in the pool, race the waves in the bay, or lounge in a deck chair listening to the rush and slap of the water against the pier. The restaurant is a local destination and may fill up in the evenings — in which case you can stroll to the nearby seaside tavernas for fresh octopus. Doubles from $131." - Travel + Leisure Editors
"Why book?Because after 20 years it remains the finest hotel in the deepest Mani—the far less-visited tentacle of southern Greece. A feral and lonely region of shadowy gorges studded with lace flowers and wild herbs. On a stony western shore, this marvelously historic converted tower toes water blue and fresh as an agapanthus, at what can feel like the furthest tip of Greece, close to where the Aegean Sea meets the Ionian and where the gates of Hades were said to be found: there’s nothing unexciting to this edge of Greece or the handsome Kyrimai. Set the sceneDrop deep down into the starkest, stoniest part of the Mani—a landscape of brutal lostness—and keep driving until the road literally runs out at the village of Gerolimenas. In a converted 19th-century tower house the hotel is a rare thing: indulgent and immaculate, and yet somehow retaining an aura of deep romance of a place so remote and seemingly lost it might have been overgrown with brambles and bougainvillea only a week ago. Sturdy gates give onto a courtyard slatted by the cheerful sun and to a reception in what were wine vaults, where guests meander in a midday whooz. In the vicinity of my lounger one afternoon: a Parisian surgeon overseeing his giggling young daughter’s swim; an American couple in their fifties swapping Saul Bellow and George Saunders short stories; a well-behaved and dauntingly elegant young family from Athens (in the small hotel shop, Zeus and Dione clothes in linen and silk, embroidery inspired by Doric columns). But in a way, I was almost surprised to suddenly come upon anyone at all as I stepped through those distant wooden gates - let alone a small crowd quietly pool-side with jugs of iced lemon, dipping now and again into the cold clear water off the restaurant. The backstoryThe Mani really must be seen—one of the wild places of Europe, with high stone towers stabbing the sky marking villages that seem more like maze structures, places of grit and scree, few people left after decades of emigration. Gerolimenas—just off the southernmost shore—is precisely one such village, although its history is vastly cosmopolitan. KYRIMAI occupies the 19th-century tower house originally built by the Kyrimis family who run the hotel, and who in the 1870s turned the village into a vibrant port that connected for a time the rest of the world with the Mani. Fabric, medicine, tools—this was the most important trading post in the southern Peloponnese, and the last safe bay before the Corinth canal (or indeed Italy). Fading after a time, the youngest sons in the family turned the tower and surrounding buildings into a hotel in 2002 with an atmosphere that remains unique, bearing proudly its catalog of historical trade and clamor, and yet with an echoing evocative peace. The roomsThrough a little maze of arches and stairways, the 23 rooms (four suites) inside the thick stone walls can be on two levels—a white-linened bed in the eaves, where the paint hues are pale, more Provencal farmhouse than castle. Flamboyance in the gold-green wardrobes; comfort in the chaise longues. Crucially, nothing feels remotely cavelike (highly unusual in a tower conversion). Instead, sunshine spreads beyond the windows and shutters into the amber-colored walls and along hefty wooden floors. Food and drinkFood here is the best the region offers, in a quixotic profusion, beautifully presented—and the restaurant sits directly over the bay’s clear water, fish curling and lolling towards the shadows (impossible to not step off for a swim, and nobody minds a jot if you do). The cliffs around are light blue in spring with wild sage that appears on the menu in an essential and heady house cocktail. Local ingredients on the menu have a sweet herbaceous warmth: sardines marinated with Maniot green olives that cut through the fatty oil of the fish with a freshness that makes you think of mountain trails; creamed feta with rock samphire that turns that cheese from what can taste sometimes like a salty Greek chore to something truly paradisiacal. Look out for Galakopita at breakfast—a sweet (sheep and goat) milk tart flavored with orange peel and cinnamon that seems laced with Cointreau…but it’s just the Maniot oranges with their musky stickiness. The neighborhood/areaBefore the tower and port in 1870 Gerolimenas was simplicity itself—a few washerwomen, the odd hut. Then came all that trading prosperity (the first car ever to arrive on Greece’s shores was imported here) but from the 1950’s a steep decline. If not for the Kyrimai, the village would likely have faded to ruins, like so many in the lower Mani. Instead, several restaurants line the little bay and tourists dot the beach—but this is a remote spot. Few people would happen upon Gerolimenas, and most that do are curious about the hotel, stopping by for a drink. But the whole region is opening more to tourists—in the nearby deserted village of Vathia (where a visitor in the 1970s noted there were more towers than residents), I spotted several crisp new conversions to rent. Beaches at Cape Tainaro (find the mythical gates to Hades here), Paralia Marathos, Chalikia Vatta, and especially Alypa are breathtaking. The serviceInfinitely sweet young Maniots behind the bar and at reception. The manager Alexander Kyrimis (who with his brother converted the tower and built the hotel) a regular, low-key presence, fixing bikes for guests or showing anyone who asks, the many drawers bursting with old trading notices and buttons, political pamphlets, and family photos discovered during his conversion of the tower—not fustily displayed, but to-hand for those with an interest in history that feels extra vivid in this hotel. Eco effortElectric bikes are big in Greece, and the hotel has some sturdy ones to lend. Just keep a keen eye on any fading batteries (it’s hot and steep in the Mani). AccessibilityThe nature of the terrain and building make it impossible for wheelchair users, but the restaurant is easily accessible (always book ahead if you want to visit for food). Anything left to mention?I loved that there was always—no matter how early the hour—someone swimming inspired laps around the little bay, where the water is immaculate and the sense of health and freshness intense. Any creak of a boat resounds off the high cliffs all about, that smell strongly of thyme. Evenings are especially lovely: candles and low lights, guests smiling dreamily. History, myth, glorious landscape, the heartbeat of a culture recorded in the surrounding honey-colored stones, and a long sleep in crisp white sheets ahead." - Antonia Quirke
Alexandra Pistioli
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angusrichard
Angelica
Philip Kincade
Alex Dalevich
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Dimitrios Spyrou
