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On the note of food, all of that zipping around on a quad bike will have you hungry – and you’re probably wondering about Kivotos’ on-site restaurant, Mavro. For full transparency, I’d struggle to give Mavro an all-out glowing review, because while the cocktails were great, one of my meals made me rather unwell.
Their speciality is their offering of three tasting menus, served alongside an All Day menu over lunchtime and in the afternoon. Tasting menu-wise, there’s The Half Moon Experience, The Full Moon Experience and The Dark Side of Moon Experience. Under the direction of award-winning Chef Dimitris Katrivesis, each menu is a celebration of the island’s rich traditions – and covers tend to get booked-up quickly every evening as a result. While they’re impressively innovative, delicious and with the ability to transform your evening meal into a bold and thrilling experience, as a hotel guest, it’s a struggle to eat anything outside of them in the evening, if you want a quick and simple meal without venturing far from your room.
Having enjoyed the Half Moon Experience on night one, night two saw us eager to grab a quicker main meal. It took a bit of pleading to get the All Day menu served to us, and what was served was rushed and (in hindsight) poorly-prepared.
It seemed that the entirety of the team’s time and effort went into the tasting menus each evening, so if you’re a multiple-night hotel guest after something a little less fussy, I’d recommend heading out to one of the many local tavernas, reserving Mavro for a sole evening of splashing out. On that occasion, the Half Moon Experience or similar will be a total treat.
The verdict
Kivotos is a luxurious, jaw-droppingly-beautiful property with attentive staff, epic bedrooms and even-more-epic sunsets. Guests don’t lift a finger, and thanks to the small number of rooms at the hotel, you’re guaranteed to feel like a celebrity from the moment you check in. The location, just a bus ride away from the capital of Fira, is great – and while fuss-free, traditional Greek food isn’t always on the menu, privacy, total relaxation, peace and a very comfy bed are.
For more from Glamour UK’s Senior Commerce Editor Sophie Cockett, follow her on Instagram @sophiecockettx.