Post by Emperor AAdmin on Aug 13, 2005 16:03:28 GMT -5
Next Stop
The Swinging Aegean Isle of Mykonos Now Attracts the Grown-Ups
By HEATHER TIMMONS
Published: August 7, 2005
IT is well after midnight on a weekend night in late June and the narrow, high sidewalk that hugs Mykonos's harbor is crammed with tourists clutching pricey drinks capped by giant fruit kabobs. Fueled by alcohol or perhaps just inspired by the warm moonlit night, one young couple leap from the crowded walkway into the water below, whooping. They spend several minutes struggling to gain their footing and drag themselves out of the ocean, the woman's white skirt now transparent. Most of the crowd above pays no attention.
Staton Winter/Polaris, for The New York Times
Poolside at the Hotel Ostracos on Mykonos.
Mykonos
Staton Winter/Polaris, for The New York Times
An islander washes his boat.
Staton Winter/Polaris, for The New York Times
Dancing at Sea Satin.
Mykonos, a rocky, scrub-strewn outcropping in the middle of the Aegean Sea, enjoys a bit of a tangled reputation. It's one of the most popular, and most expensive of the Greek isles, even though it can be baked by the sun or raked by wind in the summer. But that popularity - augmented by the steady stream of hedonists, clubbers, gay men, college kids and nudists who have come ashore in the past few decades - has tended to put off travelers who feel they have put their spring break years behind them and are not interested in a shopping in a village where stores specializing in condoms or offering tattoos jostle up against the Patek Philippe boutique.
In recent years, though, the island has undergone bit of a makeover. Many of the older hotels have been recently revamped to reflect a clean-lined, cool aesthetic, strewn with white drapes that flow seductively in the breeze. New boutique hotels and restaurants concentrate on simplicity, and unusual, arty details, and many have D.J.'s whose mandate is to create a background vibe rather than keep time for gyrating hips.
If this island has one place that represents the "new" Mykonos (while not entirely discarding all remnants of the "old") it is the Belvedere Hotel, an imposingly well-gated complex perched halfway up a hill overlooking the town of Mykonos (also known as Chora) - a flower-covered jumble of white, cubed buildings and meandering, cobbled streets that practically sweats with crowds in July and August.
The Belvedere's key attraction is its outdoor restaurant, Matsuhisa, one more international outpost of the restaurateur Nobuyuki Matsuhisa. Sushi in Mykonos? As is the case with nearly anything else here, the right answer is "Hey, why not?" Nearly all of the fish is flown in, not from local waters.
The Belvedere's multiplatformed poolside bar area is thick with bougainvillea and greenery, with panoramic views of the harbor, windscreens, draped couches and giant beds for lounging. During a recent visit, three men in khaki shorts smoked cigars on three side-by-side beds, while nearby a group of fresh-faced women in strappy dresses sipped expensive fresh fruit daiquiris. An aside: When exactly did sipping cocktails while lying propped up on a bed become something glamorous to do in public?
The beautiful people can also be found at the Sea Satin restaurant. (In fact, on a recent night, a table of what could easily have been 10 members of Gisele Bundchen's extended family dined in one corner.)
On the far side of the harbor, under Mykonos's trademark windmills, and with candle-lighted tables set just near the water's edge, the restaurant is a jewel-like setting for dinner, although the crowd can sometimes be jarring. On one evening, a couple in their 30's split a huge lobster that must have cost at least $110 - the man carrying on a cellphone conversation for most of the time. Later, a group of Greek men and women in their 20's - the women wrapped in catwalk-worthy floaty summer gear - swayed drunkenly in their seats over a table strewn with empty wine bottles.
Mykonos has a clock all its own that most visitors quickly respect. If you're sitting down to an evening meal at 10 or later (and, really, no one eats earlier, you know), and topping that with several hours of dancing or just a walk through the streets of Chora, you're unlikely to spring out of bed early in the morning. Thus, crowds don't start showing up at Mykonos's main beaches until the late morning, or even the early afternoon.
On their own, Mykonos's beaches don't do much to explain the island's popularity. The water surrounding Mykonos is a crystal-clear aquamarine, and while the beaches themselves are starkly beautiful, they are also narrow, or crowded, occasionally rocky and generally reached only by cratered, dusty, twisting roads or by boat.
Paradise Beach is famous outside Mykonos for being one of the island's wilder spots (which is saying a lot) but seems more a study in well-ordered, well-marketed hedonism. A simple half circle carpeted with lines of beach chairs and umbrellas, it draws hardbodies - male and female and gay and straight - with the type of tans last seen in America in those Bain de Soleil ads from the 1980's. It also has its share of topless women, shaggy beach-bum guys and the occasional family, all sunning themselves to dance hits pumped out by the restaurants that ring the beach.
The mix can be jarring. One early afternoon, we watched, feigning nonchalance, as a middle-aged topless woman with obviously, and substantially, augmented breasts put down her cigarette to apply sunscreen to her chubby 10-year-old-son. Nearby, men in Dolce & Gabbana short shorts preened near tattoo-covered companions who were studiously applying sunscreen to their six-pack abs.
If you tire of the crowds or the hedonism on tap at Paradise Beach, or its neighbor, the enthusiastically named, and very gay, Super Paradise Beach, there are plenty of smaller ones to escape to, though they'll often require a car or scooter and, in some cases, steely nerves and an appreciation for getting lost. It's worth noting that Mykonos's roads run the gamut from well-paved highways to narrow goat trails.
One of the most underused beaches on the island is Agios Sostis, just a few miles northeast of Chora, but still a pleasantly harrowing drive. The wide beach is of pale sand, sometimes windy in the summer (and with a relentless sun), but without any of the music or beach chairs or preening sun worshippers of the Paradise beaches. The strange moonscape hills of Mykonos rise above it, sprinkled with white cubed houses. A small cove on the north end provides all the shelter you need from the wind and sun, and feels a continent away from the tanned self-conscious masses.
Visitor Information
GETTING THERE
From Athens, Aegean Air and Olympic Air each have at least one flight a day to Mykonos in the high season (July and August). Ferries, hydrofoils and catamarans run from Athens to Mykonos, and take two to six hours. See Blue Star Ferries, www.bluestarferries.com.
WHERE TO STAY
The Belvedere Hotel, (30-2289) 025 122, www.belvederehotel.com, has rooms decorated in white with marble baths. Standard sea-view rooms are $460 a night, at $1.23 to the euro, through mid-September.
On the waterfront is the Mykonos Theoxenia, (30-2289) 022 230, www.mykonostheoxenia.com, which recently reopened after renovation with a 60's lounge feel. Doubles with a sea view start at $423 a night through early September.
Less expensive and more attractive is the Ostraco Suites, (30-2289) 023 396, www.ostraco.gr, a 10-minute walk from town. The newly restored hotel has gorgeous duplex suites, a mellow poolside bar and friendly staff. Suites start at $408 in the high season.
The Harmony, (30-2289) 028 980, www.harmonyhotel.gr, a spotlessly renovated hotel on the edge of Chora, is also stylish and quiet. There is a small pool and most rooms have a view of the harbor. Double rooms start at $245 until the end of August.
Most hotel prices drop sharply in September and stay low until June.
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
Travelers tired of expensive drinks or "style bars" could do no better on Mykonos than Kiki's Place, a small outdoor restaurant at the top of a hill on the edge of Agios Sostis, shaded by a canopy of branches from the three trees growing through the floor. Patience helps here, as there is typically a long line of patrons waiting for a table at lunchtime. There is no telephone; go to Agios Sostis beach and ask. Lunch for two is about $61.
Mamacas, (30-2289) 026 120, a new restaurant in Chora, mixes style and simplicity without an exorbitant price tag. Diners eat classic Greek food in a tree-covered yard. Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was about $135.
Katrin, (30-2289) 022 169, said to be a favorite of Aristotle Onassis, seems to emphasize on cost over quality. Frozen Bellinis garnished with rose petals and basil made for a promising start, but the calamari was insipid and the bill for dinner for two with a moderately priced bottle of wine was over $245.
The Swinging Aegean Isle of Mykonos Now Attracts the Grown-Ups
By HEATHER TIMMONS
Published: August 7, 2005
IT is well after midnight on a weekend night in late June and the narrow, high sidewalk that hugs Mykonos's harbor is crammed with tourists clutching pricey drinks capped by giant fruit kabobs. Fueled by alcohol or perhaps just inspired by the warm moonlit night, one young couple leap from the crowded walkway into the water below, whooping. They spend several minutes struggling to gain their footing and drag themselves out of the ocean, the woman's white skirt now transparent. Most of the crowd above pays no attention.
Staton Winter/Polaris, for The New York Times
Poolside at the Hotel Ostracos on Mykonos.
Mykonos
Staton Winter/Polaris, for The New York Times
An islander washes his boat.
Staton Winter/Polaris, for The New York Times
Dancing at Sea Satin.
Mykonos, a rocky, scrub-strewn outcropping in the middle of the Aegean Sea, enjoys a bit of a tangled reputation. It's one of the most popular, and most expensive of the Greek isles, even though it can be baked by the sun or raked by wind in the summer. But that popularity - augmented by the steady stream of hedonists, clubbers, gay men, college kids and nudists who have come ashore in the past few decades - has tended to put off travelers who feel they have put their spring break years behind them and are not interested in a shopping in a village where stores specializing in condoms or offering tattoos jostle up against the Patek Philippe boutique.
In recent years, though, the island has undergone bit of a makeover. Many of the older hotels have been recently revamped to reflect a clean-lined, cool aesthetic, strewn with white drapes that flow seductively in the breeze. New boutique hotels and restaurants concentrate on simplicity, and unusual, arty details, and many have D.J.'s whose mandate is to create a background vibe rather than keep time for gyrating hips.
If this island has one place that represents the "new" Mykonos (while not entirely discarding all remnants of the "old") it is the Belvedere Hotel, an imposingly well-gated complex perched halfway up a hill overlooking the town of Mykonos (also known as Chora) - a flower-covered jumble of white, cubed buildings and meandering, cobbled streets that practically sweats with crowds in July and August.
The Belvedere's key attraction is its outdoor restaurant, Matsuhisa, one more international outpost of the restaurateur Nobuyuki Matsuhisa. Sushi in Mykonos? As is the case with nearly anything else here, the right answer is "Hey, why not?" Nearly all of the fish is flown in, not from local waters.
The Belvedere's multiplatformed poolside bar area is thick with bougainvillea and greenery, with panoramic views of the harbor, windscreens, draped couches and giant beds for lounging. During a recent visit, three men in khaki shorts smoked cigars on three side-by-side beds, while nearby a group of fresh-faced women in strappy dresses sipped expensive fresh fruit daiquiris. An aside: When exactly did sipping cocktails while lying propped up on a bed become something glamorous to do in public?
The beautiful people can also be found at the Sea Satin restaurant. (In fact, on a recent night, a table of what could easily have been 10 members of Gisele Bundchen's extended family dined in one corner.)
On the far side of the harbor, under Mykonos's trademark windmills, and with candle-lighted tables set just near the water's edge, the restaurant is a jewel-like setting for dinner, although the crowd can sometimes be jarring. On one evening, a couple in their 30's split a huge lobster that must have cost at least $110 - the man carrying on a cellphone conversation for most of the time. Later, a group of Greek men and women in their 20's - the women wrapped in catwalk-worthy floaty summer gear - swayed drunkenly in their seats over a table strewn with empty wine bottles.
Mykonos has a clock all its own that most visitors quickly respect. If you're sitting down to an evening meal at 10 or later (and, really, no one eats earlier, you know), and topping that with several hours of dancing or just a walk through the streets of Chora, you're unlikely to spring out of bed early in the morning. Thus, crowds don't start showing up at Mykonos's main beaches until the late morning, or even the early afternoon.
On their own, Mykonos's beaches don't do much to explain the island's popularity. The water surrounding Mykonos is a crystal-clear aquamarine, and while the beaches themselves are starkly beautiful, they are also narrow, or crowded, occasionally rocky and generally reached only by cratered, dusty, twisting roads or by boat.
Paradise Beach is famous outside Mykonos for being one of the island's wilder spots (which is saying a lot) but seems more a study in well-ordered, well-marketed hedonism. A simple half circle carpeted with lines of beach chairs and umbrellas, it draws hardbodies - male and female and gay and straight - with the type of tans last seen in America in those Bain de Soleil ads from the 1980's. It also has its share of topless women, shaggy beach-bum guys and the occasional family, all sunning themselves to dance hits pumped out by the restaurants that ring the beach.
The mix can be jarring. One early afternoon, we watched, feigning nonchalance, as a middle-aged topless woman with obviously, and substantially, augmented breasts put down her cigarette to apply sunscreen to her chubby 10-year-old-son. Nearby, men in Dolce & Gabbana short shorts preened near tattoo-covered companions who were studiously applying sunscreen to their six-pack abs.
If you tire of the crowds or the hedonism on tap at Paradise Beach, or its neighbor, the enthusiastically named, and very gay, Super Paradise Beach, there are plenty of smaller ones to escape to, though they'll often require a car or scooter and, in some cases, steely nerves and an appreciation for getting lost. It's worth noting that Mykonos's roads run the gamut from well-paved highways to narrow goat trails.
One of the most underused beaches on the island is Agios Sostis, just a few miles northeast of Chora, but still a pleasantly harrowing drive. The wide beach is of pale sand, sometimes windy in the summer (and with a relentless sun), but without any of the music or beach chairs or preening sun worshippers of the Paradise beaches. The strange moonscape hills of Mykonos rise above it, sprinkled with white cubed houses. A small cove on the north end provides all the shelter you need from the wind and sun, and feels a continent away from the tanned self-conscious masses.
Visitor Information
GETTING THERE
From Athens, Aegean Air and Olympic Air each have at least one flight a day to Mykonos in the high season (July and August). Ferries, hydrofoils and catamarans run from Athens to Mykonos, and take two to six hours. See Blue Star Ferries, www.bluestarferries.com.
WHERE TO STAY
The Belvedere Hotel, (30-2289) 025 122, www.belvederehotel.com, has rooms decorated in white with marble baths. Standard sea-view rooms are $460 a night, at $1.23 to the euro, through mid-September.
On the waterfront is the Mykonos Theoxenia, (30-2289) 022 230, www.mykonostheoxenia.com, which recently reopened after renovation with a 60's lounge feel. Doubles with a sea view start at $423 a night through early September.
Less expensive and more attractive is the Ostraco Suites, (30-2289) 023 396, www.ostraco.gr, a 10-minute walk from town. The newly restored hotel has gorgeous duplex suites, a mellow poolside bar and friendly staff. Suites start at $408 in the high season.
The Harmony, (30-2289) 028 980, www.harmonyhotel.gr, a spotlessly renovated hotel on the edge of Chora, is also stylish and quiet. There is a small pool and most rooms have a view of the harbor. Double rooms start at $245 until the end of August.
Most hotel prices drop sharply in September and stay low until June.
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
Travelers tired of expensive drinks or "style bars" could do no better on Mykonos than Kiki's Place, a small outdoor restaurant at the top of a hill on the edge of Agios Sostis, shaded by a canopy of branches from the three trees growing through the floor. Patience helps here, as there is typically a long line of patrons waiting for a table at lunchtime. There is no telephone; go to Agios Sostis beach and ask. Lunch for two is about $61.
Mamacas, (30-2289) 026 120, a new restaurant in Chora, mixes style and simplicity without an exorbitant price tag. Diners eat classic Greek food in a tree-covered yard. Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was about $135.
Katrin, (30-2289) 022 169, said to be a favorite of Aristotle Onassis, seems to emphasize on cost over quality. Frozen Bellinis garnished with rose petals and basil made for a promising start, but the calamari was insipid and the bill for dinner for two with a moderately priced bottle of wine was over $245.