I’m trying to be ruggedly Australian about it but the dirt road to Gundari – a buzzy new resort on the Greek island of Folegandros – is blow-a-tyre bumpy. Thankfully it’s short. Not long after the aggressively blue water of the port at Karavostasi slips from sight in the rearview mirror, the resort – along with a south-facing expanse of the Aegean Sea – glistens into view ahead.

The architecture of Gundari, which opened in May, does little to distract from the magnificence of an oceanic outlook that extends to Crete. The 27-room property was designed by in-demand Athenian firm Block722. Its subterranean villas and spa are carved into the cliff while the above-ground structures are built with rusty-hued, marble-streaked limestone that was excavated during construction. The resort doesn’t so much blend into the landscape as disappear entirely – if you squint.