Forget the Greek Islands: Paradise exists here on Greece’s mainland

The blue eye dangles from my key ring as I drive south from Athens. The mati, as the amulet is known in Greece, wards off envy and jealousy.

Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, Greece.

Almost four hours later, I’ve driven across the much overlooked, history-making Peloponnese peninsula and, pulling my little rental car in to the Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino’s porte cochere, the view is initially underwhelming. But stepping out of the blinding sun, I realise we’re on a hilltop, and walking into the open-air lobby reveals a perch worthy of a goddess.

The Peloponnese peninsula has its own four peninsulas, and the most westerly, the Messenia, is where luxury hotelier Mandarin Oriental has chosen to dip its toe into balmy Greek waters.

To sigh for... guest room.

From on high, I see olive trees and low coastal shrubs spilling down the hill to the sparkling Bay of Navarino. Here, Frankish castles are perched on fine fingers of land, ancient temples crumble quietly in the midday sun, and doesn’t that yacht belong to a Saudi prince?

What I can’t see are the 99 villas and suites cut into the hillside, mimicking the peninsula’s traditional mandrias, dry-stone animal shelters built by local farmers. Relying on the Earth’s thermal properties, they’re eco-friendly, and in keeping with legend; this is where the trickster god Hermes hid the cattle he’d stolen from his half-brother, Apollo, proving you’re never far from myth in Messinia.

Hidden havens… Oriental Costa Navarino.

There’s no cure for jet lag like a post-flight dip, best taken in a private outdoor pool. My bay view pool villa features timber and stone, handmade rugs and hangings in the traditional Greek style, and each night before sleep, I open the glass doors to listen to a skulk of jackals, cackling and cavorting on the golf course below, for full immersion in the landscape.

Take in the spectacular sunset from the lounge bar.

That Greek immersion continues in the main restaurant, Oliviera, which serves dishes most locals will recall from childhood, such as stifado and saginaki, but with modern techniques and exceptional produce. Here, chef Bertrand Valegeas holds court and rules with a sustainable hand; three-quarters of the food served is from the Peloponnese, most within a 50-kilometre radius. Almost all of the remainder is sourced from within Greece. “Beef is the biggest issue,” admits Valegeas readily.

Oliviera restaurant sources locally grown sustainable produce.

“It is important that the local people work with us,” he says. Sheep’s yoghurt comes from a family dairy 25 kilometres away, vegetables from the hotel farm, fish from the bay. There are beehives, but no pesticides, and oil from the 2700 olive trees already on the site, and replanted after the hotel’s construction. The food is grounded in this country.

One evening, dinner is lamb Navarin, a dish invented to celebrate the 1827 French naval victory over an Egyptian and Turkish fleet during the Greek War of Independence. I eat overlooking the battleground, the blue Bay of Navarino. It’s followed by the most beautiful dessert I have ever been served. Petals of fine, white chocolate fan out from an intricate pollen cake, finished with vanilla honey from the hotel’s hives and chamomile ice cream. Hear me gush because it’s worth gushing about.

The other dining highlight is an outpost by Daniele Cason, the executive chef at the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, and his pizza omakase is a genuine revelation. Nine small courses: nine slices of exquisite pizza, ranging from the simplest – sweet local tomatoes with figs and yoghurt – to wild inventions of mascarpone with black truffle, or carrots with Messenia sausages. It. Is. So. Good.

Dive in… the resort village, Navarino Agora.

The hotel is part of the Costa Navarino resort, founded by local sea captain-made-good Vassilis Constantakopoulos, and includes W and Westin hotels, a golf course lined with olive trees, and the resort’s village, Navarino Agora. Languid browsers should make for the Benaki Museum shop, packed with replicas and Greek-designed jewellery from the Athens art museum. Here, I spy the mati amulet, this time wrought into embroidered earrings, for a double hit of protection. After a stay in this resort, I think I need it.

Tranquillity pool.

THE DETAILS

The hotel is 3.5 hours’ drive from Athens, or a 50-minute flight to Kalamata Airport, 45 kilometres from the hotel, which runs a shuttle pick-up. Alternatively, it’s 30 minutes from Athens by helicopter, nine hours by yacht.

STAY
Stays at the Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino from €1200/$1992 a night. See mandarinoriental.com

FLY
All major airlines including Qatar, Emirates, Qantas and Etihad fly one-stop from Melbourne and Sydney.

The writer was a guest of Mandarin Oriental and Eurail, eurail.com