Eliamos Villas Hotel & Spa

Looking out onto the blue Ionian Sea from the edge of our private plunge pool, Mr Smith and I unfurled a piece of paper that the day before a sonographer had scribbled the word ‘boy’ onto. Eliamos, perched on the clifftops of southern Kefalonia, is the perfect backdrop for a milestone moment like this one, and given how delicious (and nausea-proof) the cucumber and local honey welcome beverage was, I can’t think of anywhere better to have had our babymoon. 

I am a city girl who always fantasises about staying in the middle of nowhere — we went to Patagonia on our honeymoon. However, as much as I like the idea of a cabin surrounded by wilderness, I haven’t driven in a decade and am so used to convenience, I’ve been known to Deliveroo myself a ham sandwich. At Eliamos, you almost forget you’re on a well-trodden island with several UK flights arriving each day — I’m not sure I've ever stayed somewhere as secluded and quiet. Despite the seemingly remote location, it’s only a 15-minute taxi ride from the airport and a three-and-a-half-hour flight from London, making it a viable option for a long weekend. 

The resort is made up of 12 villas that are artfully dotted over the cliffs like a sprawling village, so you can easily forget you have neighbours. Guests tend to retreat to their private pools, so over the course of our three-day stay, we didn’t see anyone else (apart from the resident cat) at the main pool, which is nestled among beds of swaying lavender. The beds of herbs and wildflowers create the most magical scent, which wafts through the property. I wish I could bottle it. 

The private beach is delightfully unmanicured (you have to clamber down steps that are coated in cascading stones), making it feel like you’ve discovered your own secret cove. Aside from the odd passing sailing boat, the rugged beach was empty every day — it doesn’t get more luxurious than having a bay to yourself on a Greek island in peak season. The water is shallow, meaning you can easily paddle out to the rocks, armed with a towel and a book, and position yourself on a shelf in the middle of the magical Tiffany-blue water. The lack of sunbeds made it feel even more special and unspoilt. 

I might have felt intrepid after traversing my way down to this private beach and to my rocky outpost, but Eliamos blends seclusion with the convenience of a luxury hotel stay. You can get a golf buggy to pick you up at the top of the beach steps to save you the climb back to the hotel. And unlike renting a private villa, you can have feta-drenched chips and the aforementioned cucumber cocktail sent to any corner of the resort.

We had grand intentions of taking the complimentary e-bikes for a spin of the island, but in the end we didn’t venture beyond the car park once. And why would we? The Eliamos team will arrange all manner of excursions, from stargazing to boat tours around the island, but I found it hard to believe that I could possibly find a better view than the one outside my bedroom. For those wanting to do a little more than lounge each day, you can join the free Pilates classes at the open-air gym each morning (it even has reformer equipment), have a spa treatment or join a cooking class.

The hotel embraces the heritage of the island, but with a modern spin — and nowhere is this seen more than on the menu at the hotel restaurant Olais. It is more elevated than your average taverna offering, but sticks to local ingredients and traditional dishes, such as meat pie and orange cake, but with a more refined spin. It is all about simple cooking and quality ingredients, and I found that it’s one of those restaurants where you tend to order the same thing again and again — I had the sea-bass every night because I couldn’t believe it could be topped. The food is exceptional, but the setting has a relaxed and almost barefoot feeling, with an open terrace with a sun-drenched, bohemian aesthetic, perched above olive groves and beds of wildflowers. We ended up staying for hours after each sitting, talking to other guests, and trying to squeeze in another portion of orange cake. 

Every detail at Eliamos is incredibly thoughtful. We were sent home with a box of local treats such as olive oil and oregano (in carry-on proportions), to let you take a slice of Kefalonia home with you. The recipe for the orange cake was also sent to my inbox. I spent the rest of the summer trying to recreate the cocktail with cucumber syrup, honey and lemon juice — it’s safe to say it didn’t taste quite the same in East London, as it does in this magical corner of Greece.