NUMO Mykonos Boutique Resort

The stripes at NUMO Mykonos are mustard and white, and they are on nearly everything soft, from the benches in the lobby to the beanbags round the pool. Under them is an old Mykonian building, redesigned for its opening in 2024 and taken back to the 1960s and '70s. The island's whitewash survives on the lobby walls, over rough stone and under pale timber beams, and the shelves curve out of the wall itself. In the dining room a long table of dark wood stands on rounded legs among sage-green chairs and striped banquettes, and the rattan lampshades above it hang at angles nobody has seen fit to correct. Outside, thatched parasols and dark green sunbeds line the pool along a white-capped stone wall. Over the wall is Kalafatis Bay, a sandy sweep about 600 metres across, with two rocky islets offshore.

Recommended for couples who want Mykonos without its beach clubs. Kalafatis is quieter and less built up than the coast south of town, and Mykonos Town is about 25 minutes away by road. Children are allowed, though beyond babysitting nothing is laid on for them. Anemoessa, the all-day restaurant facing the bay, has Nikos Kourkoutas cooking modern Mediterranean and Mykonian dishes, and guests rate its breakfast for size and variety. The hotel can arrange a boat to ancient Delos, or a breadmaking class at Rizes Folklore Farmstead. Nearer, past the pool wall and on the beach itself, is the windsurf centre, where everyone on the water is moving a good deal faster than anyone on a sunbed.