As the rest of the Mediterranean slowly awakens to summer, the Eastern Mediterranean is often the first to emerge into high season. A combination of warmer June weather and seasonal openings that are up to a month earlier than destinations like St. Tropez and Porto Cervo, destinations from Bodrum to Mykonos enjoy a significantly longer summer season complete with new openings and debuts to plan around for 2015.
In the Aegean, newcomer Iconic Santorini lures those not particularly fond of the island’s notorious wedding parties to a more remote stretch of Imerovigli village. The resort sits atop one of the highest hills on Santorini with just 20-rooms and one of the largest infinity pools of any new hotel property. Nearby in Oia, revamped Red Bicycle is a much-needed dose of culinary vision by Greek chefs utilizing local island produce along a rooftop terrace 180-degree views. An island away in Mykonos, the Ibiza-minded party scene that sizzles in August has gotten a bit of bohemian competition with Scorpios that mixes beach club and DJ sunset lounge while the Belvedere debuts its new Six Senses Spa come July. Not brash enough? Buddha Bar gets a beach club incarnation at Santa Marina Resort at Ornos while the Hakkasan Group debuts new Ling Ling restaurant in Mykonos town.
In Turkey, much of the charm of old Bodrum has been upstaged by newer venues that include posh brands like Cipriani and Nobu. We’ll always prefer properties like Macakizi with its waterfront preening deck and native design that’s one of the best resort in the region, even with its bevy of competitors from Aman to Mandarin Oriental and far-from-understated Jumeirah that have popped onto the jet set radar in recent years �" with Viceroy Bodrum still to come.
