Mykonos.

Originally opened 1960 as the island's first international-standard hotel; closed in the 1970s; reopened 2022 after a full restoration that preserved the original 1960s architecture (designed by Aris Konstantinidis, one of mid-century Greece's significant modernist architects). 49 rooms, pool, walking distance to Mykonos Town. Less famous than the Belvedere or Cavo Tagoo, more lived-in.

A small Greek-family-run boutique on the Tagoo seafront — 17 rooms, a sea-view pool facing west across the bay toward Delos. Eight-minute coast-path walk into Chora; close enough to Cavo Tagoo for the design-led traveller who wanted that vibe without the rate. Open mid-April through late October.

Greek-family-run on the Rohari hill above Mykonos Town — 57 rooms across multiple low-rise buildings, two pools, and a serious kitchen. The Semeli Group also runs Bao's Cocktail Bar in Little Venice. Walking distance to Chora (10 min downhill); cab back up at night. The Mykonos Town stay for travellers who want the design-hotel feel without leaving the Town orbit.

On the hill above Ornos Bay — 58 rooms, adults-only, a recent addition that's climbed the considered-Mykonos-stays list fast. A central pool, two restaurants, a small spa, a kitchen that takes Mykonian ingredients seriously. The right pick for couples who want Ornos's south-coast convenience without paying for the Luxury Collection wrap of Santa Marina.

On the Platis Gialos beach directly — 21 rooms across low whitewashed buildings, a sea-view pool over the beach, the water taxi to every other south-coast beach (Paradise, Super Paradise, Paraga, Agrari, Elia) leaving from the dock 100m away. The right pick for travellers who want one beach base for the full stay rather than cabbing to a different beach club every day.

Small Luxury Hotels of the World property on the Tourlos hillside — rooms, suites and maisonettes overlooking the new-port marina, where the ferries from Athens dock and the bigger sailing boats moor. 5 minutes by cab into Chora; quieter than Ornos and Tagoo, with a clean sunset view back toward Delos.

A Cycladic landmark above Mykonos Town since 1969, on the School-of-Fine-Arts hillside — the original design-luxury Mykonos Town hotel, the property that defined the boutique-Mykonos category before Cavo Tagoo or Bill & Coo existed. Around 40 rooms across the main hotel and villas, a sunset-side pool, and Matsuhisa Mykonos in the garden (Nobu's outpost, open since 2003 — the first open-air Nobu in the world). Member of Design Hotels.

The original Bill & Coo property, on the Megali Ammos hillside facing west across the bay toward Delos — 32 suites and three villas, an infinity pool that's been on Mykonian best-of lists for years. Leading Hotels of the World member; the property that built the Bill & Coo brand. The Bill & Coo group also runs The Coast (the larger, newer property on Agios Ioannis) — this is the smaller, more contained original.

On the Ornos hillside — 35 rooms and suites across whitewashed cube buildings, an open-air spa and one of the more-considered hotel kitchens on the island. Sister property Kenshō Psarou is on Psarou beach (the Nammos coast); the Ornos original is the calmer, more design-led of the two. Walking distance to Ornos beach; 7-minute cab to Chora.

One of the most photographed hotels on Mykonos — about 80 rooms and suites cut into a hillside above Mykonos Town, with a 38-metre infinity pool lined with floating loungers and the island's famous aquarium bar beside it. Cycladic-minimal design that a lot of later Mykonos hotels were measured against. The Santorini sibling came later; this is the original.

K-Studio's 2021 design statement — 25 suites and 2 villas on the Aleomandra hillside above Ornos Bay, facing west across the open Aegean to Delos. Every suite has a private pool; the architecture uses local stone and white plaster in a deliberately Mykonian-vernacular update. Pere Ubu is the in-house dinner; the bar runs one of the more serious cocktail lists on the island. One of the Mykonian luxury reference points of the decade.

On its own private peninsula in Ornos Bay — 117 rooms, suites and villas across multiple buildings, four dining venues including Buddha-Bar Beach, the island's only private sandy beach, the full Marriott Luxury Collection service standard. Less photographed than Cavo Tagoo or Kalesma but more comprehensive — the property runs more like a small resort than a boutique hotel. The right pick for travellers who want the full-service luxury hotel rather than the small-design-statement.