Costa Navarino can be found in Messinia, in the southwest part of the Peloponnese in Greece. One of its most popular areas are the Navarino Dunes. This area has two fantastic luxury hotels: The Romanos and The Westin Resort, Costa Navarino. The Romanos, a Luxury Collection property, is more exclusive and romantic, while The Westin Resort is ideal for families. We visited both, the first as a couple without kids some years ago, and the second as a family recently. Both experiences were unique but I have to admit that Costa Navarino is a great destination for families.
It is not a coincidence that the Westin Resort Costa Navarino has been voted as “the Best Family Destination” in the Mediterranean among Europe’s Starwood Hotels and Resorts. The resort gives children the opportunity to choose from a variety of fun activities, supervised if needed, and tailored to themselves, in the Sand Castle and the Cocoon playgrounds. The Cocoon is ideal for infants and toddlers that spend their time there creatively engaged by appropriate people such as trained nannies etc. The Sand Castle on the other hand offers educational activities for older kids as it is aimed at children up to 12 years old.
The resort’s rooms and suites are set on a private hillside with amazing views over the Ionian sea, golf courses and the pools of the resort. The accommodation is totally family-friendly while at the same time very luxurious. Many of the rooms have private infinity pools. The pools offer swim-up bars where you can enjoy your drink while swimming. The resort has many other beautiful outdoor areas where we relaxed while we enjoyed the stunning views of Greece.
Apart from the resorts, Costa Navarino also offers a collection of luxury villas for sale located in one of the most privileged regions in the Mediterranean. The villas offer unforgettable views of the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean. The resorts and the villas all are distinguished by an ancient and at the same time elegant architecture.
There is a large variety of restaurants at the resort, ranging from ethnic, to international and local. Flame restaurant specializes in steak dishes and herbs and vegetables from the restaurant’s gardens. Armyra restaurant set next to the sea, is the place to go if you want to taste fresh fish and seafood by well-known Greek chef Yorgos Papaioannou. We loved this restaurant, and we had lunch there several times.
Daluigi offers the finest variety of Italian food. In Taverna we had some traditional dishes from Messinia that were really tasty! Inbi offers amazing Japanese cuisine in a beautiful setting and the choices continue as such and are basically endless with Costa Navarino having fourteen different restaurants, the one nicer than the other to choose from.
We played golf during our second day in Costa Navarino and it was a great experience as the resort offers two of the best golf courses in Europe. The Dunes Course is the first signature golf course in Greece that opened in May 2010 and is a very impressive seaside golf course. It was designed by former US Master Champion and Ryder Cup Captain Bernhard Langer in association with European Golf Design and operated by Troon Golf, the world’s leading luxury brand golf management company. The course is impressive with spectacular sea views, and some holes running thru a small river as well as some fruit and olive groves. The Dunes Course is designed in such a way as to provide an exciting challenge to all golfers.
The resort offers also some unique opportunities for excursions in the region and is accessible to people with disabilities as it has some rooms specially designed for them.
Anazoe Spa offers some signature treatments that use a combination of ancient rituals together with modern therapeutic techniques that sets the spa apart from any other spa in Greece. Anazoe uses the regions natural ingredients together with products from around the world to offer you unique experiences. The olive oil treatments the spa offers are unique in the world and inspired by Hippocrates, known in the West world as the father of medicine, who considered olive oil as the best therapeutic.
The resort offers a variety of classes in its health club such as yoga, stretching, and pilates apart from the water sports and diving experiences one can have. It also offers an abundance of tennis courses as well as other outdoor sports such as hiking, biking, and climbing.
Whether you want to relax or be active Costa Navarino is the ideal destination for an unforgettable luxury family vacation experience!
About Sophia Klotsa
Sophia Klotsa has been a savvy world traveler since her early years. She has travelled to over 50 countries so far, and her goal is to reach a 100 countries by the time she is 50! She has traveled extensively as a child and then later in life for her studies and work, until she had her own family. Now she continues traveling -- that is at the same time a passion and a way of life for her -- with her family. She studied communications and psychology in the U.S. that she still practice with passion, and she started writing about luxury travel as a hobby some years ago. Her articles have been featured in many digital and print media through the years, including Conde Nast Traveler, Woman Symbol, Departure Blvd, Selides, Ladylike.gr and many others. She is working on launching her own travel blog in the next couple of months that will focus on luxury family travel. When she doesn't travel, she spends time with her family or organizes the next adventure they will have together. Follow her on Instagram.
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