Domes Miramare, a Luxury Collection Resort, Corfu

Domes Miramare, a Luxury Collection Resort, Corfu

Corfu's east coast is quieter than its reputation suggests, and the stretch around Moraitika, where the Ionian Sea runs still and the Albanian mountains appear on the horizon on clear days, is a good distance from the beach clubs and the tourist infrastructure of the north. Domes Miramare is here, on a private 650-metre beach below a hillside of century-old olive trees, built in the late 1960s as a trophy asset for the Onassis family and host over the following decades to a guest list that included President Eisenhower, Maria Callas, and the King of Greece. The Domes group acquired it and renovated it with a light hand, keeping the aristocratic scale while replacing the dated interiors with something cleaner and more contemporary. The property divides into two wings. The Seafront Wing has suites and villas directly on the waterline, some with private pools and retractable roofs, the Ionian Sea a few steps from the door. The Panoramic Wing sits higher, with hilltop suites and wider views across the water. All the accommodation is adults-only, minimal in palette, natural materials and neutral tones, with locally sourced kumquat sweets in every room as the only concession to decoration. The dining offer is serious for a beach resort: Makris, the flagship restaurant, works from a menu by Michelin-starred chef Petros Dimas using local ingredients against a backdrop of the sea. 1962 by the Sea handles breakfast and contemporary Greek through the day. The Raw Bar does sushi and cocktails with a resident DJ. The Miramaretta, the hotel's sleek black speedboat, connects the property to Corfu Town in twenty minutes, with champagne service on board. This is a hotel that suits people who want the Ionian properly, the water, the olive groves, the local wine and food, without driving anywhere to find it. The Onassis history is part of the atmosphere rather than the selling point, and the renovation has done what good renovations do: made the place feel entirely of now without apologising for what it was. The short version: An adults-only beachfront resort on Corfu's east coast, built by the Onassis family in the 1960s and renovated into something cleaner and more contemporary, with 650 metres of private beach, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and a speedboat to Corfu Town.