White Donkey Hotel

Winding through the traditional olive groves up the hill to the White Donkey, there’s little to prepare you for the spectacular views, light and space that characterize this beautifully contemporary small hotel. Once over the threshold it’s like entering a different world, with a magnificent free-form swimming pool that makes you want to reach immediately for your costume. Places like this are what infinity pools were made for, and your eye is drawn over and over again across the blue of the bay to the mountains that shimmer on the opposite side of the gulf.

Owner Boris has 25 years of experience as a hotelier, and his passion for his trade is clear to see. From the rich breakfast buffet to the 3000 white-flowering plants in the immaculate gardens, his eye for detail is unerring and the commitment to exceeding expectations is impressive. The vision is to offer guests the space and comfort of a private villa with the service of a hotel, so you feel relaxed and pampered yet very much at home.

At 45m2, the guest suites are rather larger than average, supplied with a host of thoughtful extras from locally-made toiletries to complimentary drinking water from the hotel’s own spring and a telescope for stargazing. There are 17 staff attending to just 24 rooms, so you can expect to be very well looked after, with the option to dine on the stunning terrace at lunch or dinner, an outdoor gym, e-bikes for hire and a complimentary shuttle service to the nearest beach on request.

The hotel nestles on the eastern side of the Messinian peninsula, which is charmingly undeveloped in touristic terms. Directly below lies Chrani village, with a long sand-and-pebble beach and several adjacent smaller coves. You can eat here if you fancy a change from the hotel, or head down the coast to Koroni for waterfront dining with the ruins of the old Venetian castle as your backdrop and the long sandy beach of Zaga nearby. Cutting across the peninsula you can get to the Costa Navarino and its world-class golf courses, all the more appealing for being surrounded by more traditional towns and pretty harbours such as Pylos and Gialova, not forgetting spectacular Voidokilia beach, possibly the loveliest on the entire peninsula.