Belvedere Mykonos

Rooms and decor

Picture a cluster of stark-white buildings clinging to the hill above the old town of Chora, with terraces that open straight onto the deep-blue Aegean stretching to the horizon — that is Belvedere Mykonos, a legendary boutique and one of the first design hotels that helped build the island's tasteful, stylish image. Its roughly 44 rooms and suites are pure Cycladic: smooth, curved whitewashed walls offset by warm wood, natural stone, and linen in muted tones. The feel is clean, calm, and contemporary all at once. Many rooms have private terraces or balconies overlooking the sea and the white rooftops of the old town, with comfortable beds, well-chosen amenities, and small touches — fresh flowers, scented candles — that signal real care. The overall mood is understated luxury: nothing shouts, everything photographs well, and waking up to the Aegean from the bed is the single most-repeated highlight in guest reviews.

Food and amenities

The heart of a stay here is the infinity pool at the cliff edge, where the water seems to pour straight into the Aegean below — one of the most photographed pools on the entire island. It is ringed by white sunbeds, canvas parasols, and a pool bar that becomes a late-afternoon hangout for both hotel guests and outside visitors. Sipping a cocktail with the sea breeze in your face here is the Mykonos fantasy in concrete form. But the real headline is Matsuhisa Mykonos, the Japanese-Peruvian restaurant in chef Nobu Matsuhisa's Nobu group, tucked into the hotel's own garden. It serves world-famous signatures — black cod miso, sushi, sashimi — in an open-air setting that catches the evening breeze. The whole island wants to book a table here, and guests get the rare advantage of simply walking down from their room. Breakfast is served poolside with the same sea view, and reviewers note it is generous enough to linger over. Concierge service for shuttles, restaurant bookings, and boat tours rounds out the experience.

Location and getting there

Location is the real ace at Belvedere. The hotel sits on the School of Fine Arts hill right above the old town of Chora — unlike most of the island's luxury resorts, which are scattered across far-flung bays, this one is just a 6-minute walk from the Kato Mili windmills and Little Venice, where seaside bars, restaurants, and stylish shops line the alleys. The huge advantage: you can dive into Chora's dining and nightlife in the evening and walk home without hunting for a taxi, which can be in short supply during high season. Manto Square, the old port, and the famous white-washed labyrinth of Chora alleys are all within strolling distance. Mykonos Airport (JMK) is about 7 minutes by car. In short, this is one of the very few in-town stays that lets you live with style while still walking to everything that makes the island special.

Things to know before booking

To help you decide honestly, three points come up again and again in guest reviews. First, room size: entry-level rooms are compact, and not all of them face the Aegean directly — the postcard view many people picture from the brochures usually means upgrading to a higher category, and the price climbs quickly. Second, the access road is steep and narrow. Dragging your own luggage uphill is a real struggle; use the hotel shuttle for check-in and check-out, and expect a short uphill walk home from late-night Chora. Third, in-house spending: food and drink prices on property, particularly at Matsuhisa and the pool bar, sit at the top end of Mykonos luxury — and Mykonos is already a notoriously expensive island. Several reviewers found that incidental costs added up well past their original budget, so plan an extra cushion for on-site dining and drinks.

Our take

After reading through real guest reviews from multiple sources, Belvedere Mykonos is the hotel that sells "in-town walkability + stylish boutique mood + sea-view pool and Nobu dinner" better than almost anyone else on the island. If your mental image of a Mykonos trip is waking up to an Aegean view, swimming laps in the infinity pool by mid-morning, wandering Chora's whitewashed alleys in the afternoon, sipping cocktails seaside at Little Venice at sunset, then heading back to dinner at Matsuhisa in the garden — this is the single best choice for staying in the heart of town. If you want a particularly large room, deep resort-style calm in a far-off bay, or you are traveling as a family with small children, the compact entry rooms and hill-side staircases here may not be the easiest fit. Overall we give it 8.5/10 — best for couples and stylish travelers who want a tasteful boutique right inside Chora, within walking distance of everything.