Meraviglia Slow Living

Style

It's a wonderful life

Setting

Den of antiquity

Take it easy at Meraviglia Slow Living in Preveza, a classical corner on the edge of the Ionian in north-western Greece with a serenely sleepy pace of life. The 12 suites, each with its own pool, garden and stellar sea views, are as architecturally arresting as you’d imagine for the vision of a local builder who’d been dreaming up this hotel for two whole decades. The name is borrowed from its neighbours across the water – ‘meraviglia’ means wonder in Italian – and it’s not just the grand designs here that will have jaws on the floor in amazement.

Facilities

Chambres

12 suites.

Checkout

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm, also flexible.

Plus de détails

Rates don’t include breakfast (€23 a person).

Also

Some of the Relax Pool Suites and Signature Pool Suites have wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.

Hotel Closed

The hotel closes at the end of October until the middle of April.

Centre de fitness

Accès internet gratuit

Blanchisserie

Service d’étage

Spa

At the Hotel

Nearby public beach; electric vehicle charging point; free wifi throughout, gym, garden. In rooms: Nespresso coffee machine, air-conditioning, TV and Acqua di Parma bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Each of the 12 suites has its own pool, Ionian Sea views and garden with a hanging-pod chair you’ll struggle to get out of. If there’s a few of you, go for room 1 or 7, both of which have a king-size bed to shotgun, along with two sofa beds and a bunk bed.

Spa

The spa has a sauna and a sea-facing terrace for treatments – though massages can also be booked in-room or indoors in a room at the gym if you’re feeling shy.

Packing Tips

All the things you’ve been putting off doing while waiting for a slower pace of life: knitting, audio language courses, 1,000-page books, etc.

Also

In case you’re wondering why the architecture is so striking: the hotel is the vision of Aris Tzimas, a local construction giant turned hotelier hellbent on originality.

Enfants

Over-12s are welcome. There are family-friendly rooms that have sofa beds or bunk beds.

Galerie

Food & Drink

Top Table

With an above-average view for a picnic table (and added cabana-style curtains for cooling), the sea-facing bench in the garden is the ultimate snacking spot (with a hammock conveniently located for a siesta afterwards).

Code vestimentaire

Architectural digest.

Hotel Restaurant

La Pergola is open for Mediterranean-inspired breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Start your day with continental breakfasts of bread, jam, juice, cereal and coffee. The brunch menu features smoked-salmon bagels, local cheese and charcuterie plates, and everyone’s favourite use of feta (a Greek salad). At dinner, expect dishes such as Ambracian Gulf prawns with avocado, fava-bean purée and smoked eel, and chicken with mashed potatoes and gruyère cream.

Last Orders

Breakfast is served daily from 8am until 11am; lunch is available between 2pm and 3.45pm, and dinner is from 7.30pm until 9.45pm. The bar pours from 8am to midnight.

Room Service

Dishes can be delivered to your room during restaurant opening hours.

Planes

The nearest airport is Preveza (also known as Aktion Airport), a 15-minute drive away. Direct flights from the UK take a little over three hours. Hotel transfers can be arranged on request.

Automobiles

It’s a 10-minute drive to the centre of Preveza (or an hour and 10 minutes on foot if you want to take the slow living seriously) – there’s a carpark at the hotel with an electric vehicle charging point. A car will come in handy for exploring Epirus (and driving through Greece’s only underwater tunnel, which spans the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf).

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Despite the name, Meraviglia Slow Living is actually somewhere guests can keep really quite busy: activities on offer nearby include surfing, scuba-diving and sailing; rowing, stand-up paddle-boarding and kayaking on Ziros Lake; and birdwatching for the 75 species flitting over the Ambracian Gulf and its protected wetlands. Monolithi Beach is Europe’s longest stretch of sand – but staff can guide you to the crowd-free coves, too. Road-trip highlights include the coast route from Preveza to Parga, where the views are surpassed only by the antiquities and pretty, pitstop-ready towns. See where Augustus Caesar celebrated his victory over Antony and Cleopatra with a visit to Aktion, get yacht-envy (as well as superb seafood, fortresses and old-town perfection) in Preveza or ignore the morbidity and head to Hades – the Necromanteion of Acheron is the gateway to the underworld, according to Homer.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .