Lesante Cape
Zakynthos zinger
Ionian and on and on
Lesante Cape invites mostly passive – nay, horizontal – participation. After all, it hardly requires a Sisyphean effort to receive a full-body massage in the spa, hang out in the hammam, dip your toes in the Ionian’s warm waters or admire heat-hazed views of Kefalonia from the infinity pool. Sunsets that set the sky on fire at Fiore may finally get you to sit up and pay attention, as smartly turned-out waiters deliver fine Mediterranean dishes to terrace tables that seem to levitate over the ocean.
Facilities
Rooms
85 suites and 10 private villas.
Checkout
11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm. The resort always tries to be as flexible as possible on check-in. If not possible, guests are welcome to use all of the facilities while they wait (including the spa changing room). Check-out can normally be extended to 1pm.
More Details
Rates include a buffet breakfast in Elea Restaurant, including fresh breads, cakes and pastries, fruit from the orchard and invigorating Greek coffee.
Also
Learn how to knock up a traditional Zakynthian lunch with the chef at Taverna. You even get to pick your own organic ingredients from the garden and orchards. Don’t forget an apple for the teacher.
Hotel Closed
Closed October to April.
Fitness Center
Free Internet Access
Laundry
Pool
On-Site Restaurant
Room Service
Spa
At the Hotel
Three pools, spa, gym, private beach (bags and towels provided), four restaurants, two bars and a cafe, kids’ club, free WiFi. In rooms: 55” LCD TV, Nespresso coffee machine, minibar, bluetooth docking station, Zealots of Nature toiletries, bathrobes and slippers.
Our Favourite Rooms
If you’re going big, you may as well go absolutely huge. The three-bed Cape Villa is the resort behemoth: 400 square metres of space promising all the privacy of a family villa vacation with the added bells and whistles you’d expect from a luxury resort. Here, stately arches frame vistas of lush hillside flora and the deep turquoise of the Ionian, honey-coloured stone walls run the length of the garden and vine-festooned wooden awnings provide occasional shade from the Greek sun. Rustle up a quick squid-and-saffron risotto in the kitchen or kick back with a mimosa in your private pool while a chef arrive to do the hard work for you.
Poolside
The resort’s three outdoor pools overlook the Ionian and are open 9am–6pm daily. There’s a separate pool for infants and toddlers and older kids are permitted in two of the three main pools, one of which has a swim-up bar.
Spa
Armonia Wellness & Spa is the place for a full-body pummelling or equally invigorating facial using luxury Ariadne Athens skincare products. There’s a traditional sauna, a hammam, a hot tub, and an additional indoor pool. The state-of-the-art gym is open 24/7.
Packing Tips
The beach at Lesante Cape is lovely, but a little rocky. Bring reef shoes for the kids to avoid cuts and bruises and (hopefully) give you half an hour’s respite to lose yourself in a copy of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, the classic Louis de Bernières novel set on neighbouring Kefalonia.
Also
Hit the beach early to nab a sunbed and dip your toes in the water. It’s accessible down a flight of around 40 steps and great for snorkelling. Back on dry land, there’s a small court for playing paddle tennis; equipment can be borrowed from reception.
Children
Mini Smiths are well catered for here. There’s a free kids’ club for ages 4-11 that runs daily from 10am-6pm and a games room to keep teens out of trouble. The playground and dedicated pool (max depth: 30 centimetres) are manna for parents with toddlers.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
There are plenty of great sunset-viewing spots around the resort, but none that compare to the terrace at Fiore, which protrudes right out over the cliff edge. Bookings for these tables are advised.
Dress Code
Bright white swimwear for flaunting your tan by the pool; smart summery linens and floaty maxi dresses for dinner at Fiore; dancing shoes for lively evenings at the taverna on the square.
Hotel Restaurant
Main restaurant Elea is open for breakfast and dinner daily. Late risers rejoice: the breakfast buffet stays open until a leisurely 11am, serving up Greek yoghurt, local honey, fruit plucked from the orchards and stacks of freshly baked breads and pastries. The invigorating qualities of the strong Greek coffee here are second only to those epic views out across the Ionian to Kefalonia.
The grilled sea bass, sardines and octopus at Novita are served so fresh you can wave to the departing boat of the fisherman who caught it as you shovel in your first forkful. Meanwhile, romantic Fiore promises fine Mediterranean cuisine with a side order of stellar sunsets and a terrace that seems almost to float above the waves.
The traditional village square is where it’s at for classic taverna-style dining at the aptly-named… Taverna. Here on the cobbled piazza is also where you’ll find Kafeneio, a cute cafe where death by coffee and baklava seems a distinct (but by no means unpleasant) possibility.
Hotel Bar
Honey-toned stone walls, proud Zakynthian arches, a signature Euthymia cocktail that fuses tequila, lime, strawberry, cucumber, watermelon and mint: Noble Lounge Bar has it all. Prop up the polished marble bar, or grab a nearby table with – yes – more fine views overlooking the Ionian.
Last Orders
Noble is open for drinks and cocktails from 10am to 6pm. Dinner at Elea is served from 7.30pm to 10pm.
Room Service
Available 24/7.
Planes
You may well feel like you’ve left civilisation far behind out here in the Zakynthian countryside. In fact, Lesante Cape is a mere six miles from Zakynthos Airport, around a 20-minute drive. The resort can arrange taxis on request.
Automobiles
While there’s plenty to keep you occupied in the resort, those who yearn to explore the cape’s magnificent beaches and indulge in long retsina-fuelled lunches in traditional hillside villages will need their own set of wheels (and a designated driver, natch). There’s free valet parking at the resort.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
In the highly unlikely event you tire of rolling out of bed and straight into the spa or infinity pool, there’s plenty more entertainment to be squeezed from this apparently sleepy stretch of Zakynthos’ east coast.
Despite its distinctly laid back vibe, Lesante Cape is no slouch when it comes to organising activities both on site and off. Day trips aboard one of the resort’s fleet of private yachts are a fine way to see the sights without wearing holes in your flip-flops. Shipwreck Beach is one of the island's most beautiful and secluded coves. Accessible only by boat (carefully: the clue’s in the name) and with fine, clear waters for snorkelling, it’s a postcard image of cerulean seas, bone-white sands and chalky cliffs topped with lush green vegetation. Bang in the middle of the beach sits one of Zakynthos’ most photographed attractions: the rusting hull of the MV Panagiotis cargo ship, scuttled here back in 1980. For something a little less touristy, Marathonisi island promises tiny deserted beaches and sunlit caves.
Landlubbers can borrow bicycles for exploring the nearby countryside and its remote villages, such as the nearby village of Akrotiri and, just a little further down the coast, the island’s capital: Zakynthos (or Zante) Town. It’s here you’ll find the highest concentration of historical attractions, despite much of the town being laid waste by the Great Ionian Earthquake back in 1953. Belt out the Greek national anthem on Dionysios Solomos Square at the foot of the statue of the man who wrote it and check out altar panels and frescoes salvaged from church ruins in the wake of the earthquake at the nearby Byzantine Museum.
Back at the resort, further activities including olive picking, wine tasting and cookery classes – using produce plucked from the garden by your own fair hands, no less – will inspire plenty of purple prose for your postcards home.
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. .
