The Views
The first thing we noticed at The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort was the view. The coast of Greece stretched out beyond the resort, and the beach gave us plenty of reasons to slow down.
The beach is coarse sand, but where we might look for shells at home, we found smooth rocks of varying shapes and sizes to pick up along the water. The sea was so refreshing with a smooth rocky bottom to coast through the waves.
Many lounge chair pairs with umbrellas are available and a restaurant and bar are open right on the beach. Food and drinks can be delivered to your loungers.
Food
We spent a lot of our stay deciding where to eat next. Souvlakerie was a favorite when we wanted Greek food, and Onuki made for a beautiful evening of upscale Japanese food with a view. Breakfast was included with our stay, and it was too good to rush. The spread seemed to have everything we could imagine, and it lasted until 11 each morning. Most days, we turned it into brunch and skipped lunch altogether!
Activities
There’s plenty to do between meals. The Romanos has multiple pools, including a quieter adult pool. We also had access to the adjoining Westin Resort Costa Navarino. The kids weren’t with us on this trip, but they would have loved the slides and large kids area. In the evening, we liked wandering the Agora at Navarino Dunes for its cute shops and gelato.
Our favorite part of the trip happened away from the resort. Ask the concierge to book an authentic Greek cooking experience. We drove about 20 minutes up the road to a Greek home, where we cooked and ate with the most gracious women and another couple. Sharing their kitchen and then sitting down together to enjoy what we had made was the experience we kept talking about afterward. We even did some Greek dancing! If you do one thing beyond the beach and pools, make it this.
Getting to Costa Navarino
You can fly into Athens International Airport and drive roughly three hours to the resort. We loved seeing the scenery along the way. For a shorter drive, look for flights into Kalamata International Airport (KLX), the closest airport. It’s about 45 km (28 miles) from Navarino Dunes; Costa Navarino’s travel information has details for both routes.
The Romanos gave us the beach, the food, and the beautiful Greek coast we hoped for. But being welcomed into a local home to cook and share a meal is what made this stay feel especially memorable.
We hope to come back one day with our children to share this delightful resort and culture with them.
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