Santorini, Rediscovered
Shouldn’t Greece’s most iconic destination be led by those who know it best?
From the Caldera cliffs to the island’s pastoral interior and volcanic shore,
Empiria Group’s Santorini portfolio revives a more authentic narrative.
In a destination too often filtered through the same glossy lens, one leading hospitality company is quietly restoring Santorini’s soul. From the Caldera cliffs to the island’s pastoral interior and volcanic shore, Empiria Group’s Santorini portfolio revives a more authentic narrative.
Led by Antonis Eliopoulos and Kalia Konstantinidou, Empiria Group draws from a deeper well—a reverence for the island’s history, culture, and enduring beauty. What began with the transformation of a neoclassical mansion and vineyard in Megalohori into Santorini’s first five-star resort has grown into a vision of hospitality that feels both timeless and quietly radical. To see Santorini through their eyes is not to discover something new, but to remember something essential.
Vedema, a Luxury Collection Resort in the medieval village of Megalohori, Mystique, a Luxury Collection Hotel perched on the island’s iconic Caldera, Istoria, a Member of Design Hotels, a beachfront sanctuary on Perivolos beach and Hommage Collection, a group of suites and villas – enter the 2025 season with bold architectural updates, immersive culinary experiences and a renewed focus on contemporary, intuitive hospitality. Each property speaks to a different rhythm of island life—an invitation to rediscover the untold story of Santorini.
VEDEMA, A LUXURY COLLECTION RESORT
New Suites and Villas
As Santorini’s first luxury resort, Vedema opened in the 1990s to wide acclaim. Now, nestled among centuries-old vineyards in the medieval village of Megalohori, the property enters a new chapter—expanding from 59 to 74 accommodations with 15 new suites and villas. Designed by Athens-based Interior Design Laboratorium, the additions honor Vedema’s timeless aesthetic with local stone, hand-finished woodwork, and a restrained Cycladic palette that lets light and texture take the lead.
Among the new offerings are the Corinthian Villa, a 120-square-meter, two-bedroom retreat with a fully equipped kitchen, generous living area, and a private patio featuring a heated pool with views over the lush vineyards, and the Aegean Sea, is the ideal fit for families. For larger groups, the Grecian Villa spans 130 square meters with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a spacious kitchen and living area, and an expansive outdoor terrace with its own pool. Both villas offer the flexibility of interconnecting layouts, ideal for families or those seeking added closeness and comfort.
The hotel reopens for the 2025 season, this year offering family-friendly activities to immerse guests in Santorini’s culture. These include craft workshops, cooking classes, Greek language lessons, museum visits, spa treatments, hiking, and farm visits focused on sustainability.
MYSTIQUE, A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL
A Renovation of Accommodations; A Design Refresh
Perched high above the Caldera in Oia, Mystique has long offered a front-row seat to the Aegean. For the 2025 season, the iconic retreat unveils a full redesign and a stunning new aesthetic of its 42 suites and villas—an elevated, elemental evolution of its signature cave-style architecture.
Led by Athens-based Interior Design Laboratorium, the newly revitalized interiors embrace restraint over excess, using primarily natural materials and sun-washed tones, breathing new life into eco-waste and redefining modern design – such as upcycling olive pits transformed into sculptural furniture—merging innovation with intention. Bespoke pieces crafted by Greek artisans follow organic forms, inspired by the sculptural architecture of Santorini, resulting in a clean design that is simple, pure, and peaceful, while a curated collection of Greek ceramics honours the island’s rich heritage and craftsmanship. The result is grounded, refreshing spaces—where the design gently recedes and the view remains the hero.
The New Collaboration at Lure Restaurant at Mystique with Acclaimed Chef Thanos Feskos: A Gastronomic Dialogue with the Cyclades
This season also marks a new culinary direction at Lure, the hotel’s gastronomic flagship, led by Executive Chef Thanos Feskos, who in his career has led restaurants to earn two Michelin stars, and a Michelin Green Star. Feskos’s career is a study in culinary innovation and excellence, shaping some of the world’s most acclaimed restaurants. Together with Head Chef Christos Nikolakopoulos, the new Lure kitchen presents a fine expression of comfort Greek cuisine using local and seasonal ingredients whilst championing a zero-waste approach.
Every plate is a carefully composed study of Santorini’s volcanic landscape, rooted in tradition, shaped by modern craft, and driven by innovation. From hand-dived seafood, sun-ripened vegetables, and wild island herbs to Santorini’s katsouni cucumber, capers, and white eggplant, the menu is a meditation on purity and seasonality. House-made charcuterie, fermented and cured in-house, speaks to the kitchen’s commitment to craft. Zero-waste extractions, from lemon verbena to citrus peels, are transformed into infusions that echo the island’s ecosystem.
The restaurant’s design, much like its cuisine, reflects a deep reverence for Santorini’s volcanic topography. A natural palette, organic textures, handcrafted local ceramics by Greek artists and an architectural dialogue with the caldera’s undulating forms create an environment that is both restrained and effortlessly chic.
ISTORIA, A MEMBER OF DESIGN HOTELS
New Programming and One Michelin Key Awarded
Perched on the volcanic black sands of Perivolos Beach, Istoria offers a salt-swept, sand-between-your-toes kind of luxury. Recently awarded with one Michelin Key, the property releases new gastronomy and authentic experiences for this summer season. Taking its name from the Greek word for “story,” Istoria is a residential-like beach retreat once home to a horse lover’s private mansion—complete with five original stables. Now, it houses just 12 ethereal suites, each imbued with strikingly arched architecture, and secluded terraces.
Summer Screenings Under the Stars
This summer, Istoria introduces Cinema Nights, an open-air celebration of the beloved therinó—Greece’s nostalgic tradition of alfresco moviegoing. Against the backdrop of starry-filled Aegean sky, a curated selection of films that echo the spirit of island life, Mediterranean romance, and timeless storytelling will be screened weekly complimentary for both hotel guests and island movie lovers. From Greek cult favorites to European classics, each film is a window into a world where summer never ends, paired with bespoke cocktail pairings and a gourmet popcorn.
A Ritual of Dining, A Celebration of Place at Istoria’s Beachfront
Dining at Istoria is a ritual rooted in Cycladic tradition and myth—where fire, iron, and ancestral technique converge to elevate every ingredient. Honoring the island’s volcanic origins and the legacy of Hephaestus, the God of fire, dishes are prepared with elemental methods dating back to the Bronze Age, including grilling over iron spits, the world-famous souvlaki, a practice born in Santorini and steeped in symbolism. Each plate draws from the rhythms of land and sea—sun-soaked herbs, brined delicacies, and local harvests transformed through smoke and skill into something quietly transcendent. With dinner by reservation only, the experience is intentional, intimate, and deeply attuned to seasonality, sustainability, and Santorini’s sacred sense of place.
A CULTURAL COLLABORATION AT EMPIRIA GROUP
A Landmark Cultural Moment
This summer also marks a milestone for Santorini’s cultural landscape. On June 20, the long-awaited, emblematic pan-cycladic exhibition Kykladitisses: Untold Stories of Women in the Cyclades, organized by the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Ministry of Culture in Athens, will travel to Santorini to inaugurate the renovated Archaeological Museum of Thera. Running through October 31, the exhibition sheds light on the roles and representations of women in the prehistoric Cyclades, offering a rare and resonant perspective on the island’s ancient past.
Of the exhibits—many of which could be featured individually—one work stands out for its uniqueness and scale: the colossal Kore of Thera (2.48 meters high), one of the very few nearly intact Archaic statues, which will return to its home and will be exhibited in Greece for the first time.
Empiria Group is proud to support this landmark event, which not only revitalizes one of Santorini’s most important cultural institution, with the aim of studying, highlighting and promoting the Cycladic culture in Greece and abroad, but also invites visitors to engage more deeply with the spirit and heritage of the Cyclades.
Editor’s notes:
Rates for the new suites at Vedema start at EUR 370 per suite, per night based on double occupancy, and villas range from EUR 770 to EUR 2070. Rates vary based on seasonality. For more information and to book, please visit www.vedema.gr I@vedema_resort
Rates at Mystique start at EUR 750 per suite, per night based on double occupancy, and villas range from EUR 1550 to EUR 2350. Rates vary based on seasonality. For more information and to book, please visit www.mystique.gr | @mystique_hotel
Rates at Istoria start at EUR 400 per suite, per night based on double occupancy. Rates vary based on seasonality. The resort opens as of 16 May 2025. For more information and to book, please visit www.istoriahotel.gr
About Empiria Group
Leading privately-owned hospitality group, Empiria Group was created in 1989 by Antonis Eliopoulos, and joined by his wife Kalia Konstantinidou. Empiria Group successfully manages three awarded five-star hotels and several luxurious villas in Santorini, two five-star hotels and a villa complex in Paros, as well as a boutique hotel in Peloponnese. Each property, with distinct character and personality, offers elevated experiences, whilst being underpinned by four key fundamental values of finding joy, always elevating, exuding passion and being a leader in the field. These values direct Empiria Group’s soul and ensure that it delivers on its purpose of creating space for joy for the global sophisticated traveler. With a strong sense of location in the most exclusive destinations, Empiria Group draws inspiration from the surrounding abundant Greek nature, exemplifying heritage and provenance. By emphasizing sublime regional architecture, holistic wellbeing, and meaningful experiences that reflect the local culture, Empiria Group immerses guests in the carefree state of mind that defines the authentic Cycladic Island life.
For more information, please visit Empiria Group I Instagram:@empiria_group I LinkedIn: Empiria Group