Nirema Hotel & Spa Samos brings the island its first MGallery Collection hotel, with sea views, private-pool suites and a Samian wine cellar.
MGallery Collection, part of Accor, has opened Nirema Hotel & Spa Samos on the Greek island of Samos, the first MGallery hotel on the island.
Samos, in the North Aegean, is known for pine-forested mountains that sweep down to a turquoise sea, and for being the island that gave the world Pythagoras and the Muscat grape. The hotel sits on the coast at Malagari, at the entrance to Vathy, the island’s quiet capital, beside the Museum of Samos Wine. It has 72 rooms and suites, including eight suites with private pools and terraces, and it looks out over the Aegean Sea, Vathy Bay and the Ampelos hills. The name comes from the Samian dialect word for “dream,” and the hotel is adult-friendly, welcoming children over 13.
Rooms are built around the view. The Superior Room with Sea View, at 23 square metres, and the Deluxe Room with Sea View, at 33 square metres, each have a private balcony over the Aegean and a modern bathroom with a walk-in shower. The Executive Suite, at 37 square metres, adds sweeping sea views and a sofa bed. For more privacy, the Signature Room with Sea View and Plunge Pool puts a private plunge pool on the balcony, and the Deluxe Suite with Panoramic Sea View and Plunge Pool, at 42 square metres, pairs a king bed and a sofa bed with the same plunge-pool setup.
Outside, guests have an infinity pool overlooking the sea and a private beach area with sunbeds and a beach bar serving light bites. The Luo Spa offers treatments inspired by Samos’ natural elements.
Wine is a thread running through the property. The Curvus wine cellar hosts tastings, including a Samian wine ritual in which a sommelier pours local wines into a Cup of Pythagoras, a vessel with a hidden siphon that empties completely when overfilled. Each guest keeps their cup. The Muscat grape has grown on the island’s terraced slopes since antiquity, and the wine museum is next door.
Dining includes Apagia, the ground-floor breakfast restaurant, which pairs a curated buffet of local flavours with made-to-order dishes and katimeria, traditional Samian pancakes served with honey, mastiha or anise. Apora, the pool restaurant, shifts from light island bites by day to evening dining with elevated Aegean flavours drawn from the stories of Samos and Asia Minor.
Beyond the hotel, Vathy’s harbour is a five-minute stroll away, according to the hotel, and from there the old quarter of Ano Vathy climbs the hill in neoclassical style. The Archaeological Museum of Samos is five minutes away, and the Tunnel of Eupalinos, cut through Mount Kastro in the sixth century BC, is a 20-minute drive. Samos International Airport is also about 20 minutes away, with year-round connections from Athens, and Blue Star Ferries sails from Piraeus to Vathy port. The hotel also has a meeting space called Logos, named for the Greek word for “reason” on the island of Pythagoras.
The hotel is managed by SWOT Hospitality Management and joins Athens Capital Hotel, NIKO Seaside Resort Crete and Athens Capital Suites in MGallery’s Greek portfolio, and Accor has announced four further MGallery projects in the country, including in Chania and the Athens region. Maud Bailly, CEO of Sofitel Legend, Sofitel, MGallery & Emblems, says MGallery is “a collection of hotels defined by stories,” and that Nirema tells Samos’ through its landscapes, wellbeing rituals and wine heritage.