Anemi Hotel ★★★★★

Folegandros is a lesser-known neighbour of Santorini, but is all the better for it. We felt a teensy bit smug leaving the majority of tourists behind as we took the ferry onwards to our destination. I love arriving at my Greek island by ferry; I daydream of Odysseus seeking his Penelope. The sea is so entwined with Greek culture; going there I want not just to swim in it and gaze upon it, but to travel on it. With sugar cube-white houses tumbling down to the water's edge and sun-scorched sand-castle colours during the summer, the Cyclades are a starkly beautiful archipelago to witness. From the port, our destination was a five-minute taxi ride away. We could tell on arrival that this was a place that had been born of a craftsman's eye. The Anemi Hotel **** is a place where the natural beauty of the Greek islands is expertly brought to a cutting-edge status, without losing the essence of its charm.

The staff are warm and efficient, making us feel welcomed and considerately cared for during our stay. The whole complex has been designed by a team working with a renowned Athenian designer. There's a flow from the outside spaces, where colours are chosen to harmonise with nature's backdrop, to the interior, where comfort and simplicity reign. I loved the colours of the stone used in the structures. As well as those bright whitewashed walls with soft curving edges so characteristic of Greece, there were stone walls in all shades of the earth. Cushions picked out these colours in tranquil outside seating areas where shade came with the perfume of climbing jasmine and the drama of scarlet bougainvillea. The pool area was heavenly, a sheet of blue that stretches out to merge with the sea beyond.
 
Greek cuisine is effortlessly delicious, simple food with soul. But the chefs at The Anemi know how to present traditional recipes with flair. Our first evening's dinner was particularly memorable, and not just because we'd subsisted on aeroplane food that day. Sitting out at dusk, when the clear blue sky started to streak with colours, we were brought aromatic dishes made from the wild herbs and local produce of the island.

In the morning the sunlight streamed into our room, and my husband had a new-found strength to jump out of bed, fling open the curtains and open the doors to the balcony to let the sweet sea air in. We ordered room service to enjoy our private terrace with its view of the harbour, the Aegean and her islands. Our room was plush and artistic, with a tasteful modern print doubling as the headboard. The furniture was a blend of contemporary design and traditional pieces, with a typical Greek colour scheme – that blue of the sea and the white of the walls.

After nearly a week at the Anemi Hotel I felt that my senses had been sharpened. Leaving Folegandros on the ferry, in a reverie of Odysseus again, I thought how a story about such a strong longing for home might only have been possible about a Greek island.