48 Hours at Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge, Mykonos
One advantage of our job is that we get to travel in the best seasons of each destination without intending to do so. Travelling atypically only has a long list of advantages, not only is it less crowded, you‘re more likely to become tables at the most-celebrated dinner locations and save on the hotel room prices. Having been to Capri in May, I needed another celebrity spot to discover for an extended weekend in October. I was very hesitant to fly to Mykonos having thought that the season would be over and all places being shut down. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Also, did I underestimate the hotel standards on Mykonos compared to what I have seen so far during my stays in Greece. Never would I have expected to be blown away by Bill&Coo Suites and Lounge - a property that felt so under-the-radar I didn‘t even know about before researching interesting hotels to feature.
Just three minutes outside of Mykonos Town, we turned into the driveway of the hotel for the weekend. The doors of our Fiat500 Cabrio were opened with a smiling „Welcome to Bill&Coo a proud member of the Leading Hotels of the World“ - and we were sure, this is a hotel of another calibre. Already upon entering the main entrance, there was a slight hint of what we were about to expect the next few days. An array of staff was expecting us and welcomed each of us personally. We were offered a seat in their comfy outdoor sofas and immediately served a delicious welcome drink along with sweet treats and a refreshing towel that had an amazing cocoa smell. It was the first time that I was asked to download a hotel app and do the check-in partly by myself. The staff asked for the passport and credit card while I just needed to enter my address and contact details. I found it a good way to avoid paperwork and this way I also had a chat possibility over the phone which came in handy for every wish we had without needing to call the front desk each time.
The front desk manager George came by personally to welcome and inform us that we were upgraded to one of their three new villas between the beach and the main facilities. We were as excited as two small children not even knowing what to expect. Since we arrived at 1 pm and it rained the day before, they needed two hours for the preparation. This came in handy hence we could enjoy the panoramic main pool and have a light lunch while sunbathing with the most spectacular view on the island. Service at the bar and restaurant was impeccable and reminded me very much of a Mandarin Oriental with the staff members trying to have conversations with the guests and interacting personally as often as possible. I loved chatting with the staff from the pool bar, everyone was so genuine and dedicated. Another amazing service: they offer free-flow water service at the pool during the day so you are not forced to purchase water bottles and still keep hydrated. For lunch, we chose a Cesar Salad and grilled octopus - both extremely tasty and fairly priced for Mykonos standards (considering you are staying on the island‘s number one hotel). When George informed us that the villa would be ready, we quickly got changed in their spa next to their state-of-the-art gym with quite a good selection of TechnoGym equipment.
As mentioned earlier the Villas are located at the bottom of the resort right on the entrance gate - across the street is the beach already. We were allocated Villa 2 which is the most beautiful from my very personal point of view. Upon entering, we were impressed by the impeccable design of the stunning Villa at Bill&Coo Suites and Lounge. There was a spacious open plan living room with a boho-styled seating area and a super cool in-villa bar with a Nespresso coffee machine and pre-mixed cocktails next to the usual minibar stuff of course. In the heart of the villa was the bedroom with a heavenly double bed that was just simply perfect and came with my new favourite pillows, flatscreen television and a super cool reading chair with a fresh orchid. I would be lying if I wouldn‘t call the bathroom interior design heaven: the faucets in the entire resort are something Woah, I haven‘t seen a hotel with cooler ones! A spacious shower that had a sliding door to the bathroom terrace was a stand-alone highlight wouldn‘t there have been a set of my favourite Diptyque toiletries in generous 110ml. I was in absolute hotel heaven.
How does a hotel get better than this? Well by offering an outdoor space that is almost more amazing than the inside of the villa. So when we made it to the seaside terrace, I was blown away by the design of the outdoor kitchen that had a sleek dining table on the opposite, seating a party of four to six. The highlight this time was the heated infinity pool with a length of 15 meters and a width of 13 meters. It was perfect to swim a few laps or lounge on the wooden deck right next to the pool on the comfy design beds. For all those wanting to host private aperitivo on the terrace, there is a spacious living room with two armchairs and a corner sofa. Overall the villa is a resort itself and we never needed to leave the villa - only want to discover the island and its celebrated gastronomy outlets. So of course we went to the classics such as Zuma, Buddha Bar and Nusr-Et - however, we only realized that the Bill&Coo Suites and Lounge offers one of the best (if not THE best) dining options with a restaurant often referred to as two-star Michelin level. I mean we had to keep some of the to-dos for our next stay at Bill&Coo.
What impressed us besides the top-notch service was the uber-professional housekeeping team cleaning the villa in 20 minutes and always finding it impeccable again when returning from our dinners. Breakfast was another topic we actually should write a separate review to appreciate what the Bill&Coo Suites and Loung team is delivering there. There is no buffet at the hotel but breakfast is served rather a la carte in a very relaxed and laid back atmosphere overlooking the main pool and terrace. The staff hands over a well-selected breakfast menu from which you can choose as much as you want. I went for the Eggs Benedict with Prosciutto ham - and gosh - these were among the three best Egg dishes I have had since I started this platform! In addition to the main dish, I had two of their Tartines - a slice of toasted bread - one with avocado cream, tomato and spring onions and the other one with salmon and cucumber. Needless to mention the orange juice was freshly pressed, the coffee excellent and also the other juices extremely well thought through. Service again was the real winner, once a plate was finished and just as I wanted to place it on the other side of the table, a staff member arrived and took it away. Or when I waited for my colleague and looked lonely, the lady came and talked a bit with me about where I would be heading next and if my stay would be going just as I wanted.
The little details do make the difference and I have to say that I was impressed throughout my three days at Bill&Coo Suites and Lounge. I can‘t expect that this happens at every luxury hotel and I have had less spectacular stays at Leading Hotels so Bill&Coo Suites and Lounge does an incredible outrageous job and goes beyond expectations here! I mean compared to what you pay in other hotels on the island and what you get there, I would say Bill&Coo Suites and Lounge is the absolute go-to place without evening doubting a second. The major problem lies in the availability, you have to be lucky to be checking out one of their rooms or one of the three villas, this property is beloved by many celebrities so chances are high you won‘t even be able to score a room here. Would I stay there again? Definitely and I would go there again in the first weeks of October or Mid May - just right out of high season to avoid overcrowded restaurants because I don‘t want to plan my life around dinner reservations - the opposite needs to be the case for me on vacation. Waking up in the Bill&Coo bed, having a stellar a la carte breakfast and then spend the entire day at the private pool of your villa to then decide at sunset what kind of food and party you are in the mood for today. That‘s the good life or how they call it: #TheBillAndCooWayOfLife
We were guests of the Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge, however the above written has not been influenced.
