Fodor's Expert Review Bratsera Hotel

An 1860 sponge factory was transformed into this charming character hotel (doors made out of old packing crates still bearing the "Piraeus sponge" stamp, etc.), which has a bevy of alluring delights, including guest-room decor accented with framed portraits, old engravings, four-poster ironwork beds, and cozy natural wood lofts, and the hotel restaurant—considered one of the island's best—which is set in the oleander-and-bougainvillea-graced courtyard. Recently spruced-up in 2019, hints of the building's rustic past are visible in the Hydriot gray stonework, exposed-timber ceilings, and wide-plank floors. The bar-restaurant tables spill out poolside, dishing out mouth-watering gourmet Mediterranean fare. Not surprisingly, regulars return year after year.