Since the dawn of mass tourism in Europe, one sparkling idealistic image of what holidays should look like has remained unchanged. If you close your eyes you can see it. It’s a picture of beautiful people dancing, lounging on sun beds and sipping drinks by the sea. There’s a bar, and maybe a pool, and there’s decadence, but in the background there’s bright-blue sea, little sugar cube-like houses, and maybe a donkey.
Few beach parties can compete with the ones you’ll experience in Greece, and few countries can claim to offer the establishments necessary to host such parties. And while the menus and décor of the Greek bars may nowadays change as rapidly as swimwear trends and the meltemi wind, they continue to influence their counterparts around the world.
“If all beach bars have started to feel strangely familiar, whether you’re in Canggu, Cartagena or Comporta, blame it on Scorpios,” Condé Nast Traveller recently wrote about the famous Mykonos beach bar which attracts all flavors of jetsetters. “There are close encounters with musicians, mystics, dancers and DJs who lead sunset rituals – euphoric gatherings that might include Zoroastrian mantras, ethno-electro jams, group breathwork and whirling dervishes. If this all sounds like a neo-hippie nightmare, it’s not. Think of it more like a grown-up version of the island’s notorious party scene; an evolution from all-night raves to all-day chilling (even if the photogenic waiters have a little too much swagger),” the description continues.
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Scorpios is one of the establishments listed on the travel magazine’s list of the best beach clubs in the world for the summer of 2022. Naturally, Greece is among the most featured countries, tied for second place with Mexico, and beaten only by Spain – quite unsurprisingly, as Spain is also usually the only country to beat Greece for number of Blue Flag beaches.
The list includes another two beach clubs on Mykonos, and one on the Athenian Riviera. The latter, Krabo in Vouliagmeni, opened by a family steeped in hospitality experience in the area since the 60s, is also described as “Scorpios-inspired,” while the other two establishments on Mykonos are all about partying; Ftelia Pacha promises a new “open beach experience” with the “fun, freedom, and hedonism of Ibiza,” while Nammos, on legendary Psarou beach, boasts $5,000-a-day cabanas and “bacchanalian parties with Leonardo di Caprio holding court.”
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No matter how many the versions of the same thing, the original idea is still central: carefree luxury, accentuated by that hint of authenticity that can come from virgin nature, or the signature style of traditional settlements on the Greek islands.
Sister to the Cycladic hotspot, Nammos in Dubai is on the list too. This favorite among the local glitterati and expat community which opened just before the pandemic but has still managed to create a buzz, makes no excuses as it aims to replicate the Mykonos vibe to a tee. “It is a design U-turn from the inflatable flamingos and wiggle-shaped in-water loungers that populate the rest of Dubai’s waterfront,” the Condé Nast list explains: “In an emirate hellbent on innovation, Nammos brings a glint of old-school island charm and traces of a traditional Greek taverna.” They serve authentic Greek cuisine, of course, and even the service is Greek, with staff “flown in from the homeland.”
