Bill & Coo, Mykonos: the perfect antidote to the island's party 'til dawn ethos

Tucked away in a glittering corner around the bay from the Old Town, Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge does sunkissed chic seaside to a T.

Yes, it’s Myknonos so all is sexy and fabulous, but it’s also very laid-back — the sort of place that will scoop you up (toddler in tow) and make you forget that you’re on an island synonymous with a party-loving crowd. It’s the perfect, head-clearing antidote to all that happens down by the port.

Where

Just a 15-minute walk around the coastal road from the Old Town, Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge offers guests a chance to slip into the capital’s bustling food and nightlife scene, with its famous Insta-worthy windmills, but also retreat from the madding crowds when laying horizontal on a sunlounger beckons.

The hotel was Bill & Coo’s first and has been dubbed one of the best hotels in Mykonos since its opening in 2006, with its sister adults-only property Bill & Coo Coast Suites, an eight-minute drive away. The airport is just an eight-minute drive from the property.

Style

The hotel has swoon-worthy good looks, with bright white and earthy neutral interiors. Whitewashed villas glow a gorgeous pink at sunset. It’s minimalist without feeling fussy.

As soon as you step through the lobby and out onto the pool deck, the hotel’s heartbeat, with its supersized loungers, handmade chestnut furniture and squishy sofas, from which to take in that mesmerising view out across the Aegean, your hunched-up shoulders begin to loosen. It’s a spellbinding backdrop, one that takes in a pink roofed church, with olive tree-lined islands rising out beneath the water like mushrooms in the distance. Even as you stand there, bleary-eyed after a four-hour flight with a fidgety two-year-old, you’ll stop and gawp.

You can forget a poolside DJ, instead gentle beach tunes breeze through the warm air as handsome staff in crisp white uniforms fetch you an ice-cold glass of your favourite white, while mixing up kids mocktails that stop full-blown tantrums in their tracks.

While it’s not an all-singing, all-dancing family resort, the staff here turn giddy at the sight of little ones and they’ll do whatever they can to make your stay feel seamless — whether that’s rustling up something off-menu, fetching evening milk or organising babysitting.

Facilities

Alongside its handsome pool deck, Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge has its own tucked-away spa, built beneath the rocks for cave-like zen. It might have just two treatment rooms but they are sprawling in size, each with two treatment beds and their own hot tubs, with showers, saunas and a steam room — unsurprisingly, these are popular with honeymooners.

As the only Valmont Spa in Mykonos, it’s worth booking in for a facial using the Swiss skincare brand’s award-winning products, beginning with a nourishing cleansing balm gently massaged into the skin, followed with a gentle exfoliating mask and toxin-draining massage (we challenge you not to drift off to sleep).

For a salty-sea blast, guests can hop in one of the hotel’s cars for a complimentary transfer over to sister hotel Bill & Coo Coast Suites where a private beach sanctuary awaits with sink-in loungers and table service. Children are welcome here and they’ll fetch them their own giant bean bags ideal for a mid-afternoon nap while waiters proffer trays of Aperol Spritz and lobster rolls, always making sure you have enough ice in your G&T.

Extracurricular

Since you’re just a 15-minute walk around the coast from the Old Town, Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge is perfectly located to explore the island’s buzzing foodie scene, not to mention the famous windmills and windy, cobbled lanes with whitewashed buildings, creeping bougainvillaea and blue-shuttered homes. If the walk seems a bit too far in the heat-of-the-day with small children, it’s probably better to book a car, just be mindful that even a 10-minute journey will set you back around 36 Euros each way.

Romantic souls will want to book a table at waterside restaurant Nero Nero, where you can watch out for proposals (neromykonos.com). Or lunch at off-the-beaten track beach taverna Fokas on the north of the island where you can tuck into crab au gratin before taking a dip in sea.

At any time, staff are just a Whatsapp away and can organise cars, book tables in town and generally be on hand to recommend haunts in the local area, whether that’s wine tasting at the scenic Vioma organic farm outside Ano Mera village or a day trip to the tiny abandoned island of Delos. The concierge team can happily organise bigger adventures too, from chartering a yacht for the day to taking an epic helicopter island excursion.

Food & drink

YĒVO at Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge is the hotel’s new fine-dining restaurant with executive Chef Aggelos Bakopoulo at the helm, where you can tuck into a five or seven-course menu inspired by the island’s flavoursome local produce. Perfect to feast on while you drink in that watery view.

From a refreshing basil sorbet with diced cucumber to cod served with caviar and fennel flowers, to the unmissable white chocolate coated ‘lemon’ pudding, filled with a vanilla mousse and lemon crémeux, every plate feels like a piece of art. Fear not, the vibe is chill enough for you to bring children and the chef happily whipped the tastiest bowl of pasta up that my toddler has ever eaten from a kids’ menu.

Elsewhere on the pool deck is Sunset Lounge, where bartenders shake up zesty cocktails as guests gather to catch a glimpse of the island’s famous syrupy sunsets — there’s no better view from here, sipping on a ‘Bill’s Fresh’ (gin, mint, basil, soda) and watching everything turn a hazy hue of apricot.

Breakfast is a huge highlight here too, with giant croissants and pastries, made in-house by the pastry chef, not to mention platters of sun-ripened fruit and Greek yoghurt, truffle omelettes, fresh juices and smiley face pancakes. A highlight everyday was seeing the always-beaming Dimitris, who has worked for the hotel group for over 12 years, persuade us to try as much as we could from the menu.

Don’t miss dinner at the buzzy-as-a-honeypot Beefbar Mykonos at Bill & Coo Coast Suites — the hotel will arrange complimentary transfers — with its barefoot Riviera vibe and terrace overlooking the magnificent bay, ideal for people-watching as motorboats nip in and out, depositing the great and the good. You’ll be hard pressed to choose from the menu here as it’s all utterly tempting, but the grilled wagyu steaks, barbecued black cod and homemade French fries are a must.

Which room?

It’s impossible to get a bad room at Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge and there are six categories to choose from — the most in-demand include the suites with their own pools with staggering views of the acid-blue glittering ocean.

Families should book into one of the new Bill & Coo villas, all three of which can be booked separately or together to create a sweeping two or three-bedroomed residence. Despite being just a few minutes downhill from the main hotel, these vast villas feel totally private thanks to their large terraces made for wafting around, each with private pools, daybeds and plenty of hidey-holes to curl up in with a good book. Oh, and the children? You won’t be able to get them out of the pool, even for ice cream.

Best for…

Experiencing a laid-back Mykonos. Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge is the absolute antithesis of look-at-me ostentation, this is a hotel that makes you feel as if you’re in on a very exclusive secret. While it’s a predominantly grown-up kind of place, children are welcomed with open-arms. A watery, laid-back oasis — leaving the hotel is the only low.

The details

Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge operates between April to October, with starting rates for suites from £420 per night. bill-coo-hotel.com