Review: The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort, Costa Navarino

Messinia is a ravishingly remote corner of the southwest Peloponnese that’s a four-hour drive from Athens (or one hour from tiny Kalamata airport). It was well under the radar until the advent of Navarino Dunes, a 320-acre Mediterranean-hugging resort that’s part of the ambitious Costa Navarino development—a modern take on a classic agora of shops, restaurants, cafés, and a cavernous spa flanked by two hotels. The 321-room Romanos is more exclusive, with low-slung buildings wrapped around a series of seductively lit lagoons. It’s aimed squarely at couples, with poolside cabanas and plunge pools in nearly all its ground-floor rooms. Dark wood and polished marble interiors are quietly understated relative to the glitzy clientele. Doubles from $422.