The best beach hotels in the Mediterranean
An expert guide to the best beach hotels in the Mediterranean, featuring the top places to stay for sea views, great restaurants, buzzing nightlife and heated pools, for kids, couples and families, in locations including Majorca, Greece, Sardinia, Croatia, Turkey and the French Riviera.
Hotel Tamariu
Tamariu, Catalonia, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
If you want a beach right on the doorstep, this hotel, positioned on the small seafront promenade in the village of Tamariu, is ideal. There are scenic walks along the coastal path, and the larger, sandier beaches of Calella de Palafrugell or Llafranc are a short drive away. The style is a mixture of homely charm and simple, crisp style. The smart hotel restaurant looks directly out onto Tamariu’s seafront promenade so you can tuck into the buffet breakfast whilst enjoying the sea views. Read expert review From £123 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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ME Mallorca
Magaluf, Majorca, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
The hotel is right on a lovely beach so you want a room at the front. Décor is white and bright with purple, silver and black fabrics for a bit of glamour. White and neutral shades contrast with metallic glitz to create the vibe of a rather cool club. Music thuds away in the background at all times but is not overpowering. The suites on the upper floors have baths by the window so you can gaze across the Med while getting in the mood for clubbing or dine at the beachfront Pez Playa restaurant. Read expert review From £128 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Grand Palladium White Island Resort & Spa
Playa d'en Bossa, Ibiza, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
The sleek new five-star Grand Palladium White Island offers a bit of Ibizan glitz and glamour in the comfort of a resort complex, with tons of facilities. Right on the beach and near nightlife, the White Island will keep all members of the family happy, from small kids to teenagers, to parents who might want to do a bit of clubbing as well as lie around the pool. It is all white and gold and shiny with a sensation of space and light. Natural tones are soothing after a night out. Read expert review From £338 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Le Negresco
Nice, Provence, France
8Telegraph expert rating
Michelin-starred dining, sea views and a wealth of antique furniture make this a popular choice among European royalty and holidaying celebrities, bang on the Med in Nice, close to Place Masséna. Everyone from Khrushchev to Richard Burton has enjoyed a drink in its Le Relais bar. The views from the sea-front rooms are the ones you should expect to see when St Peter ushers you through the Pearly Gates. Read expert review From £350 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Hotel La Perouse
Nice, Provence, France
9Telegraph expert rating
Though minutes from the centre, La Pérouse seems slightly withdrawn, in a private stretch of Provence where comfort, politeness and flowers hold sway. Built up and around the rocky headland, the hotel winds hither and yon to fool the brightest GPS. At some stage, it will release you to the loveliest hotel terrace in Nice where pool, bar and restaurant are found in a setting not unlike a Provençal village square. The sea views are startlingly good. Read expert review From £257 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Le Petit Nice - Passedat
Marseille, Provence, France
8Telegraph expert rating
On a little rocky promontory, it is almost a bridge-head into the Med – which starts where the hotel terrace stops. Beyond, the blue is endless (contrasting splendidly with the white of the hotel). Land-side, the hotel is surrounded by a quiet residential zone half-way between the beaches and the city centre, two miles away. This is the sea-side for sybarites, who will get the full benefit of a glass of champagne on the terrace. Read expert review From £270 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc
Cap d'Antibes, Provence, France
9Telegraph expert rating
A throwback to the F. Scott Fitzgerald era, this grand 19th-century mansion on the Cote d’Azur is set among nine hectares of landscaped gardens with a guest list that reads like the credits of a Hollywood movie. Service is flawless with a no-holds-barred concierge. There is a heated infinity pool, five clay tennis courts, 33 cabanas and a boutique. Spa Eden-Roc by La Prairie has four treatment rooms, as well a sauna, steam room, gym and beauty salon. Read expert review From £595 per night
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Le Mas du Langoustier
Porquerolles, Provence, France
8Telegraph expert rating
It's impossible to separate the Mas from its setting. Gardens and courtyard overcome with horticulture cede to garrigue and forest rich with the smoky aromas of pine, eucalyptus and herbs. There’s a pool and tennis court in there somewhere. And then you’re on the rocks, overlooking a creek and beach which, though not private, feels that way. The different blues of the sea are as clearly defined as colours on a flag and, over on the wooded headland, stand the remains of a fortress. Read expert review From £173 per night
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Le Dune
Sardinia, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
On the remotest stretch of Sardinia’s Costa Verde, in the midst of one of the highest dune systems in Italy, this hotel occupies the warehouse of an ex-mineworks. Belying such mundane origins, it’s a classic chic retreat: secluded, exclusive, and blessed with a prime location right on the beach. The unfussy rooms are quiet and well-equipped, public areas are airy, and the bar and restaurant are perfectly satisfactory – but it’s the location that you’ll remember. Read expert review From £697 per night
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J.K. Place Capri
Capri, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
Few hotels are capable of both reflecting the place they inhabit, and at the same time upgrading it. But that’s exactly what this 22-room sister property of two stylish urban boutique hotels in Rome and Florence does. JK Place Capri is the famous southern Italian holiday island as it should be, but rarely is: not a beautiful but fragile island community bursting at the seams with summer daytrippers, but a stylish refuge full of dolce vita class, combining impeccable taste with seaside nonchalance. Read expert review Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia
Salina, Sicily, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
If some alchemist managed to distil the essence of the Mediterranean, it would probably look a lot like this idyllically located barefoot resort. On the Aeolian island of Salina, north of Sicily, Capofaro’s 20 self-contained rooms are scattered among vines belonging to Tasca d’Almerita, one of Sicily’s most important wine producers. But the vibe is anything but farm holiday: this is a sophisticated less-is-more retreat with an excellent restaurant. Think sunset yoga, sunbathing with a good book, uncomplicated gourmet food and chill-out music mixes. Read expert review From £502 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Belmond Villa Sant'Andrea
Taormina, Sicily, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
Set among subtropical gardens on its own private stretch of beach on the Bay of Mazzarò, this luxurious hotel oozes understated elegance. Built in 1830, the hotel was once a private villa, and has retained the charm of a residence. Facilities include a heated infinity pool, use of the private beach with sun loungers and parasols, and a complimentary boat cruise (mid-May to mid-September). Water sports are available too, including paddle-surfing that can be combined with yoga meditation. Read expert review From £652 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Hotel Mlini
Mlini, Dubrovnik, Croatia
8Telegraph expert rating
Overlooking a turquoise cove with a pebble beach, the chic interior design, by London architects Scott Brownrigg, draws inspiration from the blues and greens of Dalmatia, giving the 85 rooms and restaurant a fresh and easy-going seaside atmosphere. Interiors are light and airy, with whitewashed walls, contemporary designer furniture and abstract paintings in subtle hues of blue and green. The main feature in each bedroom is a large canvas on the wall above the bed, depicting a hazy seascape in emerald-green and turquoise-blue. Read expert review From £127 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Podstine
Hvar, Croatia
8Telegraph expert rating
In a leafy hillside garden, overlooking the sea, Podstine lies on the coast, one mile from Hvar Town. Besides the peaceful setting and splendid views, it's one of the few hotels in Hvar to have a beach, as well as a spa, pool and scuba diving club. A restful retreat, submerged in a lush green garden overlooking the sea – quite another world from the buzzing cafés and restaurants in fashionable Hvar Town. In the garden, down towards the beach area, you have Cocktail Bar Amo and Smoothie Bar Amo, both small open-air summer venues. Read expert review From £275 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Lone
Rovinj, Istria, Croatia
9Telegraph expert rating
Overlooking the turquoise waters of Lone Bay, and backed by the cedar trees and cypresses of Zlatni Rt park, the hotel lies a 15-minute walk along the coast from Rovinj's Venetian-era harbour. Based on the concept of a cruise ship, the elegant white façade is dominated by six floors with gently curving balconies, reminiscent of boat decks. There's a big free-form outdoor sea-water pool, with whirlpools, waterfalls and geysers and nearby, the Mulini beach has sun beds and parasols overlooking the Adriatic. Read expert review From £266 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Adriatic
Rovinj, Istria, Croatia
9Telegraph expert rating
Rovinj's oldest hotel, in a building from 1892, the Adriatic was totally renovated in spring 2015. Now offering 18 suites and a seafront café-restaurant, it's decorated throughout with artworks by 14 contemporary international artists. Overlooking the harbour, on the edge of Rovinj's pedestrian-only old town, guests have access to the outdoor pool at the nearby sister-hotel, The Lone, as well as the Mulini beach. It's a true boutique hotel, ideal for a winter short break or a summer beach holiday. Read expert review From £273 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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St. Nicolas Bay Resort Hotel & Villas
Agios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece
8Telegraph expert rating
With superb views over Mirabéllo Bay from its landscaped grounds, this stone-clad building is on Crete’s Nisi peninsula. The sandy coastline is limited to one little cove – flanked mostly by a terraced lido below the beach bar – but there’s a full watersports programme, scuba school on-site (accepting children over eight) and charterable 34-foot sailing boat (€850/day for up to 12 people). The cove is very sheltered and safe. Read expert review From £437 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Lindos Blu
Rhodes, Greece
9Telegraph expert rating
This boutique, five-star, adults-only resort clambers in tiers down to its own pristine beach. The style is minimalist modern, verging on stark, with only trickling water features and occasional shrubbery as relief. The fact of having just 74 rooms does lend an intimate, personal feel. Facilities include an appealing spa with indoor swimming pool, two outdoor swimming pools, plus a popular roof terrace with two whirlpool tubs and sun-loungers. Read expert review From £341 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Delfino Blu Boutique Hotel
Corfu, Greece
9Telegraph expert rating
The hotel is on the north edge of Ágios Stéfanos Avliotón resort, looking across the straits towards the sunset and Mathráki and Othoní islets. It’s an intimate, contemporary boutique hotel, flavoured with honeymooners and wedding parties. The pool terrace overlooks one of the best parts of the local sands, kept manicured by Delfino Blu’s beach bar. Read expert review Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Anassa Hotel
Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus
9Telegraph expert rating
Mature, well-tended gardens, sloping down to the east end of Asprókremnos beach - the best, cleanest and longest in Páfos district - have grown up nicely since the hotel’s 1998 opening. The entry atria with its cupolas and rippling water features are designed to impress rather than overwhelm, as are the outdoor pools. There’s another indoor pool, well lit with natural light despite being subterranean, next to the signature 17-room spa, whose fan-shaped thalassotherapy pressure-jet pond overlooks a courtyard of cycads. Read expert review From £447 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Olympos Lodge
Antalya, Turquoise Coast, Turkey
8Telegraph expert rating
Protected from development because it is a noted turtle nesting site, Çıralı Beach is an unspoilt gem on Turkey’s spectacularly beautiful Turquoise Coast. Backed by pine clad peaks, book-ended by limestone ridges plunging into deep blue waters and fronted by the graceful arc of a three-mile long beach, Çıralı has everything going for it – especially as planning controls mean no buildings are tall enough to peak out above the mass of citrus orchards and other vegetation. The Olympos Lodge occupies a prime spot towards the southern end of the beach, flanked by a crystal clear river. Read expert review From £210 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum
Bodrum, Turquoise Coast, Turkey
8Telegraph expert rating
Wrapped around its own private bay on the northern shores of a rugged peninsula jutting-out from Turkey’s beautiful Aegean coast, it’s hard to imagine a more laid-back yet sophisticated and exclusive retreat than the Mandarin Oriental. Discounting the passing of the occasional yacht or cruiser belonging to Turkey’s wealthy elite, who have made Bodrum and its environs their very own French Riviera, once you enter the grounds of the resort there’s nothing to remind you of the outside world. Daytime activities revolve around the twin beaches and crystal clear waters fronting them, or relaxing by an elegant pool complex. Otherwise, pamper yourself in the superb spa. Read expert review From £734 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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D-Maris Bay
Marmaris, Turquoise Coast, Turkey
9Telegraph expert rating
Isolated and serene, D-Hotel is an unexpectedly sophisticated seaside retreat found in the middle of a vast nature reserve. Remote though it may be, with a clutch of excellent restaurants, inviting beaches, comprehensive leisure and sports facilities and an excellent spa combine to make it one of Turkey’s most inviting resorts. Sea-view rooms face an inlet enveloped by jagged mounds of volcanic rock and hillsides lush with almond and olive trees. Read expert review From £530 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
