Ocean

Ocean Daios Cove Luxury Resort & Villas

CRETE

Words: Jenna Campbell Photography: © Heinz Troll

IN A BITE Owner: Daios Cove Luxury Resort & Villas Architecture and Interior Design: dRAW Architects, APK Partners Concept: The Ghost Group F&B Consultant: Ducasse Conseil Head Chef: Jerome Lacressonniere F&B Manager: Tasos Rizopoulos Dinnerware: Revol Serveware: Craster Glassware: Stölzle Lausitz www.daioscovecrete.com

Daios Cove – the Cretan resort built around a natural amphitheatre – has entered a new chapter with the launch of Ocean, a dining destination created in partnership with Ducasse Conseil. The latest phase of the hotel’s redesign has been overseen by London-based architectural collective dRAW Architects in collaboration with The Ghost Group and local practice APK Architects, and is guided by the original premise of the property – to recreate the ambience of a Cretan hamlet via a gathering of village-like components.

Conceived as a series of indoor-outdoor zones, Ocean incoporates a variety of spaces, each built on a respect for locality, heritage and sustainability. Locally sourced wood has been treated to allow it to age gracefully, while antique terracotta, traditional limestone, bronze and chevron teak marquetry communicate the hotel’s bohemian quality. Harmonising nature and the built environment, an assortment of trees including native fan palms and banana leaf weave between the zones.

At the ocean’s edge, a poolside beach bar and terrace features a timber pagoda alongside a cluster of low-level cabanas and slatted canopies. On the next level, the main restaurant features an open kitchen and is linked to a private dining courtyard, which is cleverly cocooned with raw timber and bamboo blinds.

Annexed to the restaurant, a new culinary school helmed by F&B consultants Ducasse Conseil explores the destination’s focus on authentically sourced cuisine, with the space designed for the optimum cooking experience thanks to hydraulic tables that allow students to cook while standing and sample when seated.

Drawing inspiration from the sea and land, Ocean displays its artistic flair and passion for seasonal and sustainable ingredients by combining flavours with a characterful twist, with dishes presented on dinnerware by Revol and serveware by Craster, while cocktails, served in glassware by Stölzle Lausitz and created by top mixologists, The Clumsies, round off the sophisticated and vibrant dining experience.

FALCON

FOLLOW US