Aristi is an all-weather wonder. Snuggled in the green embrace of the Pindus mountains, it makes the scorching Greek summers feel like a breeze and the foggy, wet winters look like the magical backdrop of a mysterious fairytale. Come to think of it, it’s not even a real hotel. It’s a tiny cluster of individual stone-built residences, interconnected by cobbled paths with unexpected splashes of color at every turn. In fact, the magic starts outside. Overlooking a combination of green gorges and rocky cliffs, the view is at once wild and soothing and it has been known to make guests weep —albeit on the inside!

Combine that with the genius landscape gardening, where sage, rosemary, mint and lavender are constantly in bloom, and you’ve got the perfect contrast. Each residence is an individual cocoon of heavenly comfort, a cozy, perfectly renovated miniature stone house with fluffy beds, a minibar stocked with a hearty selection of artisanal Greek products and the bathtub of your dreams. All you have to do is lie in bed with the door open and you get an eyeful of so many different shades of green, it’s almost impossible to tear yourself away.

In fact, although the hotel offers a variety of seasonal activities, like mushroom picking, traditional tsipouro distilling, rafting and hiking, you do run the risk of never setting foot outside! Lucky for you, the Aristi Mountain Resort boasts the only spa in the region, with an indoor heated pool facing the great outdoors, a jacuzzi, a sauna room and turkish steam bath. Now if you really want to go over the top, you might as well spoil yourself with a massage before you hop on over to the Salvia restaurant to break all your dietary restrictions. Don’t fight it. Just give in to the hand-picked mushrooms, the divine locally-made goat cheeses, the delicate greens and the slow-roasted meats that will put an end to your no-gluten-no-dairy diet plan right then and there.