Kinsterna Hotel

The Kinsterna Hotel is located in the settlement of Agios Stefanos, 7 km SW Monemvasia in the Southern Peloponnese and is built on the edge of the estate "Ibrahim Bey". It is one of the most interesting holistic cases of restoration of historic buildings, but also of highlighting their philosophy, and at the same time it is one of the most important examples of high level hospitality of the Greek Hotel.

The Kinsterna Hotel is one byzantine mansion which was restored with absolute respect to its long historical path to be transformed today into a world-class accommodation that promises a unique experience of living in a true paradise for nature lovers.

The area where Kinsterna Hotel is located, overlooking the olive groves of Monemvasia and the Myrtos Sea is a fertile estate, covering an area of ​​100 acres, which includes age-old olives where the variety Athinolia dominates, citrus, the old orange grove that produces the famous oranges of Monemvasia, fruit trees that were there since the beginning of the 19th century, imposing cypresses, cypress trees, horticultural, ornamental and aromatic plants and herbs. Opposite the mansion, in an area of ​​20 acres, is the privately owned vineyard with Greek varieties Kidonitsa, Assyrtiko, Agiorgitiko and mainly Monemvasia, from which our wines come.

The history of the mansion is lost in the depths of the centuries. The mansion is located at an ideal point of control and has a fortification arrangement in the shape of P. In its inner courtyard dominates the large cistern (tank) which stands out from the 20 built columns placed on both sides. This impressive and unique tank owes its name, as the word "cistern»Is a counter-loan, ie it existed in ancient Greek (kisti), was unified with the Latin" sterna "(cisterna) and came back in Greek / Byzantine (cistern).

In 1670, the Ottoman traveler Evliya Tselebi noted that there were many communal cisterns in Monemvasia, being an important monument of the cultural heritage of the area. The Ottoman features of the building, such as the loopholes and the large fireplaces with the chimneys, are still visible to this day, mixed with Byzantine and Venetian elements, such as the exterior of the walls and the ceramic designs.

After the revolution of 1821, the mansion - whose former known owner was Ibrahim Bey - came into the ownership of the Greek state. In 1870 the estate was bought by the Kapitsini family. Part of the complex was inhabited until the 70's by Lina Kapitsini, the last "lord" of Monemvasia. After 1980 the complex began to be abandoned, nature had begun to dominate and destroy the building. In 2002 the estate was bought by the businessman-engineer Antonis Sgardelis and in 2006, one with a team of architects, engineers and designers began the restoration of the mansion, in collaboration with the competent Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, using traditional methods and local materials, old and local natural materials. Kinsterna Hotel was reborn as a boutique hotel in 2010, with a capacity of 55 rooms 5 * that provides all the possible services that can offer a complex of its category (three restaurants, spa, yoga, conference rooms, weddings and receptions).

But what makes the Kinsterna Hotel stand out, is its philosophy and operating concept.

For centuries, the estate in which the Kinsterna mansion later revived was one place of self-sufficiency and sustainability in a vibrant, rich natural environment. Powered by a spring of running water from the earth, the estate fed the people who lived on it and undoubtedly contributed to the local economy, as some of the historical records from Venetian and Ottoman times show.

These traditional practices - from a time when communities were financially independent - are today the backbone of the philosophy of Kinsterna and its owners. Hotel guests have the opportunity to watch and participate in traditional practices (vintage and production of wines and tsipouro, picking olives and production of olive oil, kneading bread, making soap, weaving on the traditional loom, etc.), while at the same time they can enjoy all the fruits of the farm (extra virgin olive oil, wine) etc.).

Landscape with a unique wealth of vegetation and crops, high level hotel services, organized creation of experiential experiences based on the traditional heritage of the place, past, present and future, were connected in a masterful way in the blessed place of Monemvasia, creating the Kinsterna Hotel, a one of the most brilliant samples of the Greek Hotel.