The Daktylides family's all-villa Relais & Châteaux property above Elia Beach — 70 standalone Cycladic villas with private pools, the only all-villa Relais & Châteaux on Mykonos.
"The Aman of the Aegean — except family-run. If you want a Cycladic-stone villa with a private heated pool, your own cook on call, and absolutely no children's club within three hundred metres, this is the answer."
Myconian Villa Collection sits immediately above and around the Myconian Imperial on the Elia hillside, sharing the same Daktylides-family ownership and Forbes-grade service team but operating as a deliberately separate, all-villa Relais & Châteaux property. The collection opened in stages from 2009 onward as the family responded to the shift in Mykonian luxury demand toward standalone, private-pool, no-shared-spaces inventory — exactly the brief Aman pioneered globally and that the international brands then chased into the Cyclades a decade late.
The 70 villas are stepped down the slope toward Elia Beach in three tiers. Junior Villas are the entry category — single-bedroom, around 60 square metres, with a private heated plunge pool, sea-facing terrace, and outdoor shower. Premium Villas add a second bedroom and a larger pool. The headline category is the Royal Imperial Villa: 220 square metres, two or three bedrooms, a 35-square-metre heated pool, an outdoor dining pavilion, a private spa room, and a butler service that is genuinely on call rather than at-arm's-length. The construction palette is consistent across the property — whitewashed Cycladic stone, dark-stained timber, hand-finished plaster — and the architecture deliberately reads as a Mykonian village rather than a hotel.
Asea is the principal restaurant, a Greek-Mediterranean kitchen with a terrace that frames Elia Bay; In-villa Dining is the second proposition and the one most guests use most evenings — a private chef from the Asea team can be sent to any villa for a tasting menu prepared on the villa's outdoor grill. Spa access is shared with the Imperial's Thalasso programme down the hill, with private spa rooms in the Royal Imperial Villas for couples who would rather not move. The collection also runs its own private-island-day-trip programme to Delos and the surrounding rocks via the family's boat fleet, the longest-tenured private-charter operation on Mykonos.
Service is the property's central proposition and the line that separates it from the rest of the Myconian Collection. The villa-to-staff ratio is approximately one-to-three; every villa has a dedicated host who handles arrivals, restaurant bookings, beach club reservations, and the daily small interventions that distinguish Relais & Châteaux from Leading Hotels. The position above Elia (15 minutes from Mykonos Town by complimentary chauffeur, 10 minutes from the airport) is the same as the Imperial's — quiet, beach-led, deliberately not in the centre of the party.
For Mykonos honeymoons that prioritise privacy over visibility, Villa Collection is the answer the international agents quietly recommend. Junior Villas are the standard honeymoon booking; Premium Villas add the second bedroom for the long-stay version; Royal Imperial Villas with the private spa room are the milestone version. The in-villa-dining programme, the heated pool, and the no-children-on-property convention through the shoulder seasons make it the most discreet honeymoon option on the island.
For Mykonos proposals the Junior Villa with private heated pool is the central booking — the proposal happens at sunset on the private terrace with the pool lights on and Asea catering the dinner that follows. Royal Imperial Villas are the version for couples who want the proposal indoors in the private dining pavilion. The host programme handles photography arrangements and discreet champagne logistics reflexively.
A Mykonos milestone anniversary at Villa Collection is the version where the entire holiday happens within the villa boundary. Royal Imperial Villas with private chef, private spa room, private heated pool, and direct beach access via a dedicated path is the booking. The Daktylides-family operating culture means anniversary returns are remembered between visits in a way the brand competition cannot match.
Elia Beach
846 00 Mykonos
Greece
10 min from JMK Airport; 15 min from Mykonos Town by complimentary chauffeur
70 standalone villas
Junior Villa with Pool from €980/night
Premium Villa from €1,650/night
Royal Imperial Villa from €4,800/night
All categories include heated private pool
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Season: late April – mid October
Relais & Châteaux member
Asea (Greek-Mediterranean)
In-villa private chef
Heated private pool every villa
Private host per villa
Shared Thalasso Spa with Imperial
Direct path to Elia Beach
Private boat fleet for Delos charters
From €980/night. Royal Imperial Villas book six months ahead for July and August. Late May, mid-September, and the first week of October are the connoisseur windows — full villa service, none of the high-season pressure.
Book This Hotel →The Daktylides family's Leading Hotels flagship sister property above Elia Beach, with the Thalasso Spa and Pavilion sushi.
The Cycladic-cliff sister of the legendary Santorini original, on Agios Ioannis with sunset Delos views.
The Daktylides family's Relais & Châteaux beachfront on Platis Gialos with the longer-running thalasso programme.