Aristi Mountain Resort & Villas

Zagori is the counter-argument to the idea that Greek luxury means an island and a sea view. The region's forty-six stone villages sit in the mountains of Epirus above the Vikos Gorge, one of the deepest canyons in the world, and Aristi Mountain Resort occupies the highest point of the village it is named for, looking across at the Astraka towers and the peaks of Mount Tymfi.

The resort is a cluster of stone-and-timber buildings built in the local vernacular, with fewer than twenty rooms and suites in the main house plus separate villas. Interiors are warm rather than slick: heavy stone walls, wood, fireplaces and thick textiles, the sort of room that makes sense when it is snowing outside. The family behind it are serious about the region and run the restaurant, Salvia, around Epirot ingredients, mountain greens, local cheeses, river trout and their own wine.

The spa has an indoor heated pool looking out at the mountains, a hammam, sauna and treatment rooms, which is welcome after a day on the gorge paths. This is a walking and rafting destination first: the Voidomatis river below is one of the cleanest in Europe, the Vikos rim trail starts nearby, and the stone arched bridges and monasteries of the Zagorochoria are the reason to have a car. Unlike almost everything else in this collection it stays open year-round.