Sani Resort, Kassandra, Greece
Sani Resort, Kassandra, Greece
DATA SHEET

Owner: Sani, managed by Stavros Andreadis, Andreas A. Andreadis and Mathieu Guillemin (co-managing partners)
Architectural study and supervision: Nimand Architects / Niki Manou Andreadi
Landscape design: Fytron Landscapes & Nimand Architects
Technical construction company: AKTOR SA
Furnishings: custom made by Nimand Architects, Edra, Eichholtz
Lighting: Eichholtz, Gervasoni
Textiles: Flora Fabrics
Photo credits: courtesy of Sani Resort

Sustainable architecture, bio-architecture, green architecture. While major design firms around the world are increasingly focusing on the building-environment relationship, in the Halkidiki Peninsula in Greece there’s a resort where the link between building and nature is completely unique. “The relationship with the place is the ‘key’ of an architect’s work, meant to make the most of its potential and uniqueness; with Sani, the design’s intrinsic values join with the lay of the land, the climate, the light, and, of course, the water,” shares Niki Manou-Andreadis, the founder and CEO of Nimand Architects, which oversaw the entire design with a focus on sustainability, everything from the masterplan to its custom furnishing. 

The first thing we notice entering through the resort’s gates is its connection to the specific spirit of the place. Awarded with the World’s Leading Luxury Green Resort (World Travel Awards 2021), it is inside a 400-hectare eco-reserve with 7 kilometers of beach nestled in woods and wetlands, with five hotels, 40 restaurants, and a marina with boutiques arranged like an amphitheatre around the water, all fit perfectly in the surroundings. Niki Andreadis continues, “Sani is ambitiously green.” Significantly, it was the first carbon-neutral certified resort in Greece, completely powered by renewable energy and aims to reach zero plastic and zero waste goals within 2024, and zero carbon by 2030.

The resort’s shining glory is Porto Sani, a resort within the resort. It was reopened this year after a 30-million-euro restoration, combining bioclimatic design, modern ventilation technology, and natural cooling through passive shielding systems. “Porto Sani is a 5-star luxury hotel, with 98 suites of varying types, large verandas, and private gardens. The clear lines of the structures pair with a minimalist feeling heightened by artificial water elements like fountains and pools,” the architect continues.

The simple, linear construction brings together modern and traditional materials, including local stone and Ioanninon marble, enhanced by a neutral color palette, from beige to ocher that infuses the place with a sense of peace. Large, connecting rooms are perfect for families with children. Graceful roof gardens deck some of the roofs. Natural light enters the main building that holds the lobby, pool-side bar and restaurants, coming through an interplay of openings shielded by trellises and pergolas.

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Porto Sani is a special, family-oriented project; the resort also has the option of Sani Beach with panoramic suites in light dusty blue shades contrasting with the green and taupe of the common areas; or the Sani Club, a get-away nestled in a pine forest with a sea view from the hill; Sani Asterias has villas with private gardens in prime positions on the pure white beach; lastly there is Sani Dunes, which won “Best Design Hotel 2019” three years ago at the “Connoisseur Circle Hospitality Awards” in Berlin, featuring a site-specific installation in its lobby by the Greek sculptor Costas Varotsos.

Other works by the artist are near the marina where the sea offers the chance to have experiences on board a charter boat or catamarans in the direction of the bays and islands scattered in the blue of the Aegean Sea. In addition to exclusive cruises, there are 215 individual moorings, available 364 days a year for private boats up to 33 meters long.

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The resort’s extras are open to all, including its Anna Sermonin spa, yoga classes in the pine forest, and its restaurants’ culinary excellence: Greek, Mediterranean, and Peruvian cuisine, as well as menus by Michelin-starred chefs like Mauro Colagreco and David Ibarboure during the Sani Gourmet Festival in May.