Santorini Opens First Vegan Hotel

3 years ago

The first fully vegan hotel has opened in Santorini.

Located in the village of Firostefani, MOD Santorini is currently a four-room boutique hotel offering sea views, private balconies with jacuzzis and delicious vegan foods.

MOD Santorini owners Anargyros (Argiris) Fousteris and his partner Christina Boutrou say that the hotel has been designed to reflect their own eco-conscious lifestyle to provide “an accommodation experience immersed in comfort, without compromising our principles of living in harmony with our earth.”

“Mindfulness and relaxation should be the highlight of a deeply relaxing holiday, one that offers the chance to reconnect and rebalance mind, body, and soul.”

MOD Santorini offers sustainable accommodation with respect to nature and exclusives such as vegan food and natural vegan cosmetics.

MOD Santorini provides guests with a complimentary vegan breakfast delivered to the room each morning.

The proudly vegan and cruelty-free menu includes freshly squeezed orange juice, MOD’s signature chickpea flour mushroom-filled omelette, an assortment of bakery goods and homemade jam (thanks to the owner’s yia yia).

The expanded room-service menu features breakfast dishes such as hazelnut chocolate pancakes, waffles with mixed berries, and spanakopita, plus cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and lattes.

The lunch and dinner menus offer vegan burgers, quinoa Buddha bowls, falafel wraps, and wine and cocktails.

With its iconic whitewashed buildings, picturesque cliffs, and tangerine sunsets, Santorini is an island to be explored. So as part of its ‘conscious holiday’ offering whereby guests can feel connected to nature and history, the hotel offers a variety of activities, including private picnics with sparkling wine and house-made pizzas, a mezze board for two, as well as local vegan food and wine tours, guided yoga classes, and visits to traditional villages.

The Double Sea and Mountain View rooms of MOD, each which boast an outdoor hot tub, are a welcoming retreat for honeymooners and couples seeking to experience the authentic side of Santorini, in a comfortable, sophisticated space decorated in earthy tones and featuring eco-conscious amenities, attentively selected to promote wellness and relaxation.

The hotel’s Double Village View Rooms have been designed with attention to detail, combining traditional and modern elements of Cycladic architecture, earthy tones, and offer a peek into the neighbouring Fira and the locals’ daily living for a serene and immersive experience of the authentic island lifestyle.

The hotels’ furniture and finishings, including the suites’ bedding and bathroom cosmetics, have been selected to ensure that they are not only luxurious but also vegan, cruelty-free, and sustainable.

The rooms’ mattresses are made with natural coconut fibres, and the hotel’s linen is locally made with 100-per cent cotton.

All rooms offer eco-friendly amenities and energy-efficient air conditioning and heating.

Initially built in the late 1970s, the family-owned hotel was closed for over ten years prior to the original owners passing it on to their son, Argiris.

With the first stage of renovations complete, the hotel currently offers four suites on the first level of the space. When the entire build is complete, MOD will offer 12 private suites over three levels.

In a recent interview with the popular vegan magazine VegNews, Australian-born Boutrou tells how creating a fully vegan hotel was an easy decision for herself and Fousteris.

“When [I met] Argiris on my summer vacation in 2018, he already had plans to renovate the hotel, and his dream was and is still to create something that represented the tradition and heart of his family hotel,” says Boutrou, who became fully vegan upon moving to Santorini from her home in Australia in 2019.

The couple came to the realisation that travelling as a vegan could be problematic with limited choices in destination islands such as Santorini.

“It was clear to us … that we should use our space to cater to our people and create a fully vegan hotel,” Boutrou said. “If I was to cook breakfast, there was no way I was handling animal products. It was a clear path for us and we are proud we took this leap.”

Although friends and family have expressed their fears that a bacon and egg free vegan hotel is doomed to failure, the couple has faith in their endeavour.

“There was no convincing us any other way,” Boutrou said. “It is time the hospitality industry changed.

“We are proud to lead the way for this on our island, Santorini.”

The couple named the hotel ‘MOD Santorini’ to represent the combination of modern comforts with traditional values and nature that has created a unique and beautiful result.

For its opening month special, MOD Santorini is offering up to 50 per cent off for bookings in October.