Vegan boutique hotel MOD Santorini has opened at the Greek island of Santorini. It is a family-owned hotel built back in the late 1970s. It has been shut down for more than a decade when the owners transferred it to their son, Anargyros (Argiris) Fousteris. He and his partner, Christina Boutrou, have transformed the place into a fully renovated, vegan hotel.
The hotel offers four suites on the first level of the space for a total of 12 private suites over three levels. All rooms are spacious with their own unique design and private balconies, two of the suites feature an outdoor jacuzzi on the balcony with an amazing view of the Aegean Sea.
All the furniture and materials were selected to ensure that they are not only luxurious but also vegan, cruelty-free, and sustainable, even the room mattresses are made with natural coconut fibers and the sheets and towels are made with 100-percent cotton.
MOD features a fully vegan kitchen with a complimentary breakfast included in each stay. The breakfast menu features chickpea flour omelette, homemade jam with fresh bread, seasonal fruit, and freshly squeezed orange juice and is delivered to guests’ rooms each morning.
The room-service menu includes breakfast dishes such as hazelnut chocolate pancakes, waffles with mixed berries, and spanakopita (a traditional Greek spinach phyllo pastry), plus cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and lattes.
The lunch and dinner menus offer meals such as vegan burgers, quinoa bowls, falafel wraps, along with wine and cocktails.
The hotel also offers a variety of activities, like private picnics, local vegan food and wine tours, guided yoga classes, and visits to traditional villages in the area. As a special promotion, MOD Santorini is offering up to 50 percent off for bookings in October.
Creating a fully vegan hotel was an easy decision for Fousteris and Boutrou.
“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,”
Boutrou said.
The couple knew that traveling as a vegan could be difficult with limited choices spatially in destination islands such as Santorini.
Though Boutrou says they were told by friends and family numerous times that the concept of a vegan hotel wouldn’t work and they would get complaints if eggs and bacon weren’t on the breakfast menu, the couple believed it was the only way to go. “There was no convincing us any other way,” Boutrou said. “It is time the hospitality industry changed [and] we are proud to lead the way for this on our island, Santorini.”
MOD Santorini is the first vegan hotel on the island of Santorini, but it is not the first in Greece. Last year, Koukoumi Hotel opened in the Ano Mera village on the island of Mykonos. The all-inclusive retreat offers suites outfitted with vegan decor; a spa with wellness treatments using vegan products; a fully stocked gym where trainers offer outdoor fitness courses; and a vegan restaurant featuring a breakfast buffet and Greek-inspired dishes.
