Pacha Destino Mykonos: ‘Discovering our passion for Pacha’

Words Markus Bidaux; images: Markus Bidaux, supplied

After a brilliantly slow-paced visit on the Greek island of Sifnos, my partner and I are ready for a livelier adventure and board the ferry to its Cycadean sister Mykonos. We arrive to the sunny port and are met by the hotel’s shuttle service and whisked to Pacha Destino Mykonos, just five-minutes away on a northwest cliff of the island.

Yes, Pacha as in the legendary Ibiza club. Last year, Pacha opened their first hotel on the Spanish island and then logically followed it up with a hotel here on Greece’s party spot of Mykonos.

Pacha Destino Mykonos

We arrive at the boutique hotel and are greeted by the friendly staff in the hotel lobby, which has a cute boutique selling an impressive selection of patterned men’s shirts and swimwear. As we chat to the reception staff it is hard to take our eyes off the sea and islands beyond through the floor to ceiling glass walls. The rest of the property features a combination of stone walls and whitewash walls on the exterior walls of 34-rooms and suites.

Destino Pacha Mykonos

We are taken to our room, which is well-appointed with a cushioned chair, a Nespresso machine and double marble basins outside the concrete floored shower room. The room’s design is simple with timber accents and pops of blue and yellow in the cushions and wall decorations.

Outside our room, there is a small seating area overlooking northernly views of the Aegean Sea. Our outdoor seats provide little privacy, but there are the Cherry Suites and the two-bedroom Pacha Suite to upgrade to if you need more space and privacy.

Pacha Destino Mykonos’ private pool

We wanted to spend most of our time outside by the heart of the property – the two pools. There is a quieter private pool, but the second pool is where the action is at. Its cliff edge deck provides panoramic views of the whitewashed Mykonos Town in the distance. All around the pool are sunbeds shaded by macramé umbrellas and three cabanas.

Pacha Destino Mykonos’ main pool

During our stay, the adult-only property had a clientele that looked like they had just arrived off the set of Love Island. Young women clad in teeny-weeny bikinis and hunks with washboard abs were everywhere the eye could see, but unlike the ITV program, it was not a straights-only affair as we spotted other gay men on the property.

Pacha’s famous cherries are everywhere

Records are spun from the poolside DJ booth, playing chilled House beats throughout the day including Kylie remixes and the odd camp banger like ‘Unique Diva Drama’ by Jamie Lewis and Kim Cooper.

Poolside DJ booth

The vibe around the hotel is very chilled, but that changes twice a week when the main pool hosts sunset parties, which attract around 800 revellers.

For over forty years the brand has been synonymous with its bright red cherry logo, and they can be spotted everywhere at Destino Pacha, so we couldn’t depart without sampling the giant chocolate cherry dessert, which is just the cherry on top of a brilliant menu.

Just desserts

To be honest, we were expecting the property’s menu to consist of mainly snack food, but the poolside restaurant and cocktail bar offered up some amazing dishes including indulgent moussakas and oven-baked grouper fillet.

To burn off the calories there is a slick well equipped gym and a spa offering treatments, a sauna, and a hammam.

View from Pacha Destino Mykonos’ main pool of Mykonos Town in the distance

For offsite fun, we order a taxi to Mykonos Town, which is only 12-minutes by car. Here, we explore the maze-like streets lined with fashion boutiques, restaurants, and the famous windmills near the edge of town.

JackiO’ Bar in Mykonos Town

After enjoying another golden sunset, we visit the gay bars, including the colourful Porta Bar, followed by the cosy Lola Bar, which had the feel of a cabaret bar and a lengthy cocktail menu. Of course, we finished our night dancing late into the evening at the infamous JackieO’ Bar.

Pacha Destino Mykonos 

Waking up after our night out we were thankful for the late al a carte breakfast menu. Refreshed, we are ready for another day of discovering our passion for Pacha.

destinopacha.com/mykonos