Nema Design Hotel & Spa has added a second address within its own grounds. Eéso – named after the ancient Greek word for ‘within’ – is a self-contained enclave of suites, gardens, water and dining dreamt up by Athens-based architecture and interiors practice OmniView.
Tour Eéso by Nema, Crete
The opening marks a distinct shift for the adults-only hotel in Analipsi, on Crete’s northern coast. Eéso has its own visual and spatial rules: dark mineral surfaces, substantial walls, unusually broad or tall suites and a central landscape reserved for its guests. Architect Dimitris Tsigos describes the project as ‘introverted’. The term is literal, with privacy directly built into the masterplan, rather than supplied by screens and planting.
Nema had already established a recognisable identity through crisp lines, deep tones and an informal relationship with the beach. OmniView retained that vocabulary while changing its scale. Colour became mass; the hotel’s darker palette now appears in walls, deep openings and shadowed double-height rooms. The existing aesthetic acquired a corresponding plan and section.
‘We wanted to create an environment where luxury is embedded not just in decoration, but in the very DNA of the architecture and masterplanning,’ says Tsigos. The brief, he adds, required suites that felt ‘generous, unexpected and memorable’.
The resulting accommodation is divided into four types: Atrium, Sanctum, Pavilion and Penthouse. Some suites spread laterally across wide plans; others rise through dramatic double-height interiors. Verandas and private gardens create intermediate rooms between the enclosed accommodation and the Cretan climate.
‘We translated this into a masterplan where each unit functions as a unique architectural experience rather than a typical hotel room,’ Tsigos explains.
Floor-to-ceiling glazing reveals the scale of these interiors. In the taller suites, expanses of stone-like wall continue upwards past sleeping and living areas, interrupted by high-level openings that admit narrow cuts of daylight. The wide suites work horizontally, using long glazed elevations to connect bedrooms and living spaces with their gardens and pools.
The material palette has the density of an evening interior. Charcoal, earthen brown and mineral grey replace resort white. Rough, stone-like surfaces meet glass, metal and reflective finishes, their differences sharpened by the strong Cretan light. Built-in ledges and substantial wall sections make the rooms appear carved, adding a sense of geological poetry.
Tsigos describes the interiors as ‘a dialogue between raw reference and architectural precision’. It is a useful distinction. The stone, tactile surfaces and earthy colour carry a connection to landscape; geometry supplies the discipline. Cultural identity sits in the substance of the building, without recourse to scenic arches, nautical details or decorative antiquity.
The project’s Cretan connection continues through its production. OmniView sourced materials and techniques on the island where possible, beginning in nearby Heraklion, then working with suppliers and makers on mainland Greece when an appropriate local solution was unavailable. The result ties Eéso straight to the region through material and workmanship.
At the centre of the enclave, suites and gardens give way to a pool shared by Eéso guests, although OmniView has complicated the usual relationship between water and poolside furniture. Pergola-topped seating structures are positioned inside the pool, turning sections of its surface into inhabitable rooms.
‘We wanted to go beyond the typical concept of in-water loungers and instead create inhabitable units within the pool,’ adds Tsigos. ‘Each of these is designed with its own seating and pergola, forming a complete private retreat within the shared water landscape.’
As such, water separates the structures in place of solid partitions. Their roofs edit the sunlight, while their sharp outlines are repeated and distorted in the reflections below. Meanwhile, Ná Le Ma, an à la carte restaurant reserved for Eéso guests, completes the internal plan. Together with the pool, accommodation and gardens, it allows the enclave to operate as a complete resort precinct inside Nema.
Eéso by Nema is located at Analipsi, 700 14, Greece. Rates start from £558 per night