Anantara Santorini Abu Dhabi Retreat

The real Santorini recently made headlines with a series of earthquakes and overtourism. Well, the Anantara Santorini Retreat in the Abu Dhabi desert is a double safe space in this respect. Only 22 accommodation units guarantee maximum freedom of movement and exclusivity. Allusions to the famous Cyclades island are, of course, inevitable, such as the glistening white of the hotel village, the spectacular neon blue pool in the evening or the Oia restaurant, named after the picturesque island village. However, you will look in vain for a Greek employee at the boutique resort, which only opened two years ago. But that doesn't seem to bother anyone. Cultivated idleness is clearly the unofficial motto of the guests. The resort, which was once built by a sheikh in the barren landscape, is a place to live out the day. The greatest effort of some well-built young people is to look as bored as possible, despite the omnipresent beauty of the private powder beach and the blue-green of the sea.





The cuisine in the two restaurants cannot quite keep up with these fabulous conditions - more sophistication on the plate would be appropriate in this price range. The Greek herbal mountain tea "Tsai tou Vounou", which is served at sunset in the beach cabana, is also quite well-behaved. And even though Bollywood stars can always be seen here: You would probably least expect to find a huge movie theater in the Santorini replica. But there actually is one, with comfortable loungers instead of seats! And so you can enjoy another "Mission Impossible" with Tom Cruise. The funny thing is that the next day you get that "Top Gun" feeling - for real. During a formation training flight, a handful of jet fighters paint a heart in the sky with their contrails. The military base is the only absolutely non-intrusive neighbor of the secluded Santorini.

Test highlight: A full moon dinner accompanied by the sound of the sea with octopus, sea bream and Greek yogurt.