ARCHONTARIKI OF PATMOS

Updated August 2026: Archontariki of Patmos is still operating in Chora and continues to list its five named suites—Wisdom, Joy, Hope, Love and Faith. The review below describes our 2017 stay; rates and individual services may have changed.

While we were living in Samos as Erasmus exchange students—working and relaxing in equal measure—we unexpectedly found ourselves invited, as travel bloggers, to a sports event on Patmos . This is the story of Archontariki Suites, the breathtaking hotel where we stayed, and of a visit we had never planned.

The hotel occupies a roughly 400-year-old stone house once known as Gazi Mansion. The name “Gazi” made us wonder whether a former owner might have been Turkish. Archontariki had been welcoming guests for more than a decade when we visited. It has only five suites, but “suite” hardly does them justice: each feels almost as large as a small home and bears a name suited to the island’s spirit—Wisdom, Joy, Hope, Love and Faith.

If you stay at Archontariki, memorise this door—there is no sign outside.

OUR ROOM: WISDOM

We stayed in the room called Wisdom. Annie, the owner, showed us the available rooms and explained that those upstairs had better views. We still chose a ground-floor room to stay closer to the internet. Having stayed in stone buildings before, we suspected the signal would be weaker upstairs—and we were right.

Our room—or should I say our house?—had an enormous living room and a spacious bedroom. The living room held a large dining table, a china cabinet and what looked like a decorative piece taken from a windmill, while the bedroom was simply furnished with a king-size bed and bedside tables. If you are bringing lots of luggage to Patmos, do not worry: the built-in wardrobe in the hallway was bigger than our Hong Kong hotel room :)

BREAKFAST

As a couple who love a late breakfast, we were delighted that it began at 9:30 unless you requested otherwise. It was a fairly simple spread with all the basics, although the cheese selection could have been broader. The freshly squeezed orange juice, however, was wonderful. Annie served breakfast in the mansion’s small courtyard and prepared our eggs herself, almost as if an older sister were cooking for us. That personal touch made breakfast especially memorable.

Fresh fruit and cereal

You could order from the menu as well as help yourself to the buffet.

Tahini, anyone?

Behind the scenes...

THE COURTYARD

The hotel courtyard was an oasis filled with the scent of jasmine. With its chalk-white walls and high stone enclosure, it felt like a setting from a fairy tale. You could drink Greek coffee in the inner courtyard with soft classical music playing, or sit beneath the lemon trees in the outer courtyard. As lovers of Alaçatı, the stone houses reminded us of it—but sadly, that kind of peace and quiet left Alaçatı a long time ago.

Coffee time in the inner courtyard...

...or selfie time in the outer courtyard :)

THE TERRACE

The upstairs rooms had private terraces, and there was also a shared terrace for everyone. It received too much sun during the day, so we could only enjoy it in the late afternoon or at night, but its panoramic views were spectacular. If you are lucky enough to be there under a full moon, bring a bottle of wine from your room and think of us.

LOCATION

Most places to stay on Patmos are around Skala, the port area, but Archontariki Suites sits in Chora, home to the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse. When we visited in 2017, it was the only hotel in Chora. Vehicle access inside the settlement was restricted, including for taxis, so from the parking or drop-off point we had another walk of about seven minutes.

OUR OVERALL IMPRESSION OF ARCHONTARIKI SUITES

We did not need to research where to stay on Patmos because the Patmos Revelation team had already booked the hotel for us. Archontariki Suites was relatively expensive compared with hotels in Skala, but the difference made sense when you considered the size of the suites and their suitability for families or groups. We were also very grateful to Annie, who welcomed us like old friends.

What we loved:
* The views from the upper-floor rooms were genuinely breathtaking.
* The stone building stayed naturally cool; we did not even turn on the air conditioning.
* Chora was astonishingly quiet and peaceful, as it was still very much a residential neighbourhood.

What could have been better:
* Breakfast was a little limited, especially when it came to cheese.
* There was no sign outside; without someone showing us the way, we might still be searching for the hotel :D
* The internet occasionally dropped out in the stone building. If, like us, you work online, asking for a ground-floor room may help.
* There was no hair conditioner among the toiletries.

My piece titled “Stairway to Heaven” :) We left Samos at 8:30 a.m. on the @dodekanisos_seaways ferry, stopped at another island or two, then arrived on Patmos and checked into our hotel in Chora, 4.5 kilometres uphill from the centre. We had taken our places for @patmosrevelation and were ready to begin. Share your favourite travel photos with the #kokladunyayi hashtag and we will repost the ones we choose on Instagram! #Greece #patmosrevelation #archontarikisuites #dodekanisos #chora #island #travelporn #greekislands #theworldshotz #tasteintravel #traveltime #traveldiary #traveljunkie #travelforever #travelandlife #travellover #wanderlust #traveling #travelling #instatravel #travelgram #igtravel #travelblogger #lonelyplanet #travelblog #beautifuldestinations #traveldeeper

A post shared by Kokla Dünyayı (@kokladunyayi) on Jun 30, 2017 at 2:16am PDT