The Agora Hotel

The word “agora,” before it came to denote the sort of place where ideas are exchanged, once simply meant “market” — a place where the exchange was a bit more literal. Similarly, the building that houses Agora Hotel was once Pano Lefkara’s central market — though the Danish creators of this chic adults-only boutique hotel won’t mind if that loftier connotation comes to mind as well.

Its owners were also its designers, which is impressive given that they came to the project from other professions. It would be reductive to call the resulting style a Danish-Mediterranean hybrid, but it also wouldn’t be far from the truth — what elevates it from this formulaic description is the uniqueness of the design decisions, and the care taken with every detail.

With just fifteen rooms and three suites, it’s not a large hotel, but it’s substantial enough to feel lively and convivial. Guests gather at Novél, the hotel’s all-day Mediterranea bistro, and the adjoining bar; in the daytime, they also lounge around the salt-water courtyard pool. From here the whole of the village, famous for its lace and for its photogenic blue doors, is no more than a few minutes away on foot.