Imaret

Thessaloniki has its fair share of luxury hotels, but Imaret, located in a fascinating historic monument in Kavala’s old town, is in a category all its own. Built in 1813 along the city’s Byzantine walls, this Ottoman-era complex — notable for its grand domes, marble columns, and elegant archways opening onto enclosed gardens — once housed a Muslim educational and cultural center with an elementary school, a college, prayer halls, and a soup kitchen. After careful restorations, the building was transformed into a luxury hotel, the old schoolrooms shaped into stylish suites, a central courtyard turned into an open-air patio with an ethereal swimming pool.

Thanks to the building’s historically protected status, staying at Imaret is something like sleeping in a museum. Rooms and suites are rich with character: curving lines, chestnut floors, handmade oriental rugs, intricately tiled surfaces, and glowing ornamental lanterns at every turn. Some have exposed brick walls and garden views, others have copper sinks and sumptuous brocade sofas. Suites have living and dining spaces ideal for sipping tea and reading.

A low-lit, traditional hammam offers body treatments inspired by ancient practices, and a sophisticated breakfast is served on Haviland-Limoges porcelain in a glass-walled greenhouse. In summer, dine al fresco in the orange tree garden, and don’t miss late-night drinks in Imaret’s moody, opulent bar, seemingly a world away from the buzz of Greece’s second-largest city, yet deeply grounded in its past.