I am delighted to provide my recommendation for a 2026 family and golf holiday on the south-west coast of Greece.
Costa Navarino easily remains as one of my favourite resorts and the area is amazingly scenic. The resort has superb facilities, four hotels, four golf courses and up to 30 restaurants and is now rated as the No.1 European Golf Resort.
Both the Westin and Romanos hotels are served by a central village where you will find the majority of the restaurants. The W is six miles south of the Westin and Romanos but sits on the beach and next to the Agora venue where you will find restaurants, shops, virtual reality arcade, outdoor cinema and traditional craftwork. The W is also very close to the Mandarin Oriental and The Bay Golf Club.
The Romanos is the most elegant of the three hotels, it has slightly bigger bedrooms with a more airy design and lots of space and marble. It’s just a short walk from the main village, spa, The Dunes Golf Club and beach. In fact, everything is walkable from your bedroom but the resort is spread out over an immense estate. The recently renovated Westin is adjacent to the Romanos and tends to be for groups and families with younger children.
The W is a little closer to three of the four golf courses. Opened in 2022/23 and for adults and children aged 12 or more, The W is the most contemporary/trendy in design and already included in the Conde Nast “Top 50 Best Resorts in the World”, there are 246 bedrooms with my favourite room type being the Fabulous Swim Up Infinity Bedroom with direct access to the pool and from where you can swim to the other side and head to the adjacent 450m long sand beach. The hotel’s Wet Deck is something I’ve seen a few times around the world and it always puts a spring in my step – it’s where a huge pool, bar, sun lounges and entertainment come together to make for fun in the sun. Bedrooms are 40m2 and look towards Navarino Bay. Given the dynamic of a family group, the W would be the most suitable and the price provided is for the Wonderful Bay bedroom with partial Sea View.
The food at Costa Navarino is local, often organic, and delicious. The resort does not offer an All Inclusive but the Dine Around Half-Board is good value. The service is very friendly and pro-active and you have a vast choice of amazing leisure facilities within easy reach. The Romanos and The W both have superb spas but the Mouratoglou Racquet Sports Centre is a five-minute shuttle transfer from The Romanos and 15 minutes from The W. As well as the racquet sports, there’s ten-pin bowling, indoor basketball arena, water sports, cycling and pretty much any other activity you can wish for.
Local sites and sights include the Castle of Methoni, Navarino Bay, Neokastro at Pylos, Palace of Nestor at Upper Chora, Proti Islet at Marathopolis and the Vaulted Tombs at Messinia. There are some delightful local towns such as Pylos and Gialova but the resort is big enough and interesting enough to just sit back, relax and enjoy.
If you do want to explore, hire cars are available on a daily basis…2025 car hire prices (available from the resort) are as follows:
Group D: Seat Leon, Hyundai I30 or similar at the cost of: 100 euros per day
Group F: Hyundai Kona or similar at the cost of: 110 euros per day
Group G: Audi Q3, or similar (automatic) at the cost of: 190 euros per day
Group N: Nissan Qashqai, Seat Ateca or similar at the cost of: 130 euros per day
Above prices includes 240 kms, Collision Damage Waiver(with excess), Theft Insurance, Third party insurance , 24h assistance and all taxes. You will need to provide a Driving Licence if you want to hire a vehicle. The hire car depot is adjacent to the Romanos.
Pictured below are resort pictures of The W hotel, a Spectacular Panorama bedroom and Agora dining venue