Set-jetting – the act of traveling to destinations seen on screen – has become one of the defining travel behaviours of the last decade.
The so-called White Lotus effect reshaped travel demand almost overnight, with destinations including Hawaii, Sicily, and Koh Samui seeing sharp spikes in searches and bookings. The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui alone recorded a 40 percent rise in booking interest, while its Maui counterpart saw website visits jump more than fourfold.
Now, another major production looks set to drive a fresh wave of travel interest – this time towards Greece. The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming adaptation of Homer’s epic, arrives in cinemas on July 17, 2026, with a star-studded cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron. Anticipation has been building for months – IMAX tickets released a year in advance reportedly sold out within hours across 26 cinemas worldwide – and was recently heightened by the release of the latest trailer.
While filming reportedly took place across Morocco, Iceland, Scotland, and the wider Mediterranean, one Greek region in particular stands to benefit from the attention: Messinia, in the southwest Peloponnese. Long tied to Homer’s original epic through sites linked to King Nestor – including Nestor’s Cave and the Palace of Nestor – the region also reportedly hosted part of Nolan’s production for around 20 days, with cast and crew based between the nearby town of Pylos and the Costa Navarino resort area along the Ionian coast.
Unlike Greece’s better-known vacation spots, Messinia remains relatively under the radar for international travelers. In spring, it is green, blossoming, and notably quiet. Not a stranger to summer crowds, when domestic tourists travel from Athens in search of a coastal escape, October is also considered an ideal, and quiet, time to visit, when olive harvest season begins in what is widely regarded as the country’s olive oil heartland.
At the center of the region’s luxury offering is Costa Navarino, a large-scale resort development made up of four five-star properties: The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort, The Westin Resort Costa Navarino, W Costa Navarino, and Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino. Crucially, the destination has been designed for scale as much as luxury, meaning any rise in attention driven by The Odyssey is unlikely to overwhelm it in the way other film and TV locations have experienced. We checked in ahead of the set-jetting rush to come.
Stay
The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort in the Navarino Dunes area, has a grand, palatial-style reception inspired by the architecture of the nearby Palace of Nestor. Guests are welcomed with views stretching across the main resort pool and the ocean below, alongside a chilled glass of pomegranate juice. The stretch of coastline is one of the resort’s defining features: a mile-long beach lined with sunbeds and chairs set well back from the shoreline to protect nesting turtles.
The hotel’s 321 rooms, 23 suites, and ten villas wind through the resort’s sprawling grounds, most with terraces or balconies and views ranging from sea to golf course. A notable 128 come with private infinity pools, though it is worth requesting one with strong sun exposure if visiting outside peak summer months. Suites are quiet but fairly basic in design, with updates due at the end of this year.
For full privacy, we recommend the Royal Villa Koroni, which benefits from a more modern design and sits apart from the main resort. Spanning two floors, it includes three bedrooms alongside a dining room, kitchen, study, gym, and spa room, all connected by an internal lift. The master suite is a particular standout, with a deep Jacuzzi bath that faces the sea. The outside area is also impressive, with a private infinity pool, outdoor bar, sunken firepit, cabana seating, and a discreet path leading directly to the beach.
Dine
Costa Navarino is firmly leaning into its soon-to-come Odyssey spotlight, and nowhere is this better attended to than the resort’s new Nestor’s Feast experience. Elite Traveler was one of the first to try the Odyssey-inspired dining experience, led by the ancient Greek code of philoxenia, or hospitality.
The first edition took place on the beach of the W Costa Navarino, the sister hotel only a short drive from Romanos, on a long communal table, decorated traditionally with olive branches and white flowers. The meal unfolds on the sand, with a view of the chefs cooking over live flame behind a pink sunset.
The menu is deliberately stripped back to focus on ingredients available in ancient Greece: no citrus, no tomatos, no modern imports. Instead, acidity comes from unripe grapes, with dishes built around grains, vegetables, and dairy. Plates include slow-cooked lamb with beans and carob, goat’s cheese with figs and grape molasses, and, a highlight – flame-grilled apples with milk and raisins.
Beyond this, the hotel embraces feeding its guests as the Greeks do – that is to say, you will never go hungry. In total, across Costa Navarino, there are 40 restaurants to choose from, ranging from fine dining, relaxed beachside jaunts, laid-back souvlaki spots and even ice cream parlours. Breakfast is extensive, with an impressive buffet rooted in local produce, including a whole section devoted to local cheeses. Parafrasi, from the team behind Michelin-starred CTC in Athens, was another dining highlight, where Chef Alexandros Tsiotinis fed us with an endless array of contemporary Greek dishes, paired with local wines.
Relax
At the heart of The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort, sits the 43,000-sq-ft Anazoe Spa, known for its oleotherapy treatments, which draw on local ingredients such as olive oil and honey alongside traditional Greek healing techniques. The signature trilogy treatment is particularly good for skin rejuvenation, combining salt and honey exfoliation with an olive oil and herb body wrap, followed by a massage using botanical oils.
It is worth arriving early, if only to navigate the spa itself. The space feels maze-like, with hydrotherapy pools, saunas, steam rooms, and quiet relaxation areas spread across a series of corridors.
For those who prefer movement to switch off, Costa Navarino’s sports offering is equally extensive. The resort is home to four of Greece’s ten signature golf courses, with fairways running alongside the coastline and overlooking the Ionian Sea. It also hosts the first European Mouratoglou Tennis Center, where guests can play across 12 tennis courts, alongside padel, pickleball, and squash facilities. Coaching is available for all levels; ours, notably patient with beginners, had spent the previous hour training with a Swedish national player.
Explore
Beyond the resort itself, much of the appeal of Messinia lies in its mix of mythology and archaeology. The region is tied to the story of Nestor and Telemachus in The Odyssey, and is also home to some of Greece’s most significant Mycenaean sites, many of which are expected to gain renewed attention following the recent film production.
The Palace of Nestor – one of the best-preserved Mycenaean palaces in Greece – sits a short drive from the resort, alongside Methoni Castle and the Pylos Archaeological Museum. These can comfortably be explored over the course of a day, either independently or with a guide, though the historical context is far more rewarding with one. On the return journey, it is worth stopping in Pylos’ seaside square for a long lunch of fried sardines, grilled octopus, Greek salad, tiropita, and local olives.
Cyclists can venture to Voidokilia Beach on e-bikes from the resort, arriving at near-empty sand in spring. From there, a short uphill walk overlooks the horseshoe-shaped bay and protected wetland, with views towards Nestor’s Cave, which can also be reached on foot. For those inclined to go further, the wider cycling route extends for around 50 miles beyond the resort.
Back at The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort, the hotel has introduced a thoughtful way to engage with the region’s history through its Philosophy Walk. Held beneath a century-old olive tree tucked into a quiet corner of the resort, the sessions bring together guests from different backgrounds to discuss ancient Greek literature and ideas with a resident professor in an informal group setting, before continuing the conversation on a slow walk through hotel grounds.
