Costa Navarino: Next Investments Focused on Alternative Tourism, Themed Hotels

After completing investments this year of 850 million euros at Costa Navarino, Messinia, which saw the opening of the first Mandarin Oriental hotel in Greece and of the Navarino Agora marketplace, Greek developer TEMES said its next step will focus on boosting alternative forms of tourism.

A sustainably driven destination in the southwest Peloponnese, Costa Navarino includes the areas of Navarino Dunes, home to two luxury five-star hotels, the The Romanos and The Westin Resort; Navarino Bay, home to the Mandarin Oriental-branded resort; Navarino Waterfront, home to the W-branded resort; and Navarino Hills, home to two 18-hole signature golf courses.

Next investments:
Alternative forms of tourism at Navarino Hills, Themed hotels at Navarino Blue

During a recent media event at Costa Navarino, TEMES announced the further development of the Navarino Hills area with a focus on strengthening alternative forms of tourism.

Already home to two 18-hole golf courses since 2022, Navarino Hills will be developed into a year-round integrated resort with alternative tourism elements featuring additional innovative tourism and recreation facilities and excellent golf, dedicated wellness and countryside activities.

Moreover, future plans of development include the Navarino Blue area, in the area of Rizomylos, which is in close distance to the Kalamata International Airport.

According to TEMES, the aim is to develop themed hotel complexes in the area, offering high quality sports and entertainment activities.

High demand for Costa Navarino Residences

TEMES’ next phase of investments follows the expansion of its portfolio of private residences that are available for sale. The portfolio Costa Navarino Residences, which comprises of four neighborhoods – Sea Dunes, Olive Grove, Rolling Greens and Valley Greens – offer “custom” and “turn-key” villas.

The villas in the Rolling Greens neighborhood were sold out within a year of their launch, with demand surpassing supply. The first villas are scheduled to be delivered to their new owners in 2023.

As a result of the demand for residences at Costa Navarino, TEMES accelerated the launch of the portfolio’s latest addition – the Valley Greens neighborhood that includes turn-key villas, which are expected to be delivered to buyers within three years. According to TEMES, already some 40 percent of properties in Valley Greens have been sold.

The price range for all residential properties varies from 3.75 million euros for “custom” villas; from 1.4 million euros for “turn key” villas; and from 770,000 euros for branded apartments.

Investments to reach €2.5 billion

To date, TEMES has completed direct investments of 850 million euros. Including the investments of third parties to acquire real estate in Costa Navarino, the amount exceeds 1.25 billion euros and is expected to reach 2.5 billion euros when the developments within Costa Navarino’s total land area of 1,000 hectares are complete.

It should be mentioned that TEMES’ impact on Messinia’s GDP amounts to 11 percent, while direct jobs exceed 2,500. Upon completion of all investments, direct jobs are expected to exceed 6,600 direct and 4,400 indirect (11,000 jobs in total).

Recent additions to Costa Navarino: Navarino Agora & Mandarin Oriental

Costa Navarino’s 250-million-euro investment plan for 2022-2023 was completed this summer and focused on further developing the Navarino Bay area, which extends over 140 hectares and overlooks the bay of Navarino. Investments included two new hotels, the W Costa Navarino (opened in 2022) and the Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino (opened in 2023); the two new golf courses at the nearby Navarino Hills area (both opened in 2022); and the Navarino Agora marketplace (opened in 2023).

The Navarino Agora opened on July 1 and aims to attract Messinia residents and visitors, in addition to Costa Navarino’s resort guests.

An interactive, multicultural space, the Navarino Agora is a marketplace that includes over 20 shops, restaurants, street food and a summer cinema with first-run films. The marketplace also hosts events such as music and dance performances, art and book exhibitions, and an antique bazaar.

The most recent hospitality project at Costa Navarino is the Mandarin Oriental, the Asian chain’s first hotel in Greece, which opened its doors on August 15.

The seaside ultra-luxury resort comprises 99 rooms, including 48 cave villas with private pools.

The Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino resort features a spa inspired by the chain’s oriental traditions and five restaurants and bars, including the Oliviera Restaurant, with an emphasis on modern Greek cuisine; the Tahir Restaurant, which focuses on Levantine cuisine; and Pizza Sapienza by Daniele Cason.

Focus on sustainability

Of the investments of 850 million euros made by TEMES, more than 8 percent has been invested into infrastructure for the environment.

According to the company, the building footprint of Costa Navarino is less than 10 percent, leaving 90 percent of the total land area (1,000 hectares) dedicated to natural and planted greenery.

Initiatives undertaken by TEMES for the environment include: the creation of the Navarino Environmental Observatory (NEO) together with the University of Stockholm and the Academy of Athens; the reduction of single-use plastics (by 38 percent compared to 2019); the design of lighting for the protection of the loggerhead sea turtle; the replanting of 6,900 olive trees to date; and the creation of the Navarino Pet Community stray shelter.