The Rooster, Antiparos Is The Ultimate Greek Healing Retreat

Part of the Cyclades archipelago, Antiparos is just a short ferry ride from neighbouring Paros. On the island’s north-western coast, Athanasia Comninos has created The Rooster, a boutique hotel that captures the quiet luxury of island life. Country & Town House Wellness Editor Camilla Hewitt discovers why it deserves a place on every wellness lover’s bucket list.

Hotel Review: The Rooster, Antiparos, Greece

As the only child of a shipping magnate, Athanasia was expected to join the family business, but an early stay at Etnia Casa Hotel in Trancoso, Brazil, sparked a fascination with slow-living hospitality. Years later, that fascination found its home, taking shape in this seventeen-suite Greek island escape.

A first-time hotelier, Athanasia looked to some of her favourite destinations for inspiration, including Babylonstoren, the South African working farm known for its white-washed cottages, flourishing gardens and farm-to-table dining. With farm stays continuing to redefine luxury travel, her belief that ‘you can do high-end in many ways – you don’t have to have it served on a silver plate’ feels particularly prescient. This philosophy is evident at The Farm, a smallholding just 1.5km from the hotel where much of the organic produce used across its dining experiences is grown. Here, long, leisurely lunches are prepared by in-house baker Despina, whose deeply comforting home-style cooking may leave you wondering whether Greek cuisine really is the best in the world.

Another key influence was Chiva-Som, the pioneering wellness retreat renowned for its holistic therapies. It was there that Athanasia first met one of The Rooster’s visiting practitioners, a specialist in Kundalini yoga, who now forms part of the hotel’s programming. Since its opening in 2021, The Rooster has earned a reputation as one of Greece’s best wellness destinations due to the House of Healing – a spa concept that, true to its name, places the emphasis not on pampering but on long-term restoration. I had come to experience the offering firsthand.

Wellness in the West has largely split into two distinct paths. The first champions cutting-edge science, technology, optimisation and biohacking in pursuit of a better self. The second, and the path I have always gravitated towards, embraces the wisdom that travelled west from the East: the ancient healing traditions of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Rooster belongs firmly to the latter. It is a haven for anyone weary of metrics, wearable data and self-optimisation – a place where the goal is simply to feel better. Hidden among cobbled stone buildings designed to welcome shafts of sunlight through every gap, the House of Healing is home to a collective of practitioners I wished I could pack into my suitcase and bring back to the UK.

Abi, the resident Ayurvedic practitioner, journeyed from Kerala in India, where his grandfather was an Ayurvedic doctor, bringing with him an intuitive understanding of the body’s imbalances that is difficult to describe until you experience it yourself. I’ve sought Ayurvedic treatments across Europe in the hope of finding someone who practises beyond the choreography of an Abhyanga massage. While many therapists master the warm herbal oils and rhythmic strokes, few embrace Ayurveda in its entirety.

With Abi, treatment begins long before the massage. Through touch, observation and conversation, he seems almost instinctively able to identify where the body is holding imbalance before tailoring a course of treatments accordingly. You don’t come to The Rooster for a single massage; you come for a journey that evolves as Abi gets to know you – perhaps even better than you know yourself. There are several three-day programmes designed around different intentions, whether boosting energy, balancing hormones or supporting liver health, but Abi ultimately guides you towards the treatment your mind and body are asking for.

I arrived drawn, as always, to the possibility of restoring emotional balance, booking in for a heart-opening treatment known as Uro Vasti. However, after noticing the tension I was carrying in my digestive system, Abi gently directed me towards Shirodhara, the ancient therapy in which a continuous stream of warm oil is poured across the forehead to soothe the nervous system and stimulate the third eye. It made perfect sense. The gut and brain are in constant conversation through the vagus nerve, and calming one so often calms the other.

I left that first treatment feeling understood. We often seek that feeling through conversation, but there is something powerful about finding the rare therapist, or dare I say healer, who, through intuition and touch alone, seems able to untangle years of accumulated grief, stress and emotional residue held quietly within the body.

As though Abi’s treatments weren’t revelation enough, I was then entrusted to Kristina, whose speciality is Ashiatsu, a barefoot massage performed using overhead bars to balance her weight as she applies pressure with her feet. At several points I felt as though there were two therapists working simultaneously. Her hands, forearms, and feet moved across my back and shoulders, stretching and releasing every thread of tension they encountered. I surrendered completely, sinking into one of the deepest states of relaxation I can remember. With a confidence I have rarely experienced, Kristina manipulated my neck, making several slow passes with the sole of her foot. Without warning, tears streamed down my face. Not from pain, but from relief. It was the most emotional response I have ever had to a massage. It felt as though a weight my body had quietly shouldered had finally been lifted. After every treatment at The Rooster I noticed subtle changes, not only in how I felt but also in how I looked. My expression softened, and I could see a sense of calm settle beneath the surface.

My final treatment was a facial. I didn’t think for a moment it could match the healing impact of the previous treatments, but I was wrong. The tension in my face and mind melted away. It was my first experience of a Skin Design facial, using the luxury skincare line developed by Fatma Shaheen. While the products, particularly the Cherry Gloss Peel, worked their magic, it was the intention and intuition of another masterful practitioner that elevated this treatment. A facial can feel formulaic, a step-by-step sequence of cleansing, toning and moisturising. With generous massage woven throughout, this felt more like a ritual, one I’d love to recreate at home.

I haven’t even touched on the yoga classes, sound healing sessions, blazing sunsets, or the blissful hours spent lingering by my private pool, but I’m sold on The Rooster. If wellness sits high on your holiday agenda, this is a destination well worth visiting. In hospitality, there’s nowhere to hide – every detail matters, and every element has to deliver. Under Athanasia’s hands-on leadership, The Rooster does exactly that. She speaks about the importance of humility as a hotelier, trusting her therapists to do what they do best while creating the kind of restorative experience for others that she seeks when she travels herself. That spirit, coupled with a commitment to quality, is perhaps what makes The Rooster feel so special.

BOOK IT:

Nightly rates at The Rooster start from €900 on a B&B basis. For more information, visit theroosterantiparos.com