I've checked into more than 20 Four Seasons properties around the world. One of them stood above the rest.

• OK, sue me. I love staying at the Four Seasons.
• And after staying at more than 20 properties around the world, one of them stood above the rest.
• Here’s why I loved this particular Four Seasons; and why I can’t wait to go back.

Now that I’ve checked into more than 20 of them at this point, I wouldn’t need a second to think about my favorite one. This particular hotel — which I’ll share in a minute, don’t worry — inches the others out because of what it offers.

It’s the Four Seasons Astir Palace in Athens.

Astir Palace sits on a peninsula in Vouliagmeni, along the stretch of coast known as the Athens Riviera.

The drive from the city center takes about half an hour. I can’t overstate how much that matters. Usually, if I want water this blue in Greece, I’m getting on a ferry and hightailing it to Santorini, Mykonos, or one of the neighboring islands.

Here, I spent the morning taking a tour of the Acropolis and was back in a beach chair before lunch, and that’s what I call a win, if I do say so myself.

The hotel first opened in 1960.

I also didn’t realize how much history this hotel had until I got there. It first opened in August 1960, and for years it was where Greek royals and Hollywood stars spent their time, with Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Brigitte Bardot among those who spent summers there.

Former President Barack Obama was actually the very last person to stay at the old hotel when he visited Greece in 2016, right before it closed for renovation.

The Four Seasons acquired the property in 2019.

Four Seasons bought the property, put roughly $700 million into rebuilding it, and reopened it in 2019 as the company’s first hotel in Greece.

They held onto a lot of the original mid-century architecture, so you get the look of the 1960s with all the comforts you’d expect from a Four Seasons today.

Some guests arrive by helicopter or by boat, but I came in a regular car like a regular person. Once I got settled, I realized just how big this place is. The grounds cover about 74 acres, and there are three private beaches, so I always found a spot no matter what time I showed up.

My room had a spectacular view.

My room faced the water, and the Aegean Sea was so clear that I could see the rocks on the bottom from my balcony.

The hotel is a foodie’s paradise.

The food deserves its own paragraph, so here it is. With nine restaurants on the property, you could eat your way through an entire week without leaving the peninsula, and I came pretty close.

There’s Matsuhisa Athens from chef Nobu Matsuhisa if you’re craving Japanese, Taverna 37 when you want Greek food done right, and Pelagos, which holds a Michelin star.

The market-to-table experience is the one I keep telling people about, though.

Through a program the hotel calls Crafted in Greece, guests can sign up for pottery workshops with local artisans, olive oil tastings, Greek dance lessons, and cooking classes at the market.

I went in a little skeptical: My family comes from the Bahamas, where many hotels offer “local experiences,” and they tend to be watered-down versions.

Still, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. This was the first time I experienced the local and the luxury, all in one.

The morning started with a trip to a local market with one of the hotel’s chefs, and it quickly became clear that the vendors knew him well.

The chef chose what we’d eat from the market.

He stopped at nearly every stall to say hello, and we tasted our way through olives, cheeses, and different fruits as he explained what was in season.

He picked tomatoes by smell before he ever looked at them. Clearly, he was an expert at his craft.

Back at the hotel, I got a chance to cook the meal with the chef.

We brought everything back to the hotel kitchen and cooked together. And by “cooked together,” I mean I fake-cooked, while the real chefs prepared the dishes. A couple of hours later, we sat down to a lunch made almost entirely from what we’d carried in that morning.

I’ve eaten at a lot of beautiful hotel restaurants over the years, but very few hotel meals have been quite like this one, mainly because I knew where every single thing on the plate came from and I had watched the people who grew or made it hand it over.

Why this Four Seasons in Athens beats the other properties

I’ve never had a bad room or bad service at any Four Seasons, and I don’t expect I ever will. Still, what made Astir Palace different for me is that I spent more time experiencing local culture than I ever had at any hotel.

I came home to Maryland with a crooked bowl I made at a local pottery class, a few recipes I’m still trying to get right, and a list of things I still want to try when I return.

Read the original article on Business Insider