Best Outdoor Pool Hotels in Megali Ammos
The closest beach to Mýkonos Town, Megali Ammos is roughly an eight-to-ten-minute walk from Little Venice and the Kato Mili windmills, and its one hotel, Icon Mykonos, sits directly on the sand with a seasonal outdoor pool and sea views. The pool becomes especially useful on windier days: the meltemi reaches this stretch of coast directly, and a choppier sea in July and August often makes the sheltered pool the more comfortable option for a swim. Combined with a sun terrace, a family-friendly restaurant and rooms just steps from the beach, it is a compact, walkable base for anyone who wants the old town nearby without staying inside it.
Megali Ammos keeps a more local, working-beach character than the busier stretches further down Mykonos's coastline, with a handful of tavernas and Icon Mykonos as the main hotel directly on the sand. Its real advantage is proximity: Little Venice and the Kato Mili windmills are an easy eight-to-ten-minute walk away, close enough to cover on foot for dinner or sunset photos without needing a taxi. The meltemi wind is a genuine factor here too, reaching the beach directly and making a hotel pool a sensible backup rather than an afterthought once summer afternoons turn breezy.
Outdoor pool · Megali Ammos in numbers
Where to stay
Why the Outdoor Pool Suits Megali Ammos
An outdoor pool at Megali Ammos gives guests a second option beyond the beach itself, which matters on this stretch of coast because of the meltemi wind. Icon Mykonos pairs its seasonal pool with a sun terrace facing the sea, so guests can choose the calmer water on breezier afternoons without giving up the sea view that drew them to a beachfront hotel in the first place. It also means a stay here does not depend entirely on beach conditions on any given day, which is a practical advantage for a trip of more than a couple of nights.
Icon Mykonos sits right on Megali Ammos Beach, and its seasonal outdoor pool is one of the more straightforward reasons to choose this small stretch of coast over somewhere further from Mýkonos Town. The pool comes with a sun terrace and sea views, so guests are not choosing between a pool and a beach outlook, they largely get both from the same spot. For a short stay built around walking into town, that combination of beachfront pool and an eight-to-ten-minute walk to Little Venice covers most of what a Mykonos trip needs without much extra planning.
The meltemi wind is the main reason an outdoor pool matters at Megali Ammos specifically. This stretch of coast faces the open sea and catches the wind directly, especially through July and August, and a choppier sea on those afternoons is common enough that Icon Mykonos's pool becomes the more comfortable choice rather than a novelty. Guests who plan to spend several days in the area tend to alternate between the two depending on conditions, using the beach on calmer mornings and the pool once the afternoon wind picks up, which it regularly does through peak summer.
Because Icon Mykonos is close enough to Mýkonos Town to reach Little Venice and the Kato Mili windmills on foot, the outdoor pool works well as a base for a day that also includes some walking into the old town. A morning swim, an afternoon in Matoyianni or around the Old Port, then a return to the hotel's pool and restaurant for the evening is a realistic rhythm here, helped by the fact that the walk back rarely takes more than ten minutes even after dark, which is not always the case elsewhere on the island's south coast.
The pool at Icon Mykonos is seasonal, so it is worth confirming exact dates if you're travelling outside the main summer months, but through the warmer season it gives Megali Ammos a real advantage over beaches without any hotel pool nearby. Combined with the family-friendly restaurant on-site, it is a workable base for a range of travellers, not just those chasing a beach-club scene, and it stays close enough to the old town that missing out on Little Venice or the windmills is not really a concern for guests staying here.
A traveler's takeWe used the outdoor pool at Icon Mykonos most afternoons once the meltemi picked up and the sea in front of the hotel got choppy. It was an easy walk into town for dinner near Little Venice most evenings, and having a calm pool right on Megali Ammos Beach made the windier days feel like less of a compromise.
Local tips
- 1Check Icon Mykonos for current pool season dates if travelling outside summer, since the outdoor pool here closes over winter like most on Mykonos.
- 2Use the pool on windy afternoons in particular, when the meltemi can make the sea in front of the hotel choppier than usual.
- 3Walk to Little Venice and the Kato Mili windmills for sunset; the eight-to-ten-minute distance from Megali Ammos makes it an easy evening trip.
- 4Book a sea-view room if that matters to you, since it is a small hotel and not every room category faces the water.
- 5Pack sun protection for the terrace as well as the beach, since the pool area here faces the sea with little shade.
- 6Confirm whether the family-friendly restaurant suits your group before booking, since it is the main dining option directly on this stretch of beach.