I landed in Paros, Greece, on September 26, stepping into one of the smallest airports I’ve ever visited. Beneath cloudy skies, the island was easing out of its busy summer season, when restaurants squeeze in three dinner seatings, shoppers line up outside Naoussa’s boutiques, and beaches fill with visitors.
It was my first time on Paros, a Cycladic island increasingly sharing the spotlight with Santorini and Mykonos. From the airport, we drove north to Oroséa, Paros, Autograph Collection, where I joined a dozen Marriott Bonvoy members for an extraordinary experience: exploring the island with Phil Rosenthal.
The creator of Everybody Loves Raymond and host of PBS’s I’ll Have What Phil’s Having and Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil had partnered with Marriott Bonvoy Moments to host three culinary experiences, beginning in Greece before continuing to New Orleans and Los Angeles. Traveling with his wife, Monica Horan, who played Amy MacDougall-Barone on the beloved sitcom, Phil was discovering Greece for the very first time.
That was what intrigued me most: how does someone who travels and eats for a living approach a destination he’s never visited?
Exploring Paros With Phil Rosenthal
“Oh, you like Greek food? You know where it’s really, really good? Greece. Go figure,” Phil tells me.
Our introduction begins at Oroséa, just outside Naoussa. Opened in June 2026, the hotel has 40 suites, each with a private swimming pool. It serves as our base for an itinerary curated by Marriott, with Phil joining us as host.
We first meet him over a wine tasting at the hotel’s restaurant, sampling a regional white, rosé, and red alongside local delicacies. Later, we head into Naoussa for a late dinner. Even at the end of September, the town is lively: boutiques stay open until midnight, a line stretches outside Paradisiako for its loukoumades, and ABBA songs spill out of restaurants well into the night.
The next morning brings heavy rain, which some locals seem relieved to see. We head to Lefkes, a small inland village of whitewashed houses and winding lanes, often dubbed one of the most beautiful villages in Greece.
By afternoon, the downpour has given way to cloudy skies, and we board a yacht with Phil and Monica. Joining us is Chef Manolis Sarris, the winner of MasterChef Greece 2019, who leads the hotel’s restaurant, Calyra. He prepares our meal as we sail toward the Blue Lagoon between Paros and Antiparos.
Even beneath the clouds, the water is startlingly vivid. Phil is just as struck by it.
“It’s a color I’ve never seen in nature before,” he tells me. “I’ve only seen it in artificially sweetened candies, right? It’s crazy beautiful.”
The following day, we head to Monastiri Beach Bar & Restaurant for a Greek cooking class. We learn to make yemista—tomatoes and peppers stuffed with rice and meat—and tzatziki, before sitting down to enjoy what we’ve prepared.
For dinner, we follow Phil’s recommendation and head to Santa Pacou, where he had loved the charcoal-grilled lamb chops and wood-oven-roasted goat.
“I’m not sending you to this place tomorrow because it’s super fancy,” he tells us. “I’m sending you there because it’s super good.”
That distinction captures his approach to travel. Phil plans his trips around the places he wants to eat, booking his essential meals first and exploring in between. Sharing food is, as he puts it, his love language. But when I ask what stays with him long after a trip ends, his answer comes easily.
“My favorite part of travel is the people I meet.”
Next on Phil’s Itinerary: New Orleans and Los Angeles
Paros was the first of three culinary journeys Phil is hosting with Marriott Bonvoy Moments. Next comes New Orleans, December 2–4, where members will explore one of his favorite food cities through a tour of his preferred restaurants, including Saba, and a premium bourbon tasting at the New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District.
“Then we’re going to have po’boys. Then we’re going to have Bananas Foster,” he tells me. “It’s going to be New Orleans.”
The final stop brings the experience closer to home. In Los Angeles, January 22–24, lucky members will visit Max & Helen’s, the diner named after Phil’s parents, where comfort food comes with a personal story. Phil will demonstrate how to make an egg cream, a childhood favorite, and introduce guests to restaurants where he loves to gather with friends.
“It’s where I live and where I have a diner,” he says. “And so I get to be the host and I get to treat everybody to Max and Helen’s.”
Marriott Bonvoy members can bid their points for these experiences through the Marriott Bonvoy Moments platform—a chance to share a table with Phil and discover the places and people that keep him coming back.
