Luxury Greek Island holiday accommodation
| country: | Greece |
| location: | Ithaca |
| price: | From €2500 - €4900 per house per week (varies by season). €19,000 for use of the whole estate (sleeps 2-18). House for 2 varies from €2500 - €3900 per week. |
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description
This luxury Greek Island holiday accommodation is a 7-acre private and gated country estate on the shores of the Ionian island of Ithaca perfect for a Greek Island holiday. Perched on a hillside and having spectacular sea views, this organic olive oil producing estate includes four houses, each set into its own fragrant gardened terraces, a swimming pool and outdoor amenities. The accommodation offers you a luxury, family-friendly and romantic destination where quality and hospitality are the abiding hallmarks.
'In recent years four houses, a swimming pool, outdoor cooking/dining area and holistic massage pavilion have been added to terraced gardens within the groves, providing a holiday destination with services and surroundings to suit the most fastidious.
Together with the houses, the pool and its summer house, olive grove and forests, the accommodation also includes organic vegetable and herb gardens, a morning coffee shop and a quite separate 'farm' area which is home to half a dozen pet sheep and chickens.
You can help yourself to the produce of our gardens and orchards and choose from our menu of foods prepared using homegrown ingredients. A large range of preserves and herbal products are made from our organic produce for you to enjoy whilst on holidays, or to take home as gifts. 
We will attend to your every need. Simply tell us your idea of your perfect Greek Island holiday and we will provide it. Before your holiday we will discuss your travel options, arrangements for your Athens stop-over, if necessary, and your private airport transfers.
On arrival you will find a car in our carpark for your exclusive use, and a kitchen well stocked with beverages and foods. We will organise boat hire, crewed yacht charter, scuba diving expeditions or childcare, at your request.
travellers' tales
Don't hesitate - just book it....Our high hopes were more than exceeded and we enjoyed one of our best trips ever !
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rooms, food and facilities
Our houses are nestled on the hillside among olive trees, overlooking a pine forest, with the vista of Aphales bay spread below. With the aim being that every guest should feel thoroughly spoilt, naturally accommodation and facilities are of the highest standard. Beyond the pool, paths meander into the forest where hammocks and benches provide peaceful seclusion. Swimming coves are below the forest.The four traditionally styled houses on the Estate are scattered throughout the grounds. To ensure privacy, each house is surrounded by its own gardened terraces, which include relaxation areas and outdoor dining facilities. Footpaths and stairways link the houses and meander through the groves and gardens down to the swimming pool.
Beyond the pool, small tracks through a forest take you past clearings with hammocks in the shade, to the Summer Massage Pavillion hidden amongst the trees with views across the bay below. Beaches are below the property. The outdoor cooking area, with refectory dining table; our morning coffee shop, and the summer house beside the pool terrace provide focal areas for those who like wander from the privacy of their own house to take the opportunity to socialise. Thus, you are able to enjoy the combination of proximity to the Estate's facilities and the privacy of your own house.
The Estate accommodates up to 16 people in total, with each house having:
Each of our houses has two bedrooms with French doors leading into vine shaded verandahs with sea views. There is a fully equipped kitchen, sitting room with wood burning heater and a bathroom. Houses are quite separate and each has outdoor dining facilities and its own private gardens extending into the groves. Pathways and stairs which ultimately connect and lead down to the pool link them. Beyond the pool and bar, the path meanders into the pine forest where hammocks and benches provide another area. Swimming coves are below the forest.Baby friendly: We have 'baby paks' which consist of a cot, high chair, car seat and pushchair
We have two multilingual child carers who are available for day care only or to provide a full nanny service. We keep babies happy by providing very healthy foods for them - sheeps milk, homemade yoghurts, fruit and yoghurt 'lollypops', vegetable soups and purees, farm eggs, etc.
Disabled access: Whilst geographic location makes total access for all physically disabled people impossible, one of the four houses is suitable for those who are able to move around without depending on a wheelchair.
Organic holidays: We are a 7 acre organic olive farm, with vegetable gardens and fruit trees which, in large part, provide the seasonal produce we use in preparation of the foods we offer you for breakfasts, picnic hampers and full meals. We source local organic meats for your barbeque meals and provide a selection of meals for carnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike. Guests can choose to use the morning's harvest to create their own meals too. Our herbs add delicious flavours to your foods and provide the ingredients used for making natural household cleaning products. The farm includes sheep and chickens and both farm and accommodation are managed naturally, organically and with a high emphasis on zero-waste. We are happy to share the recipes we use for organic meal preparation using seasonal produce, for our household cleaning products and our natural skin care range too. Full Eco nad Social Policy statements are available on request.
special things to do and see here
Cooking classes: 1st April - 15 May annually. These classes are very instructive, but also quite informal and lots of fun. Morning sessions of two or three hours for a maximum of four people/session are held in the kitchen of two local women who are happy to work on anything you wish, e.g., they will pass on their family's secrets and recipes for Greek, and particularly Ithacan, cuisine; show you how to prepare a full meal of your choice; explain how to make traditional Greek coffee; or the tricks of working with filo pastry. Rather than taking a holiday only to learn how to prepare Greek foods, we aim is to organise our cooking sessions as an optional extra for guests who are usually holidaying to enjoy our spring Wildflower Walks Holidays. Costs are 10 euros/person/session, plus the purchase of ingredients - and you take 'home' whatever you prepare to enjoy with other members of your party. If you would like to participate in these classes, we'd be delighted to include you.
Myths and Legend Cultural holidays: Our Myths and Legends holidays, prepared with an individual itinerary to suit each guest, are arranged to show you the cultural and mythical sites of Greece, as an extension to your holiday with us. Typically, three or four days are spent exploring such ancient sites as Delphi, Olympia, Epidavros and the Argolitha peninsula or Sounion and the sites closer to Athens and within the city itself. Send an outline of the places you'd like to see in Greece, and we'll work with you to combine accommodation, chauffeured travel and private sight-seeing tours with your holiday.
how to find us
By air: May - October: charter flights direct to Kefalonia from UK airports and some european cities. Alternatively, fly to Athens, then Olympic Airways flight to Kefalonia.
By train/ferry: Take a train to Venice or Bari, to connect with ferryboat services to Ithaca.
Please note: Private airport transfers from Kefalonia airport to the accommodation are included in all tariffs. All guests are provided with four-door a/c sedans, with our compliments.
how this holiday makes a difference
The first guiding principle of offering luxury Greek Island holiday accommodation was to invite people to share our lives and begin to learn about a new environment at the same time – to offer the experience of 'living in Greece for a week or two' rather than mindlessly taking a holiday in a different country.
Producing organic olive oil has been extended to other farming activities - raising sheep and chickens; and providing a biodiversified environment which also includes gardens planted with native flora; vegetable gardens growing greens used in the local diet, a wide range of other vegetables, and Mediterranean herbs. We are a member of the National organisation for organic producers. We work to encourage the idea that holiday destinations offering high quality accommodation and services can be, at the same time, in harmony with a natural, living environment.
By providing organic foods and gardens rich in native flora and foods, guests are encouraged to become inquisitive about why they feel so at peace – it's the affect of their 'whole' and peaceful surroundings. Our second guiding principle is that tourism income should always 'stay at home', and so we operate independently rather than risking a compromise on this. Our local community benefits because we provide a full time income to two people (and families); and local families own every service we recommend or routinely make use of – taxis, car hire, boat hire, restaurants employing local people and sourcing foods locally, supermarkets, cafes, food producers such as shepherds and fishermen. The economy of the island therefore benefits from every guest being here.
Producing organic olive oil has been extended to other farming activities - raising sheep and chickens; and providing a biodiversified environment which also includes gardens planted with native flora; vegetable gardens growing greens used in the local diet, a wide range of other vegetables, and Mediterranean herbs. We are a member of the National organisation for organic producers. We work to encourage the idea that holiday destinations offering high quality accommodation and services can be, at the same time, in harmony with a natural, living environment.
By providing organic foods and gardens rich in native flora and foods, guests are encouraged to become inquisitive about why they feel so at peace – it's the affect of their 'whole' and peaceful surroundings. Our second guiding principle is that tourism income should always 'stay at home', and so we operate independently rather than risking a compromise on this. Our local community benefits because we provide a full time income to two people (and families); and local families own every service we recommend or routinely make use of – taxis, car hire, boat hire, restaurants employing local people and sourcing foods locally, supermarkets, cafes, food producers such as shepherds and fishermen. The economy of the island therefore benefits from every guest being here.