Villa Skinos
Property # 9424

The ultimate Greek island experience

Skinos, (sleeps 14), is a beach-front estate with its own yacht, speed-boats, jetty and private beach area. It is set in its own outstandingly beautiful bay, with 400 acres of pine-scented hills, cypress, olive and vine-terraces. The pretty and unspoiled port of Vathi is 3 kilometres away.

Ithaca, the island of the “Odyssey”, is not only an island of unrivalled beauty even in a country of beautiful islands, but also boasts a long history, with fascinating glimpses of the Homeric and Venetian past hidden in her mountains and valleys .It is famous in Greece for the clarity of its waters and the beauty of its many bays, inlets and beaches.

Main House: Sleeps 10 Situated 25 metres from the beach. Surrounded by oleanders, jasmine, bougainvillaea and hibiscus, shaded by pine-trees and mimosas. Single storey colonial-style house, French windows, wooden floors and high ceilings. Accommodation is: 2 double-rooms, 3 twin-bedded rooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 shower-rooms (all with W.C.) Air-conditioning is available in all bedrooms. Dining-terrace, dining-room, living-room. The house is a cool and spacious family house of great charm, with beautiful furniture and paintings. It is decorated with great style, and an eye for simple comfort and practicality, avoiding ostentation. All rooms open onto terraces facing the sea or the hills behind. Throughout the house and down to the sea, there are never more than three steps, making it ideal for less mobile guests.

Wine-House: Sleeps 5 Situated above the main house, a small, traditional farm-cottage with vine-trellised balcony and sea-view. Wine-press in the basement. 1 three-bedded room, 1 twin-bedded room. Air-conditioning. Annex with 1 shower-room, 1 W.C. Simple, clean accommodation, ideally suited to teen-agers, nannies or young singles.

Piano House: Sleeps 2 Situated above its own little beach, a 5 minute walk along a beautiful little path. Stone house with terrace, double bed and piano. Annex with W.C. (Not suitable for small children or elderly people.) Not usually used for sleeping in as it is a bit of a distance from the main house and has no hot water.

The Chapel; Sleeps 2. Our new cottage, built just above the Wine House, has probably the best views in Skinos. It consists of a double bedroom with en suite shower-room and dressing area, separate W.C, living-room with built-in sofas that can even be used as beds, and a kitchenette. A wonderful terrace with pergola.

The Wine House and Piano house are only open from the beginning of June till mid September unless otherwise agreed.

Staff : Caretaker, 2 cooks, 2 cleaning ladies, captain and crewman. (Further staff may need to be employed at extra cost for larger groups.) They work every day from 09.00 to 15.00, and 17.00 to 21.00. to provide you with a warm and personal service.
The caretaker lives on the estate in a traditional tiled-roof farmhouse just above the main house,

The “Allegro, ma non troppo”: The estate boat is a beautiful, wooden-hulled, 12 metre traditional Greek motor-schooner. She sails at 9 knots and has a sunbathing area. The captain has been with her for 40 years and can take up to ten of you to the most beautiful and secluded bays. He prepares memorable picnics on board, with freshly-caught octopus, sea-urchins and lobsters, if his son is successful fishing, the freshest “kakavia” (fish-soup) you will ever have, (plus the best chips in Greece for the children.) These days really are sheer heaven, especially if you are lucky enough to see dolphins playing under the prow of the boat by day, or go out on a calm night to view a magical full moon.

The two speed-boats and other little boats: are available for water-skiing, expeditions and general transport. There are 2 pedaloes, a hot-dog, paddle-boats, canoes, row-boats, a small motor-dinghy, a sail-boat, a windsurf and an anchored swimming-raft.

What to expect:
The ultimate Greek island experience, an oasis of peace and unparalleled beauty, a quiet, country life, with beach, boat and sea activities for the more energetic, music, books, home-grown produce, jasmine, candles, shooting-stars, floating on a sapphire sea, plump, warm figs from the tree, idyllic days on the boat, the scent of pine and thyme, crumbling churches, glowing icons, tavernas, cicadas, crystal waters, rosy sunsets, siestas in a jumbo hammock, moonlight swims and lemon-blossom, turquoise bays, flying fish, white pebble beaches, true Greek home-cooking eaten by lantern-light under bowers of bright bougainvillaea, big, fluffy towels and linen table-napkins, warm service from the staff, and sorrow when it is time to leave.

A typical day at home;

The staff arrive at 9.00 am, bringing the shopping for the day and the newspapers. Breakfast, like all meals, is served outside on the dining-terrace. The house is then cleaned.
Mornings are calm and beautiful, ideal for swimming, snorkelling, water-skiing, going off exploring on pedaloes and paddle-boats, or just reading under an olive tree. We have deck-chairs, hammocks, floating mattresses, a Ping-Pong table, badminton, beach-tennis, plus all the above-mentioned canoes etc.
Lunch at the house is served at the time of your choice until 2.00 pm. (After lunch, the staff have two hours off for siesta.)
Afternoons, if windy, are perhaps the time for sight-seeing or walking.
The staff will serve tea if you like, then prepare and serve dinner between 7.30 and 9.00p.m. They will clear away and leave the estate by 9.30.

An alternative day would be an expedition by boat –perhaps to a beach for snorkelling, fishing, exploring beautiful bays and caves, with lunch on board, or a trip to Skorpios or Cephalonia, with lunch in a fishing village.
A fishing trip on the “Allegro” can be organised by the captain, put out the lines at night and haul them in at sunrise. The young and sporty can sleep on deck.

Barbecues and beach bonfire-parties can be arranged by the Captain.

There is a CD and DVD player (no C.D.s), games for children and grown-ups, plenty of classical records, and a multilingual library. Satellite Television and video are provided, but even children don’t need it when they are at Skinos. You will find that, with so much to do, you will never watch it.
There is a house telephone and fax. (+30 674 32907) and a line for the guests, 00 30 674 23936. This has an ADSL plug for computers.
Nearest airports are Kefallinia, Preveza, and Athens, nearest ports are Kefallinia and Patras.

Costs:
Not included in the rental price are food, drink and other household shopping, staff meals, fuel for the boats, tips, extra staff and extra laundry. We will be happy to advise you on budgeting. Tipping is discretionary, but a total of 5-10% of your rental is customary. A daily expenses budget of £15 - £20 per head per day for a group of twelve per day could be a guideline. Some costs are invariable i.e fuel and staff food, (see leaflet “Further information” for more details.)
Included are standard staff arrangements, (4 ladies, gardener, caretaker and boat crew,) utilities and facilities, use of boats, laundry twice a week, telephone up to £100, one set of transfers to and from the house.

We wish you a wonderful stay at Skinos – we love it passionately and hope that you get some of the same joy and magic out of it that we do.