Stone luxurious Villa with a swimming pool

Spacious, well-appointed stone villa (3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms) with unusually large (approx 12x5m) and deep (approx. 2.5m) fresh-water swimming pool, at the heart of a small living Greek village, achingly beautiful, and just 2.5km (1.5miles) away from superb beaches. A slice of paradise. Unlike any other rented villa I ever stayed at, we had a change of linen and towels halfway through, which was very welcome. The proximity of 2 supermarkets and of a spate of local food shops providing exceptionally good (and surprisingly cheap) organic local produce (the tomatoes, the peppers, the bread and the cheeses were the best I have had in a long time) adds to the magic of the place. In Paralio Astros, the nearby beach resort, there are plenty of excellent restaurants and tavernas on the beach, serving a delicious fare of Greek foods, again remarkably good value (4 people eat 2 courses each for <50 Euros). The sea food was unbelievably good. We travelled extensively in the region, as distances to various points of interest are easily manageable as day trips: Nafplio, Tolo, Mycene, Corinth. This is a very good choice if you are not fastidious, go on holiday to relax rather than party, value your privacy and quiet and if you enjoy being away from tourist crowds, sampling what life is like for people who actually live where you go to forget about it all. We are a family of 4 with 2 teenage daughters, and we had an unforgettable time there. Exceptionally helpful and reliable, pleasant owner, who made us feel really welcome and was only a text message away. The Homeaway website though let us down. Although the search process was straightforward and very well supported, once I selected the dates and the property it kept throwing error messages (several times I got automated emails informing me that the booking had been cancelled, although I had not done that). I phoned the owner and she tried to overcome the malfunction but failed. 48h after paying for the rental I was still getting cancellation messages. I spoke to the helpline, and that was an irritating waste of time. The person at the other end of the line had no clue about the process involved, told me he has nothing to do with he booking and advised me to phone a different number. It sounded unfamiliar and asked specifically he added as an afterthought that it was an US number, and gave me the area code. Complete waste of time. Once they sold you the product they are a hindrance, not a help.

A very convenient house with a very pleasant pool and an efficient cooling system. The owner was very nice and helpful. Highly recommended