Vanthoulas House

We were overall very satisfied with the housing. Though the owner was not present, he was always accessible and quick to respond. The house was very comfortable and of perfect size even for a family of five and could support a family of six. The beds were comfortable, the cupboards spacious, the toilet neatly sized, the dining table rather large and TV was optimised for late evening entertainment. It even has a washing machine and we never lacked for clean towels. ACs were present in both bedrooms, that allowed us to cool down the entire apartment, which never lacked for cool, as it is made of stone and quite dark. The balcony was quite spacious and the kitchen included all that one could reliably need. With choice yet minimal decorum, the house gave a cosy and comfortable feeling and indeed felt like a home upon the verdant island. The neighbours were very kind and welcoming, which includes the bustling population of local cats and a very endearing dog. The village features a few restaurants, with the nearest restaurant of master Nikos proving to be very good indeed, with a welcoming host, excellent traditional food and low prices. The village also includes a mini market for necessities, buildings of historical importance, grounds for games of ball and more, surrounded by thick, deep and mystical olive groves. The isolated nature of the village and the house ensured plenty of peace for rest and relaxation. P.S. The breakfast part means that the host will fill your fridge and some pantry space with foodstuff before you arrive, enough to last you a day or two, but it is a one time service

The village is remote, far from larger shops, beaches and towns, which is a welcome experience and would be of little issue, were it not for abyssmal roads. We were very stressed by traffic and poorly maintained mountain roads, which seem to just be old horse and mule trails repurposed for cars, with their snaking tight turns putting our alpine roads to shame. There are many narrow sections, where a single car barely fits, yet people park their cars by the road. Such roads alone makes walking through the village dangerous and the idea of walking from and to village largely unfeasable. This reliance of people on cars makes a lot of Corfu rather dangerous to pedestrians and causes a lack of parking space. It is likely anyone being hosted at the house will have to park their car by the road a significant distance from the house somewhere in the village or at its outskirts. The house has a few doorways and passages that are low and can and did cause head injuries to tall people (190cm+) who are not used to ducking at home, especially the doorways to bedrooms and the passage to the toilet. The balcony is narrow, though long, and it has a small round table and two small chairs, so it can't reliably support more than two or three people. The position of the dining table in relation to the couch, which could and should serve as a bed for up to two, also leaves something to be desired: the table is in the way of TV and human legs and the couch is in the way of chairs. I would also recommend a vacuum cleaner for more remote corners, where a broom has harder time reaching. An insignificant con: The house itself is quite dark, as it has no windows which is welcome in scorching summer, but does demand extensive use of lights and optimisation of daylight use; even with main door and balcony doors in bedrooms fully open, one still needs to use light for any serious work in kitchen and the toilet is completely in the dark without a light.

The House was perfect for our stay up in the hills of Episkepsi. Hospitable host who had everything all ready and met us on arrival.