VillaMarathon, the most incredible villa I have ever stayed in, on the best holiday with my future husband.
A few leg-crushing hours on the flight later (note to self, never fly without extra legroom again!), we excited hopped off the plane, had our passports stamped and impatiently waited for our luggage so we could get to our villa. We took a very, very short taxi ride from the airport to Volta4u, where we picked up our (bargain) rental car – tip, if you rent the car directly from them, you won’t need to put down an eyewatering deposit – and Dave drove the hour’s journey from Athens airport to VillaMarathon. As a passenger, it was the strangest and most terrifying feeling of being on the wrong side of the car, so I can’t even imagine how driving must be!
Giggling and gasping in horror at the road etiquette (or lack thereof), we made our way to the villa, drinking in the very last of the light with me continually saying, “I’m so excited! Are we there yet?”, which I’m sure wasn’t annoying as the time of arrival was on the map…
We arrived and were directed up the steep drive where we were warmly welcomed by Kostas, his wife and Sushi, the resident cat. Climbing the steep steps to the front door, surrounded by the gentle hum of crickets and beautiful gardens (which I would realise in the morning), we walked through the front door of the villa we walked in and our joint response was, ‘wow’, but there was more to come.
After putting our bags down and being shown around the villa, we went up to the terrace, which took my breath away. Of course, I’d studied the pictures daily, if not more, in the run-up to the holiday, but really you have to see it to believe it. The infinity pool, the south-west facing view of the terrace meaning you could just see where the sun had set and glistening in the not-too-far distance was the sea was more than we could have hoped for.
As we said goodbye to Kostas, he kindly informed us there were water and food supplies for breakfast and recommended that we go to Schinias Tavern for something to eat. Being torn between not wanting to leave the villa and being absolutely starving, we (ok, I) had a crazy five minutes of excitedly running around, before we quickly got ready and drove a few minutes down the hill to the Tavern.
The food was INCREDIBLE. We over-ordered – you won’t be surprised, but I was very excited – and the highlight was dunking the almost too-hot-to-hold fried courgette into (the best we had all holiday) properly thick, garlicky tzatziki which was eye-rollingly good (and they do takeaway). The lamb was the best-grilled lamb Dave had ever had, and whilst we had a food gift in the villa, I asked if we could buy some wine to take back with us, only to be gifted about a litre’s worth from the owner. This set the tone of how lovely Greek people are for our entire holiday.
However, the best place to order wine, eat greek salad and admire the view was our villa. We went to some amazing places, but waking up bleary-eyed, boiling the kettle and made my way up the steps to watch the sunrise – usually with a little purring ball of fluff on my lap – or lazing side-by-side in the pool as the sun went down, was just fantastic to watch and makes for the most special memories.
You’re not overlooked in the villa, which gives you privacy, so if you don’t want tan lines, then you don’t need to be worried about whipping your top off! There’s so much thought that Nasos put into his villa, whom we were fortunate to meet with on our trip. The comfy seating area of the terrace protects you from the wind and sun if you just need five minutes of respite, the fridge is a godsend as the steps up to the terrace are quite steep, so walking up and down every time you need some more water (ok, beer – Greek beers are amazing!), would be quite tiring, an outdoor shower and of course, plug sockets if you need to recharge your speaker. Don’t worry if you forget a speaker though, there’s one in the villa which you can use, along with some extra towels for by the pool.
Keep your eyes peeled as you walk up the steps, you might spot the beautiful swallowtail butterfly and through the flowers you might see a snoozing Sushi.
Because the villa is south-west facing, you get the gorgeous glow of the sunrise, but in the evening you watch the sun disappear in all her glory, which makes for the best view. There’s no bad time of the day at VillaMarathon, but the sunsets are incredibly special, especially with a drop of your favourite tipple being poured by an exceptionally handsome man.
There are lots of videos and a tour of the villa saved on my Instagram if you want to have a look.
Don’t be surprised if there are other visitors at the villa – other cats and even dogs. They are all quite friendly, if a little nervous (apart from Sushi who can’t wait to cuddle you!), but the number of free-roaming dogs and cats was quite a shock for me, especially when you’re out eating at a restaurant, it’s as if by magic they appear when they can smell the prawn saganaki!
Even though we spent most of our time on the terrace, the villa was fantastic. There are two bedrooms, the main room we stayed in had an incredibly comfortable bed, it has blackout blinds guaranteeing a deep peaceful sleep, and aircon which even towards the end of September we needed as the weather was still in the 30s, an amazing shower and weirdly, I loved the fridge. A lot, it had a quick cool drawer and a snazzy bit where you could open part of the fridge without opening the whole door.
There were a couple of cooler mornings when I watched the sunrise from the comfort of the sofa and I didn’t miss a thing because of how huge the windows were.
If you’re interested in staying here, then I recommend booking directly as you’ll save money, but you can also check availability and book here, via Airbnb.
To book directly, contact Nasos directly here – if you could let him know I told you about this amazing place that would be great, as the next time we go, he might let me take Sushi home with us!
VillaMarathon, you were an absolute dream – thank you for having us.
A x
Abi in the Garden 