Villa Kalithea

A little off the beaten track but very close to the airport and Argostoli. You will either need a car or rely on taxis. Walking is difficult on the main road without a pavement. (Taxis are easy to get and companies offer a convenient WhatsApp booking service.) There is no shop that is walkable, given the hills and the heat. For meals, we used the Olive Garden, which is a 9 min walk. The Villa is reasonably well-equipped, well maintained and very clean. The pool is very nice, clean, and was maintained mid-week. We did have an issue with animal droppings on the grass around the pool, so please be careful if you have young children. The other issue was the downstairs shower which was pretty much unusable. There was nowhere to hang the shower head, and the shower curtain was 4 inches off the shower tray. So whatever you did, it flooded the floor. We ended up sharing the en-suites upstairs. The games room was a nice-to-have but unfortunately could only be accessed externally, around the other side of the building, despite there being internal stairs. Just made it a little less accessible but not a big problem. The router is also in the basement, which means the wifi doesn't reach to the top floor, but our mobile reception was excellent anyway. We appreciated having a direct phone number for a representative, and she was extremely helpful with advice and any questions. We took a sunset cruise, which is highly recommended, and used Costa-Costa beach. If you want English groceries, try the Dolphin Supermarket in Lassi. Kefalonia is beautiful and the people are extremely friendly. This villa is nothing stellar, but a good base to explore from if you have the transport arranged.

Fantastic views of sea and mountains from the spacious upstairs balconies (apart from the villa directly in front being much closer than the photos suggest), excellent pool and great BBQ. However all-in-all the villa seems a bit tired and very 'rental' - there were too many things wrong for us to recommend it. These include: scruffy surrounds to the villa and pool areas (note: not the 'mature gardens' as described); a lack of essential equipment such as oven gloves, cooker grill, BBQ utensils, BBQ cleaning kit, wash basket, clothes pegs, dishcloths, bin liners, wine glasses etc; poor to non-existent wi-fi; fuse box tripped by faulty cooker and lights; tired mattresses and furniture in the upstairs twin bedroom (which was tight for space and not as large as claimed). Also the villa needs a shaded outdoor eating area as after mid-afternoon the only dining table is in full sun.

everything is very clean. excellent location