The accommodation is spread over the 3 levels of the main house and two separate guesthouses accessed from the terraces. From a shady portico, the main house's front door opens into the property's heart, a generous open-plan living and dining area that showcases the aesthetics, quality levels and attention to detail of the property as a whole. Hardwood floors bring warmth, cool grey-painted ceilings with ideally aligned wooden stripes add a touch of classic local design, and six sets of French doors create a bright ambience, welcoming the beautiful sea views and providing seamless access to the main terrace. Carefully placed design objects and works of art add colour and interest and the lighting with integrated ceiling spots and designer lamps enhances the already refined, elegant, and cosy flair.
To the left of this space, on both sides of the fireplace, there is a pair of deep sofas. In the centre is another lounge area with a sofa and a pair of armchairs set around a coffee table. To the right, meanwhile, is a long dining table. Behind the dining area is a guest WC and the stylish, well-equipped modern kitchen with access to the shady al fresco dining terrace. To the left of the main entrance, a staircase leads up and down to the first and lower levels.
The first level is entirely given over to the master bedroom, a generous triple-aspect double (180 × 200) with sea views, designer cabinetry, a chic en-suite shower room with double sinks and access to a private terrace with views over Spetses Town and across the sea to the Peloponnese.
On the lower level, there are two more wonderfully finished double bedrooms (180 × 200 and 160 × 200), each with sea views, terrace access and an en-suite shower room. The larger one benefits from a small sitting area. There is an additional en-suite double/twin bedroom on this level, suitable for a nanny and is available on request at an extra cost.
The first of the two externally accessed guesthouses is on the lower level. Its front door leads into a centrally positioned, large sea-view living area with a kitchen space and terrace access. On both sides of the living room is a bedroom: a double (160 × 200) and a double/twin (90/180 × 200), both with sea view, en-suite shower room and terrace access.
The second guesthouse is situated just across the terraces from the main house's living and dining area. It includes a luminous living room furnished with a large built-in sofa, a couple of armchairs and a kitchen area, as well as two bedrooms: a double (160 × 200) with sea views and a double-twin (90/180 × 200) with garden views, both offering terrace access and an en-suite shower room.
The villa sits amid a vast plot of land, much of which, on the slopes below the house, is planted with olive, pine and cypress trees. The central element for most al fresco life, however, are the terraces and colourful gardens around the house. A lovely sweep of the terrace, measuring some 30m in length and accessed from the ground level of the main house and the second guesthouse, runs along the sea-facing side of the property. The views are captivating, with 180-degree panoramas panning out to take in Spetses Town, the south coast of the island, the Peloponnese across the water, and the islets of Trikeri and Dokos in the distance. There are several lounge areas, furnished with quality garden sofas and armchairs, and a secluded, well-shaded outdoor dining area.
At one end of this terrace, steps lead down to the terraces accessed from the main house's lower ground-level bedrooms and the first guesthouse. At the other end, from near the second guesthouse, a second set of steps joins the main terrace with the pool area, equipped to offer you plenty of al fresco pleasures: the dreamy infinity pool (20 × 7 m), with its beach-effect shallow end and its hydromassage area, is the focal point, but there is also a bar, a shaded dining area served by a barbecue, a well-furnished lounge area, plenty of sunl oungers, and a WC. A polychromatic abundance of flowering and aromatic plants below the pool and around all the terraces and the driveway makes a pleasant backdrop to outdoor living. The confines of the property are guarded by shady Mediterranean pines and deep-green cypresses.
Behind the property, steps lead up to a beautiful chapel, while below the pool a path meanders down to the east through the grounds for some 250m to the so-called "town gate", from where guests can easily walk to Spetses Town. Another path leads for a similar distance southwards to "sea gate", with the soft golden sands of Agia Marina beach at an easy walking distance. One final al fresco space worth mentioning is the private terrace of the master bedroom on the first level of the main house. The views from here are arguably the best.
The villa is nestled on a hill overlooking Spetses Town, the island's south coast and the Aegean Sea. About a 10-minute walk will bring you to the scenic old port, with its fishing boats and pleasure craft, its bars and tavernas, and its picturesque headland walk, and there are several beaches within easy walking distance, including those of Agios Marina, Garifalos and Agios Dimitrios.
Tiny Spetses measures just 7km by 4km and is a tranquil, pine tree-covered island where private cars are not allowed. Transport means include bicycles, scooters, a few taxis, donkeys, quad bikes and, best of all, boat taxis. Renting a boat for the duration of your stay or a few days is highly recommended, as the coast boasts many attractive secluded bays most easily accessible from the water.
In recent times, Spetses became famous as the setting for The Magus, John Fowles's great novel. Named Phraxos in the book, the island is described by the main character, Nicholas Urfe as "Beautiful. There was no other adjective; it was not just pretty, picturesque, charming – it was simply and effortlessly beautiful. It took my breath away when I first saw it, floating under Venus like a majestic black whale in an amethyst evening sea, and it still takes my breath away when I shut my eyes now and remember it. Its beauty was rare even in the Aegean, because its hills were covered with pine trees, Mediterranean pines as light as greenfinch feathers. Nine-tenths of the island was uninhabited and uncultivated: nothing but pines, coves, silence, sea." It's worth mentioning that Spetses has changed very little since John Fowles, who lived and worked there in the early1950s, wrote that passage.
The island's eponymous main town is full of interesting sights, both historical and modern. Like neighbouring Hydra, Spetses had a thriving shipping industry and some local families became extremely wealthy. One of those people (though he earned most of his money in the US) was Sotirios Anargyros, who built the stunning Poseidonion Hotel in the early 20th century. Following the architectural style of the famous hotels of the Côte d'Azur, it soon attracted rich Athenians and European aristocrats to the island, starting a trend of affluent, small-scale tourism that continues today.
Walking trails crisscross Spetses's pine-shady interior. From the top ridge, magnificent views take in the island, Hydra, vast spaces of the Aegean Sea and the Peloponnese, whose eastern most tip is just over 2km (or a 10-minute crossing) away. This proximity to the mainland makes day trips to Porto Heli and the archaeological site of Epidaurus possible.
