Volume I

Greece

The islands first, then the mainland, with the houses I know by name.

Written up

Two stays, with the five notes on each.

Livadia, Antiparos, Greece

The Rooster

Sixteen stone cottages up a valley above Livadia Bay, reached by a dirt road with one sign on it. The only house on this site I have been back to four summers.

Vouliagmeni, Athens Riviera, Greece

Four Seasons Astir Palace

A pine peninsula half an hour from the Acropolis, where the city stops and the sea begins.

Outside the groups

Houses here that belong to no chain.

A white courtyard of built-in seating and low stools, open to the sea — Antiparos, Greece

A white terrace with a parasol and an outdoor kitchen, the garden and the sea beyond — Naxos, Greece

A sitting room opening through a glass door to a balcony and the sea — Syros, Greece

A sunbed standing in a private pool under a timber pergola — Mykonos, Greece

An infinity pool against the sea, with mountains behind it — Crete, Greece

A concrete path running between high white walls towards a timber door, with cacti, a fig tree and a long narrow water channel beside it under a deep blue sky — Antiparos, Greece

A bed against gold leaf wallpaper, ceramic discs hung on the wall beside it — Syros, Greece

A lounge walled and ceilinged in cane, lit at dusk — Antiparos, Greece

A row of striped beach cabins standing on grass — Athens, Greece

A white courtyard under a canvas awning, with a pale blue louvred door and bougainvillea in the foreground — Naxos, Greece

A white village at dusk above a terrace with a long plunge pool — Santorini, Greece

A bed with white linen and a timber headboard under a large print of arcs and circles, with a reading lamp on each side and a round mirror by the desk — Patras, Greece

A stone opening framing a bay and the low houses above it — Antiparos, Greece

A gauze curtain drawn back at the edge of a terrace with a chair and a low table, looking over a pool and across a bay to a crescent of beach under a green headland — Epirus, Greece

Two bamboo loungers on a terrace, the town climbing the hill across the water — Syros, Greece

Daybeds and a low table on a terrace above a bay with boats at anchor — Antiparos, Greece

A long outdoor lounge under a cane ceiling, opening to the sea — Naxos, Greece

Two tall cane cocoon daybeds with cushions standing under palms and an old spreading tree, with a timber table and chairs beside them — Crete, Greece

Ochre steps climbing a white wall against a deep blue sky — Koufonissi, Greece

A narrow pool under a woven canopy, with loungers along the wall — Antiparos, Greece

A beach club lounge with a long banquette, a turquoise floor cushion and two round black tables on a dark timber deck, open through white louvres to a turquoise sea and a red headland, a frieze of small words running along the wall — Athens Riviera, Greece

A terrace above the water with a daybed, a woven pouf and a cactus in the corner — Syros, Greece

A curved white wall along a stone path, two palms against the last light — Antiparos, Greece

A white house under deep timber pergolas, junipers in front of it — Naxos, Greece

A bed under dark beams, reached by three wide stone steps — Mykonos, Greece

A salon in pale green with arched windows, velvet chairs and palms — Syros, Greece

A white pool and terrace seen from under the dark canopy of a tree, with ribbed white stools along the edge and the hills behind — Crete, Greece

A pergola of white battens over a plunge pool, herringbone paving below — Antiparos, Greece

Breakfast on a round table above the caldera — Santorini, Greece

A corridor on a black and white diamond floor, photographs down one wall — Patras, Greece

A long table under a bamboo pergola against a dry stone wall — Antiparos, Greece

A terrace under a cane roof with wicker chairs, looking out to the water — Naxos, Greece

An espresso martini and a glass of water on a glass table on a roof terrace — Syros, Greece

A long pool beside a house of dry stone, a white parasol at the far end — Antiparos, Greece

Breakfast laid on a table above the bay — Crete, Greece

An unmade bed against an olive green wall with two small busts on a shelf — Syros, Greece

The names stay off this page. They come with the inspection, or by email. More of them here.

On foot

The ground, where I stood on it.

Suede driving shoes on a marble chequerboard with brass rails

Four Seasons Astir PalaceAthens, Greece

Black leather sandals on pale stone with a fallen bougainvillea flower

The RoosterAntiparos, Greece

Ask about Greece

Tell me the month and who is travelling.

I come back with one or two properties, the room I would take in each, and the notes that stay off the site. In English, Italian or Spanish.

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Or the other way

Book it yourself, with the benefits attached.

Register once through Classic Travel, and where the house sits inside one of the programmes the hotel's own rate comes with breakfast, a credit, and an upgrade when one is free.

Register with Wheresnik →