Kerveli Luxury Villa Apartments

There is still something of a scarcity of good quality self-catering accommodation on Samos, so we were delighted to discover that the owners of the Kerveli Village Hotel also have a lovely villa, divided into four self-contained apartments of varying sizes in the same small east-coast hamlet. Kerveli Luxury Villa is peacefully situated at the back of the hamlet, approximately 250 metres from the picturesque shingle beach and roughly 600 metres from the hotel, where guests are welcome to use the facilities, including the swimming pool and pool bar.

However, most guests will probably prefer to relax by the villa's own swimming pool, as this is shared by just the four dwellings. The smallest of these, the Studio, is situated on the ground floor and contains a double bed, a sofa, a dining table and chairs and an open-plan kitchenette with a small fridge, two-ring electric hob, kettle and toaster, as well as a shower room and a sheltered terrace with patio furniture. Of the remaining three apartments, Artemis on the first floor and Poseidon on the second floor each have two bedrooms (one double and one twin) as well as a spacious living-dining room and a bathroom with jacuzzi bath-tub and washing machine. The one-bedroom apartment, Ira, is a split-level maisonette, with a spiral staircase leading from the large living area to the bedroom with double bed and the shower room with a hydromassage shower cubicle. These three apartments all have well-equipped open plan kitchens with full-size hobs and ovens and large fridge-freezers (and a washing machine in Ira), as well as two terraces or balconies. All the accommodation benefits from air-conditioning, free WiFi and other conveniences such as safety deposit boxes and TVs.

In the basement of the villa, there is a tiny folklore museum displaying various household objects, farming tools, furniture, clothing and other items passed down by to the owners' family's ancestors, to paint a picture of everyday life on Samos in days gone by. The museum also stocks a selection of wines from the family's own vineyards, which guests are invited to sample.

Guests at Kerveli Villa can use the hotel's buffet restaurant for an additional charge, and during the season, there are two other tavernas in Kerveli, as well as a small mini-market for basic supplies. The nearest better stocked supermarket is approximately 5 km away, so those intending to use the well-equipped kitchens for proper self-catering will want to call a local taxi for a shopping trip, or perhaps hire a car for part of their stay, which can also be arranged through the hotel.