Reviewed by Michael Cullen
 |
|
ELIES HOTEL - REVIEW
With so much coastline in Greece, you'd think it would be easy to find a stylish little cottage by a secluded beach. But it's not. Most islands have rows of cheap identikit pensions, or a busy road between you and the water, or both. But this isn't an island; it's the southern Peloponnese, a 4-hour drive from Athens, way off the island-hoppers' radar. And the beach is pebbly (though the waters are gloriously clear). Both of which go some way to explain how it comes to be the only accommodation on this lovely sweep of azure sea, fringed by those famous olive groves and backed by snow-capped Mt. Taygetos.
But it doesn't explain the wonderful, unexpected, almost Scandinavian chic-ness of the interiors - classy pastel shades, gleaming kitchenettes, comfy contemporary sofas, brilliant rugs on bleached pine floors. That's down to owner Stavros' obsessive quest for the best: it's taken him 5 years to build 10 cottages, stone by stone. He and wife Fani also run the taverna by the beach - which, unsurprisingly perhaps, is among the best in the region. |
