Review of Villa Malena
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3 reviews
3 hotel reviews
6 helpful votes
We have just returned from a fabulous week in Skopelos. The location is perfect - 5 minutes drive to the local supermarket , bakery and butchers and 10 minutes drive to the best beach on the island - Kastani Beach (made famous by Mamma Mia) Talking of Mamma Mia This island has not jumped on the PR bandwagon, which in my view is great...so you won't find tacky gift shops selling T-towels with Meryl Streep's face plastered all over them...sorry if that's what you are going for. Although we we decided to go having watched the film, we weren't in search of film sets, we were in search of the fabulous scenery and the crystal blue sea in the film...and we were not disappointed. We swam in the sea, jumped from cliffs into beautiful coves and explored caves. This is Greece at its best - it has escaped tourism and kept the Greek charm and everyone was so friendly.
We were recommended to hire a car from Dream Cars, which we did and it was perfect. The car hire is just a few minutes walk from where the boat from Skiathos drops you off and there is a very lovely cafe just next door to have drink whilst your other half sorts out the car! We needed 2 cars and I opted for the automatic - which i can highly recommend as the roads are very windy and the driveway up to the villa steep with a sharp bend....much easier in an automatic!
Our favourite restaurant was Agnanti -it's a family owned restaurant and the food is excellent and the views from the roof spectacular. Try the Greek Mojito - the best ever!
The villa itself is lovely with the most amazing views. We had a few problems with leaking windows when it rained resulting in wet bedding but cleaners were sent immediately and it was very quickly sorted. However, if one of your "must have's" is a shower then this villa isn't for you. There are two bathrooms - one very large one downstairs and both bathrooms have baths and hand showers over the taps, but there is nothing on the wall to hook the shower head onto, so you have to hold on to it whilst trying to negotiate shampoo and shower gel and without wetting the floor...which my husband found impossible. I really can't understand why they didn't make the downstairs bathroom into a wet room/shower room....it would have turned this 3 star villa into a 4 star villa!
The tiles are coming off the pool and you will find them scattered about, but you can't feel where they are missing from when you swim and the pool experience is lovely. The villa suited us fine and managed (just) with the shower situation, but I think if I had known it didn't have a proper shower I would have chosen somewhere else....you might think I'm making a big deal of it, but when there are 6 of you trying to shower it becomes quite inconvenient and something you take for granted at home.
It id always difficult to give a view on accommodation because everyone has a different idea of what is good and what is not. For my taste I felt the villa was in need of a bit of a spruce up and re-equipping wit key kitchen items. Again, just my view. However all of this didn't spoil a lovely holiday. We will miss our morning drives to the bakery for fresh croissants!
If you go, it's work a trip to the church of Agios Ioannis Kastri where some of the Mamma Mia scenes were filmed - but be warned the journey is not for the fainthearted. The roads are narrow in places and on the edge of the cliffs with no barriers. We were very lucky we went in the early evening on a day that it had rained all day and we didn't see another soul either on the road or walking up the 200 plus steps to the little church - however we found out later that there are coach trips there and at the height of the season you have to queue on the steps, which are narrow....we had a very luck escape and it seemed experienced it at a rare moment of peace and tranquility.
Would we go to Skopelos again? Definitely!
we are glad you had a great time at your vacation on the island. We are sorry for the trouble you had with the wet floor, but we had informed you by text messeage that there would be a storm and advised you to close the shutters. This was an extremely fierce storm for the island and the shutters were left open.
Thank you for remarks, we are willing to fix all the problems you noticed very soon to make the stay of our future guests even more enjoyable. It is our duty as villa owners to live up to your expectations and special needs, so we will take immediate action to fix the shower installation and the pool tiles.
16 reviews
10 helpful votes
This villa is wonderful.
The owners Philipe and Kalliopi were delightful and could not have been better hosts.
The villa is just a few minutes by car from Glossa ( good car hire Dreams cars on Phlipe's recommendation) it is just off the main road on the island.
Its position is fabulous, perched high on the hillside it has amazing views across to Skiathos and far beyond.
It was quiet and secluded, the occasional noise of a car or bike was compensated for by the convenience of location. Just a couple of minutes to the well stocked supermarket owned by the happiest woman on the planet! She greeted us like long lost relatives on every visit and filled our bags with free little chocolate bars 'for the children ' every time we popped in. The bakery was next door and made the iconic Skopelos cheese pie ...
We found some beautiful beaches and great snorkelling spots, another highlight was the sunset kayaking trip run by Skopelos Kyaking. Eating out was reasonable, the Agnanti in Glossa a real treat, in fact we went back twice !
The villa is immaculately clean, spacious, and the pool as good as the photo, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it , a brilliant spot and would love to return one day !
7 reviews
2 helpful votes
The villa has the most spectacular views out to sea which you never get tired of looking at!
It is quite well equipped and nice and spacious. The owners were very helpful, especially when we had problems when we arrived and the rental car hadn't turned up. Philip greeted us at the port and was brilliant in helping us get there and also helping us sort a new car hire which would have been a challenge otherwise. He also quickly ran us down to the local shop to get a few groceries which was really helpful as there is no welcome pack with this villa (although we were given a lovely bottle of wine as a welcome gift).
We have said the villa is good value as there is only a choice between yes, no and N/A but really what we wanted to say is that it is very close to being a little over-priced.
One of the reasons we chose this villa is because we wanted total privacy and whilst it is totally private from other villas (it is not overlooked at all), there is a road right in front (the main road that links Glossa to the rest of the island), so does impinge slight with privacy and noise, especially from the motorbikes / scooters.
The pool is really lovely, quite a good size compared to other villas we have been to and still enjoys the views without any obstructions. The only improvement could possibly be if it was heated (we didn't have great weather the first week so it was a little too cool).
The proximity to Glossa town is a 20 - 25 minute walk and the town has a couple of tavernas / restaurants with one particularly nice restaurant (Agnanti which we have also reviewed). There are also a couple of supermarkets and plenty of bakeries (a couple even have cafes attached), a pharmacy and a small gift shop plus a nice organic food shop and a church. Glossa wouldn't be suitable for people who want a more lively resort as it is very quiet and traditional and not so suitable for people with mobility issues as it is very hilly with lots of steps.
We didn't venture down to Loutraki port at night but did go down during the day and it was reasonably busy with a number of tavernas, bakers and you the ferry agent is based here so you can book your tickets here to Skiathos. If you wanted a day trip to Alonnisos without a car you can get a boat from Skopelos town but if you want to take your car it appears that you cannot do this in a day, you would have to stay overnight.
Whilst we didn't find any private coves (and we did try) many of the beaches are very quiet with pebbles, some are manned, others aren't. Unfortunately there seemed to be a problem with ants on the beaches we tried. Some of the really quiet beaches do entail a bit of a walk down to them.
Some of the roads on the island are dirt roads and are very rough so can be a bit nerve raking if you aren't a confident driver and you are expected to use these to get to some of the local beaches.
Overall it was exactly what we hoped for in the sense that it was very quiet, authentic Greece, hardly touched by tourism yet we didn't lack for anything we needed.
The island is very picturesque and is approximately 80% trees!
We hope to one day return!
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29 reviews
7 hotel reviews
10 helpful votes
My husband & I stayed at Villa Malena for a week in July. The property is ideally situated high above the main road just 1km outside of Glossa, with breathtaking views of the Aegean & Skiathos. We loved sitting on the terrace watching the sail boats go out while sipping our morning coffee. We also enjoyed the same terrace in the afternoon for mezes & wine. The villa was well-equipped & the pool was perfect for a daily dip. I'm hoping we have another opportunity to return soon!!
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73 reviews
23 hotel reviews
71 helpful votes
Arrived here on the 29th May for two weeks (we are still here)! It's our honeymoon! We were met by Philip coming off the ferry and he brought us up to the Villa. What a stunningly situated property. The views alone are worth the money. I could look out at that view all day and not get bored. Philip has been so helpful - showing us around, making sure we knew everything about the villa - he even invited us to Glossa for a drink. He's also here quite frequently in the morning to clean the pool (very early - we hardly noticed he had been)Such a lovely man.
The villa has everything you need and more for a lovely stay. Philip left us a bottle of wine and some Greek sweets as a honeymoon present which we thought was a lovely touch. I would say you definitely need a car whilst here. We are so blown away by Skopelos. So beautiful and almost untouched by tourists. Glossa is beautiful and we also loved Skopelos town. Cleaners come to the villa twice a week, fairly early but we were left alone in bed whilst they cleaned. The wifi is fantastic!!!! The pool is brilliant!!!! Honestly we can't wait to come back. Get booking!!! Thank you Philip xx
6 reviews
3 helpful votes
Villa Malena is very special - close to the unspoilt town of Glossa (which has a great restaurant - Agnanti) and a well stocked family run supermarket near the taxi rank. We flew to Skiathos and then took the sea-cat ferry to Glossa (Loutraki). Philip (husband of owner) met us at the ferry terminal and led the way to the villa - about 10 mins from harbour and 5 mins from Glossa (by car) where we were welcomed by his wife Kalliopi.
Glossa is much quieter than Skopelos town and the people were all so nice and friendly - to a large extent a place unspoilt by tourism.
The villa is very well equipped - Wi-fi was especially useful and reliable. A fantastic place to just relax by the stunning pool and absorb the tranquility of the olive groves.
Philip was available for entire 14 days and was ever-ready to deal with any problem.
We look forward to returning to the Villa Malena in the not too distant future!
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1 review
Well appointed villa with all the stuff you need - view, pool, air con, wifi and a washing machine! 5 minutes drive to Glossa, an attractive village with decent shops and a cracking restaurant.
Very friendly and obliging owners who were happy to help with car hire and transportation and were very welcoming.
The view from the pool is as good as it looks!
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
| Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
| Service |
| Friends getaway | Families with young children |
- Was the property as advertised?
- Would you recommend the location of this property?
- Was it a good value for the price paid?
- Did the property offer wi-fi/internet access?
