AirBnb Review – Kefalonia, Greece

We have always enjoyed staying in Airbnbs when we’re abroad. They are often similar in price to a hotel, yet you get more room, private space to relax and very often, your own private pool. Not to mention, your own kitchen space to cook if you so wish, multiple bedrooms for each member of the family and somewhere to relax in the evening once the children are in bed. For more reasons why we choose Villa holidays check out our post on ‘7 Reasons why we love Villa Holidays’ here.

How to get a good villa on Airbnb

We have stayed in some amazing airbnbs, but we can’t deny we’ve had some less than perfect experiences with Airbnb. It happens. But then it happens with Hotels too. As time has gone on we’ve become more and more aware of what we need to look out with when booking and I’ll list those tips here.

• Be as specific as you can with what you want. For example. We always want at least 2 bedrooms. We always want Wi-fi and, if it’s due to be hot, Air Conditioning.
• Research the location of the property. Sometimes bargains are bargains because of their location! You generally don’t want to be in a complete gem of a property in the most difficult to access ,or less than desirable, area.
• Book with Superhosts only. Whilst this hasn’t meant we don’t have ANY negative experiences it has reduced them somewhat.
• Always always always, read the reviews! Google the property and read reviews on other sites too. You can get a very good impression of a property by doing this. But do remember, every review is subjective and a matter of opinion.

Anyway, this post is about a gem of a property. One we felt lucky to have found. Part of the reason it felt so great was that it was good value for money in off peak season. I expect in high season it’s not such a bargain! We paid £1163 for 7 nights in April. What follows explains why we felt it was one of the best airbnb that we have stayed in.

Where is Kefalonia?

Kefalonia is an island in the Ionian Sea west of mainland Greece. It has long been popular with British nationals, even more so since Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was filmed there back in 2001. Famed for its stunning beaches and crystal clear waters, it’s considered a perfect location for a holiday.

Agia Effimia

This Airbnb was set on a hillside in the town of Agia Effimia in the North East of Kefalonia. Being out of season (the week we were there was pretty much the first week of the season), it was fairly quiet but there was some restaurants open and some local shops. In busier months it is a thriving little town with loads of places to eat.

Outside the Villa

As with many Villas with breathtaking views, you have to get up to quite a height to get to them. And in many places in Europe this means going up an unpaved, steep, bumpy track. This certainly applies to this villa! But as far as we were concerned it was fine, the car handled it with ease and the views made it absolutely worth it. I would be a bit concerned if we didn’t have a car as it would be a challenging 800m walk, especially for children.

The villa has electric gates and plenty of parking for our car. We were told to keep the gate shut to stop Goats coming in to say hi!

Outside there is a large private swimming pool with sun-loungers and a built in BBQ with seating. There is also outdoor dining area and chairs with beautiful views over the infinity pool.. We spent a lot of time outside and it was great to have lots of choices as to where to sit. The sun loungers were a perfect spot to dry off after a dip in the pool.

Inside the Villa

Inside, however, is just as special in this Villa. It is a spacious villa, designed in a slick modern style. It is exactly what we like in a Villa and also very easy to keep clean and tidy for the week. Having said that, another bonus to this amazing villa was the mid week cleaner that came in. This is always really appreciated as it gives the place a refresh just as its beginning to need it!

The Villa is mostly on one level except for a few steps from the Kitchen to the Dining/Living area. The Kitchen was fully equipped with everything we needed and was spotlessly clean. The Dining table was large (seating 6) and had plenty of space for us all to sit to enjoy breakfast, dinner or just some family activities.

The living room had a large comfy corner sofa and widescreen smart tv. Smart TV’s are great as it means you can use you Netflix or other subscription services. This area opened straight out onto the pool area and had a beautiful view.

The three bedrooms are all double en-suites and are a good size. Two of the en-suites have showers and one has a bath.

Two of the bedrooms (including the Master bedroom) open out on to the pool area which is beautiful in the morning, especially with the sea view. There are shutters outside which makes it completely secure overnight and also makes the room nice and dark.

There was was free wifi available throughout the villa and outside.

Summary

Thanks for reading AirBnb Review – Kefalonia, Greece. We had a wonderful stay at this Villa and it is the perfect place for a family holiday. We weren’t asked to leave this review, we just wanted to as it was such a beautiful place. For further details check out airbnb here.

All details were correct at time of writing.