Greece Three Centre holiday - Ithaca, Kefalonia and Sivota

The Nostos is a friendly family-run hotel – the only one in Frikes. It stands up the valley towards the back of the village just a three minute walk from the harbour, where you will find a selection of tavernas.

The hotel has 30 rooms on its three floors. All are nicely refurbished in an attractive light modern style and possess air-conditioning, ceiling fan, TV, fridge, shower room and balcony with views to the sea, pool or mountain.

The ground floor houses a bar, lounge and a terrace restaurant offering home- cooked Greek specialities.

The large freshwater swimming pool to the front (14.5m x 6.5m) has a snack bar serving refreshments and light meals during busier times.

Your hosts Nicky and Andreas are a mine of information about the area, and are happy to give advice and directions for their own carefully researched walking trails, for which they will also supply packed lunches.

This modest and overwhelmingly friendly, small hotel shares the benefits of this quiet, attractive and very Greek location in the small settlement of Karavomilos, close to Sami. 

The rooms are built around a courtyard and are simply furnished– mostly twin bedded, ours all have en suite shower room, air conditioning, fridge, TV, safety deposit box, hairdryer and balcony, with views either over the courtyard, mountains to the rear, or sea to the side (note: sea view rooms are limited and requests cannot always be met).

There is a ground floor lounge (free WiFi here), breakfast room, terrace and bar, tennis court, and the owner Makis will go out of his way to ensure all his guests are looked after extremely well.

Highly recommended for a taste of old-style Greek hospitality close to the sea in a traditional village environment, yet with easy access to 5 star facilities right next door.

Karavomilos enjoys an authentically Greek village atmosphere, has three local tavernas (seasonal but at least one is always open), a cafe and a mini-market – for a wider range the vibrant small port of Sami has some very good restaurants and supermarkets and can be reached in a 20-25 minute walk. Famous Antisamos Beach is about a 15 minute drive from Karavomilos and in the other direction Agia Efimia can be reached by car in 10 minutes.

Note: Guests at the Athina Beach Hotel will have access to the facilities of the Ionian Emerald Hotel next door, including the swimming pool.

This excellent ‘small and friendly’ hotel is to the back of Sivota, a 15 minute walk (no hills) from the harbour and less than 10 minutes (600m) from Zavia beach. This upper part of the village has tavernas and shops of its own.

The hotel has 35 rooms on three floors. All have been renovated to a high standard and provide stylish modern accommodation, including twin or king size bed, modern  walk-in shower, and tasteful, stylish decor. Facilities include AC, WiFi, LCD TV, room safe, mini-fridge and hairdryer, and all rooms have a balcony or patio with garden or countryside views.

There is a lovely furnished pool area. The pool has steps in and measures 90 sq m (depth 1.0m-1.8m). The adjacent pool bar serves drinks and snacks and a rich buffet breakfast is offered here.

We find the Albatros difficult to fault. For the standard and service on offer - we think it is more like a 4 star standard - it is also very good value.

Air-conditioning: available at a local charge of €6 per day.