From the moment you walk from the private parking space embraced by oleander and Japanese cheesewood to the adjacent garden, Andreas Tinos Houses is sheer pleasure for the eye.
A flagstone pathway leads past an impressive built-in, adobe-style barbecue to a patio with a beam and reed ceiling and a long varnished dining table with bench seating and chairs.
Beyond this is a stand-alone wood and metal garden bench and a line of herbs and flowers such rosemary, geranium, rose, liquorice plant and various cacti in ochre-colored clay urns.
During our stay, seated at the patio table over breakfast and dinner on whicker chairs, my companion and I enjoyed clear views over nearby hills dotted with traditional whitewashed homes and across to the Aegean Sea glistening in the bright sunshine and other Cyclade Islands beyond.
The interior of the villa, with attractive beige tile flooring, is elegantly cozy, featuring a large living room, two bedrooms and an open kitchen. Guests enjoy air-conditioned rooms.
Furnishings in the sitting-room include white lace curtains, a large sofa, a TV and a dining table and chairs. The ceiling features wood beam lending a sense of naturalness to the overall ambience. There’s also a cabinet with intricate metal designs, a wall mirror and even a large radio. Framed paintings of potted flowers, a sailing ship at sea and boats moored in a rock-lined harbor add extra charm.
The bedrooms are accessed through a curved archway, one having two single beds with a charming painting of cherubims adorning the wall and books on shelves. Open the curtains in the second bedroom, which features a kingsize bed with metal bedstead, a floral design painting on the wall and an intricately designed vintage cabinet, and you’re gazing directly over the patio and across to the Aegean Sea and islands.
The kitchen, with its impressive white stone alcove, is fully-equipped, complete with crockery, cutlery, a large refrigerator, tea and coffee -making facilities, a toaster, an oven, double sink and a folding table. Copper pots, a wooden butter churn and a penny bicycle style decoration adorn an upper shelf. There is also a washing machine outside in the patio.
So cosy is Andreas Tinos Houses, three attractive houses in a cluster designed and built by the talented Andreas Lekasi, it feels more like a home-away-from home than an impersonal holiday rental. Its convenient location, close to a sandy beach on one side, the main harbour town of Chora on the other and a road up to the mountains in between makes it an excellent destination choice.
