Customer Comments

Wonderful stay at this superb place in the perfect location with a sun (and moon) set view on its own beach, and no other sign of civilization - complete natural darkness and silence with a zillion stars to look at. This is a great getaway, for a short or long time (totally equipped kitchen, supplies nearby), for families, groups, singles or couples of all "identities" - a discreet, environment-friendly and secluded place, also for retreats or workshops (huge verandas), and the villas are winterized too - heard it's good off-season for the island's unique nature-walks, flora & fauna and olde farming. Very hospitable hosts. Thank you!

Stunning view, great atmosphere and feeling of being alone in front of the beauty of the world during sunset on the terrasse. The house is perfectly convenient for a family of 4. Mickaël and Ruth who live next door are very discrete, helpful and warm. To conclude, we'd love to come back again!

On the island of Kea / Lived a man by the sea/ In his villa named Thyme/ we had a wonderful time /(please forgive me this rhyme).
And I hope, someday we will see ya!

This was our very first time to visit Kea and it all exceeded our expectation! The mountains, the sea all very beautiful . The house is amazingly beautiful too. We really enjoyed our stay tremendously and hope to come back sometime. Thank you Michael and Ruth for the hospitable way of approaching us as guests. We appreciate it fully! Greteings..

This place is so beyond comprehension – BEAUTIFUL. It is almost too much to take in – especially if you are from New York and spend your days looking at buildings and concrete. Thank you for sharing it with us. Tank you also for all of you help booking our stay in Costa – Absolutely beautiful too and different. We love both equally and fully. We will be back!

l'endroit est magnifique. ce qui surprend le plus en arrivant est l'incroyable vue à partir de la terrasse. La maison est spacieuse et bien équipée. L'acces à la petite plage juste en bas de la maison. c'est un endroit peu fréquenté ideal pour la baignade.
Merci à nos hotes Michael et Ruth pour leur aide.

And yet another wonderful stay with all four of you! Villa Aperon is absolutely beautiful and the view is fantastic. I haven’t slept so well in weeks. Thanks as always for being the best of hosts. I look forward to my next visit and seeing you all, especially Stefanos who is a certain charmer (with the ladies!). Much Love and happiness – Eva – Rout #7 to Kartheia

Thank you for a gorgeous 10 days at Villa Aperon. We are all feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. Best Wishes

Great Stay at Thymari. Thank you!

Thank you so much for the lovely vacation! It went too fast. The clear signal of a perfect stay. Villa Aperon is beautiful and we immediately felt pampered and at ease. All you recommendations were useful and aligned to our needs. Wish we could stay longer. All the best and come to Italy!!!

The is only one brief word to describe our vacation at Kastellakia: PERFECT!!! It means “ Beautiful house + great and warm hospitality + feeling like being home (but with a much nicer view)+(*) romantic pick-nics (with sunset, full moon and mine trucks!) + unexpected Happy Birthday Party (with Greek champagne) + amazing night sky from our balcony ( Mars, Saturn, Antares, Aztuzo…) + and as Michael would say “ BELLO, MOLTO BELLO BELLISSSSSIMO!!!... bluefly
Thanks for all this – see you in Bolagne

Marija: Every day was enjoyable. The beach was amazing and everything was perfect. This is a best holiday ever and thank you for that.
Oliver: Beautiful summer house, real pleasure and rest! Thank you for your hospitality I like this place.

Ivana: We had an amazing time!!! The view from the villa was fantastic!
Jovana: The best location evaaa! Just what a person needs after one crazy year in a busy city. I got the most amazing tan every and enjoyed peace and quiet with the soft music of insects and beach waves, so thank you very much and I hope to see you all there again.
Drago : Big compliments!!!
Pedia : Great time, Wonderful beach!!

Our first visit to kea and hopefully not our last. Kastellakia Bay is a magical place, that we have grown to love in our short time here. We will miss opening the shutters to the glorious view each morning and enjoying a glass of wine in the deck chairs, as the sun goes down each evening. Thank you Michael and Ruth for your charming company and help during our stay. We have to mention the Villa cat and her new kitten show have been adorable an have made the stay for our girls even more special.
Bes Wishes Jim, Anita, Elena and Dora

Thank you very much for a wonderful time! We all enjoyed it, the private beach, the trip to Karthea with you and the very special landscape of Kea.
We wish you the best and call us if you come to Vienna.

Dear Michael, Ruth and Stefanos,
Thank you very much indeed for a truly magical stay in kea – we had a fabulous time in your beautiful island. It was astonishing to arrive in pitch darkness and to go to bed with the only promise of the sea being the sound of the waves. Nothing could have prepared us for the sight we beheld in the morning – exceptional height and looking the beautiful beach below at breakfast. You looked after us so much and me thoroughly enjoyed exploring the island !
Thank you! Love of Love, Lucie and Simon

Thank you all so so much for our lovely stay in your beautiful villa. It was amazing. All the beaches were amazing especially our own private beach!!! The snorkeling was also great and we found 6 sea urchin shells and lots of sea glass. It was lovely and warm and we all enjoyed are sty.

Of such beauty, one’s soul can never tire.

For those who thought that perfection on vacation did not exist; this house on Kea comes pretty close! Thanks and hopefully we’ll be back!!!

Thank you for a wonderful stay. It took us a couple of days to get into the flow but now we could have stayed for a further week or two. As you can see from the kid’s drawings, there were really impressed with the sunsets. We hope to visit you again in the near future.
Lots of Luc, Tamare

Dear Michael Ruth and Stefanos and Bella – just what I needed. Many thanks and much love to you all !

Dear Michael, Ruth, Stefanos, Michaela and Bella,
After an intensive conjunctions of our scientific texts, we’ve discovered that… for the problems of life…(are you a workaholic? Life is too hard?) both Sigmund Freud.. Carl Gustav Jung and Camillo Scardovi suggest the ‘Kastellakia Therapy’!! (here scientific evidence of results). We had a great stay in KBV, thank you very much for your warm hospitality, we will miss that!

Coming here, to find the house and view even more beautiful than expected was a real treat. Being welcomed with nice words and food and wine in the fridge even more so!
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Villa Maria on kea where days pass as the tall ships in the distance. Calmly, but moving none the less.
The attention you gave to Karly and his needs was touching and the help we got at a moment of medical distress was both professional and as like friends. Thank you Michael and Ruth for your attention and thank you Stefanos for sharing your toys with a boy who could not say much more than ‘ my car’ ‘my truck’ ‘my ball’
Your place deserves high recommendation – but are we willing to share??

Second time around and had a great stay just as in June 2009. We discovered new sides to the island during our stay which left us even more enraptured by the charms of Kea… though it’s true, it’s hard to tear oneself away from the KBV beach and from that delightful pleasure, when on vacation. Time you folds took a short break to come see the delights of Budapset!

Villa Thymari was a wonderful place for us to stay. A magnificent view, tranquil location, the gentle sound of waves lapping on the beach lulling us to sleep every night, the beautiful terrace where we spend mornings deciding what to do and evening drinking watermelon cocktails, playing table and barbecuing fresh fish… thank you all for your gracious hospitality and all your help.

Thank you for your hospitality and your gentle approach. Ruth I appreciated a lot your honesty and openness and your tender care. And I am glad I met you.
Michael I felt glad to meet you and your playful energy. I also appreciate your kind directions.
I had a lovely holiday here and I assure you this (here ) was one of the best places ever – to be with my closest friends! I wish you all good and looking forward to meet you when you come in Romania –you will see – such a beautiful country – I hope I’ll see you again one day.
Sincerely, Big hugs, Bogdan

So we are back within a year! We couldn’t resist the sun and the rough beauty of Kea. And again we have really enjoyed the stay and your hospitality. Thanks! We brought our children to be able to share the experience with them and I have a suspicion that the Kea Villas also touched them. Greetings, Caroline, Tom, Nolda, Jasper, Sashia

When we first arrived we were amazed by this wonderful villa and its incredible view. As we were staying here we appreciated the hospitality of the owners and the beautiful landscape of the Island. Thanks for this very nice week here in Kea. Hope to see you again. Kisses to superexcited Stephanos and very cute Bella.

This is just what the doctor order ‘paradise’! I’m so glad I made the journey and saw my first Greek Island. Thank you for everything it’s been amazing great company in every way. Hope to be back sometime.
Hugs to all, Caroling Mitchell

The Smith family of Washington Dc and the Warwick grandparents from Richmond, Virginia had a splendid vacation! The peace and quiet was divinely incomparable. The dark, dark nights were gorgeous. Watching the moon cross the dark sky through the reed roof on the terrace felt like living a novel.
The view from the terrace was magical. We kept pinching ourselves to see if it was a dream. We love Michael’s tour of the cacti, flowers and herbs. We fell asleep to the sounds of water lapping the ancient rocks.
Grampy loved to stay active and was worried he’d be bored – not so. Every morning he jogged somewhere difference and made new discoveries. Every day he took a grandchild exploring new terrain – seeing ruins, goats, sheep, herder on a donkey. Flowing walls thousands of years old, climbing rocks, exploring crevices, finding bleached sheep bones! He needed another moth before boredom would come close. Grammys’ favorite part was feeding the family on the terrace three time a day an...

I had the fortune of coming here to stay with my sister, brother-in- law and nephews and niece for the second o their two week stay. It is so beautiful here, the view, the beach, the sunset, moon rise and early morning swim and full moon on the roof at midnight. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your piece of paradise with us. Kastellakia Bay is a truly magical pace – where the sea, sun and mountains all come together. The light of Apollo – the awe of the Mediterranean with the force of Poseidon and Dimitri’s porch on the fruit of the landscape It was lovely getting to know you both – thank you for you hospitality and making us feel at home. We feel part of an extended family with Chrissi and Taki here as well and being part of the bond you all share.

Wow! I am a first Hungarian in this book and I hope you will get many because I’ll be your messenger. Your houses are amazing from these magical rocks, the view is like in my dreams, the sound of the sea, the breeze on the balcony, the wonderful beach and your nice company. We could not find any better. Thanks so much for everything.

What a wonderful serene place Villa Thymari is! Fuego and us had such a great time. We’ll definitely come back soon. All the best for the summer.

Thank you so much for making our stay at Thymari so relaxing and wonderful. You house was really quite lovely. It’s a really great place to unwind and go back to ‘life’ feeling quite refreshed. The private beach is really quite special. We’ve already told our friends for here and the ski resort and hope that they will see what we’ve found. With fond regards..

Thank you so much. We have had a wonderful week with you at the Bay. You commented on how “R&R’ need I looked on arrival and finishing off the vacation exactly where we began it sitting on the terrace overlooking this idyllic “paysage de reve” my body and should tell me that this thalassa-therapy worked wonderful, thank you. It was also great to at last see and taste the fruits of your labors. You have done a remarkable job and should be proud of your achievement, all set for Phase 2 like all great projects! Come see us soon by the Danube or in Paris or wherever the show moves on to if it’s Athens I’d love to become a neighbor so we could join the Bay club as permanent members! All the very best to you and Mr Stefanos (keep pointing and aiming for the stars!)

A Perfect place – exactly what we all needed. Thank you both. Have to say thanks – was super relaxing. Very beautiful amazing. Thank a million!

Lovely place to hang out. I like your choice of pictures and ornaments particularly the proud young French with his bottle of wine. Very very relaxing.

Excellent place. Exactly what one need to relax and refresh. We would lie to say our big thank to Mikhalis and Ruth. We will do our best to keep coming again.

Thank you so much for the weekend. So short but oh so sweet. It was a great taste of Kea and the Bay. We hope to find you some more guests from the Embassy and really hope we’ll be back ourselves before our time in Greece is up.

We had a great time in Kea, the house was great, we enjoyed very much your hospitality, we discovered wonderful beaches and still have many to discover, o that we might have to come back here! We had very swims in the ‘aquarium’ below the house… We thank you for all this and the great holiday we had! We will remember this week and Valentina will not forget her greek boyfriend! A bientot a Kea, Munich and Paris !

For of all we’ll start Salome’s impression of her staying in villa Maria and or course of meeting Stefanos (the 1st baby she ‘ever met’ I think she was pretty thrilled and simply the pure fact that she didn’t felt upset by the change of environment shows how much she appreciated the serenity of the place and the warmth of the people around her. Then we’ll ‘communicate’ Beba’s thoughts! Lovely weekend and a chance to change pictures, as long as lately she’s been rather neglected at home… did her also good the staying here. Now I’ll come to my impressions: although not on the best condition there were plenty of moments that I felt wonderful with you guys and the nice evenings we had together. Really did me good. Also sitting at the verandah late at night and letting myself getting literally ‘swallowed’ by the sheets of starts above me head was something unique and soothing. You see in Athens you don’t have all too many chanced to experience theses emotions and all theses thanks to you. N...

Frans said it is all great in Kea… but it isn’t … It’s FABULOUS! We just loved it all – the beaches, Ioulis, the Lion, Rolando and greek food, the water, the house… and its owners!! So glad for you about cute little Stephanos, with his big brown eyes and wide smile as he looks at his mum. The only problem about Kea is that how Loraine wants to live here – keep trying to preserve the island, it’s just wonderful.

Great location, nice people! What else shall you need… thank you for your hospitality.

Thank you for your friendly welcome. The view is totally incredible, lucky you are! Wish you the best and see you… Best regards!

It was too short but just what the doctor ordered. For me it was like one long massage – each sound of the waves a soft caress of my souls. It is healing here. A relief from the chaos of Athens. The memories? A wonderful breeze, tranquility, a sea of so many shades of blue and green, white yellow and brown silence – and yet not. Thank you for this gift. The Villas are terrific, taking into consideration every possible need. I can’t wait to come back – longer!

We came to find peace and quiet. the sun and the sea and relax. We have found all of this and more. We are lovers of nature and beautiful scenery and living in Switzerland we are spoiled by much of it but Kea has charmed us with its striking beauty. Thank you for your hospitality.

We all had a really great time!

There we were, in London, in June, with half the country under water, flooded, looking for a place to spend our holiday in September – a tall order. It had to be near Athens, it had to be a house, on the sea, without a swimming pool, somewhere away from crowds, and noise and too much life.
That’s how we came across the website for the Kastellakia Villas and the dream started- for long, winter-like weeks we looked at the pictures knowing that the day was getting closer and closer and then here we were – we walking into Thymari and saw the sea at the other end, a private geranium framing our view – paradise we thought. For once the blurb was telling the truth. Now it’s time to go home and looking back we can honestly say we had the best time we could possibly have hoped for. The house was perfect beautiful beyond description and the waves, the waves… how wonderful to wake and fall asleep with their whispers in our ears.
We loved Kea, as well as our lovely house, in September the...

Thank you for our second fantastic holiday in Kea. We enjoyed ourselves even more this time especially the snorkeling with Ishann and our trips in the jeep to the Southern and Eastern beaches.
Ishann lists his wildlife highlights as
1. Watching a preying mantis eat a cicada
2. Seeing octopus whilst snorkeling
3. Watching the flatfish whilst snorkeling and visiting him everyday!
We hope to visit again and complete our experience by staying in the best of your three fabulous properties. Best wished..

We spend nine wonderful days on Kea, such a lovely island. The villa is superbly situated, very comfortable and pretty. You were both very kind to us and we thank you for your hospitality. We hope to be back again either here or in one of your other places! Al our best wishes.

Amazing and view, very rich island to discover . Beautiful walks and beaches – excellent food and cooking and of course the very friendly welcome of Ruth and Michael. We will be back!!

During the year we were waiting for the Greek trip to come. Now that we finally made it, we are more than glad to see that our dream came true. Thank you so much for your kindness.

Dear M and R plus Bella the super dog!! What can I say? Thank you for your wonderful hospitality as always I will take this relaxing time back to the states with me for the upcoming year. I wish you all the best of luck and much LOVE!

It was really a great pleasure to rediscover the greek landscape through this nice villa. Thank you for your hospitality

Again I come to KEA! I have arrived on your island full of excitement and anxiety. Excitement for my new engagement to David and anxiety for what my future changes will be in my life. This is on thing certain: I leave Kea will clear, calm, directions for my future. You see here strips away all that is not important and replaces it with what is certain, calm, and right. It is the renewing of the basic foundations in life, friends, family, fine food an wine, and wonderful conversations about past, present and future. I look forward to coming back to Kea with my husband and children so that they too can remember what is really important in life… Kea, Ruthie, Michael , Bella and Edward! All my love and much gratitude to my wonderful hosts and hostesses.

Thank you for welcoming me into your home to enjoy an authentic Greek holiday you are truly some of the riches people I know – rich in love, rich in humor and laughter, and rich in spirit. I have enjoyed haring your lifestyle for the past week. It is clear that your day to day approach and enjoyment of simple pleasures is key to living a life well – loved. I am sorry to hear that Edward could not appreciate the Shangri-La that you have created. Fortunately, you are both wonderful and extremely capable in the kitchen Again, thank you for your hospitality and friendship !

Many thanks for your hospitality and for making our stay here at Kea so special. The villa is amazingly beautiful and we all agree that this holiday is one of the best. We hope to return. Many thanks, See you next year..

They say there are only three things in life working hard for friends, family, excellent food and fine wine! I believe there are five: friend, family, excellent food fine wine and Kea! And number five… Ruthie and Michael as they deliver all of the above. At first glance Kea is brown, rocky and dry but a second glance is green ,smooth, ok still dry but beautiful . There are many things I have done during my short week in Kea (it should never be less than two week sin the future) Ruthie and I went on this great 2hr hike to a wonderfully private breach with its own archeological dig. At first look Mt Kilmagaro looked easier but the quite wind, the view of the sea, great childhood conversations and Bella’s pace made the trek over in a heartbeat… longing only to do it all over again! I loved going to sleep with the sound of the waves and waking up with the sound of the waves… I think I have stripped years of stress away with each wave caressing the beach. We wet to many wonderful beaches ...

We felt in the authentic Greece here, and almost better! And Bruna became a better swimmer in your beautiful beach, thanks to the ‘magic stone’ she found out in it. Ruth and Michael, moltes gracies!

Coming here made us feel that our life is back on track and life is wonderful. Keep up the good work with the details and good luck with building the next villa!
Angela, Georg, Persias
June 2006

An “impromptu” full moon party. It was great to finally get to know you and Kea. We had a great stay!

I’ve taking “mind pictures” of this place. The beach, the sea, the view, may family, playing. I will recover those “mind pictures” back home and they will bring me sweet memories of the holidays here!

Thank you so such for our wonderful stay in Kea. You have built a beautiful place here and were really enjoyed the efforts of all your hard work. Thanks also for being such great hosts, all the local info that you share makes the experience that extra bit special. The icing on the cake has to be sampling Maria’s home made delights! I hope that this place remains as it should so that is can be enjoyed in all its beauty by us and others. Many thanks… Jess, Radha and Ishaan great white shark I hope to return with a larger family groups!

Thank you for your lovely welcome, all the nice attentions you’ve showed during our stay. We love it and you know what? We’ll be back!! Take care – lots of love for your both!

You have definitely cornered a piece of Greek paradise! I am torn between telling everyone and telling NO ONE! Thank you very much for sharing your company and 9improved) found treasure with us. The tranquility and comfort made a few days visit fell like an extended stay!

We really enjoyed our short stay! Congratulation on making this such a special place!! The beach was gorgeous, and the view was magnificent! – Thanks for showing us the special beach!!

You are such an excellent host and hostess. We saw everything, ate more tidbits at our ‘light lunches’ and swam very day. the company was excellent . I will never forget this fantastic experience all my love!

I can’t thank you enough. My family and I had a great time at Kea. You both are wonderful hosts and very generous. Thank you for all your help in planning it!!

Without Michael, I wouldn’t have made it here. Thank you. A wonderful villa, wonderful weather, wonderful family. Love!

After a very bad year due to our son’s illness coming here made us feel that our life is back on track and life is wonderful. Keep up the good work with the details and good luck with building the next villa!

This place is great! Thank so much for being such great hosts! Drove all around the island, showing us everything, hiking, swimming, light lunches and a week long birthday party. I will not forget the experience of a wonderful time with family! Love!

I want to thank you both for the hospitality you gave to me and Kea. One of the wonderful experience I had had in Greece is visiting different island to see how the Greek people live. You made this happen for me!

Thank you so much for your hospitality and generosity last week on Kea. I had a great time at the Villa you are wonderful hosts!

You asked for a few word to give our impressions of Kea. The conversation moved quickly on to…. So here are my few words !

Excellent time at your place. This has been my first holiday in over twenty years. I’m glad I spent it in your villa! Thank you for allowing me the privilege. Be excellent to each other!

Well, I just don’t know what to say more… These 4 days were absolutely perfect! The house, the view, the sea, even the storm! Ad you, of course. Thanks for your kindness. Love!

Markos has a fight with the window screen and lost out, the cracked a rock on the beach by smashing he head again it… Bella was very paint when force-fed by Lukas, but she did get lots of hugs from all 3 boys! Alexandros discussed his business plan about this ‘dog walking’ venture … and all this before lunchtime.
The food at St George was excellent and the boys showed how much they can eat!
The gentle alcohol from the bar moved us through our conversation at night. The sound of the waves told us it was time to seep and the starts kissed Helena and I goodnight. As we fell asleep we remember you telling us about building this lace…still we had no idea what was really involved. You’ve done a great job (on an epic scale! and deserve all the luck and success moving forward!

A taste of – wild – paradise! Because of the sea, because of the view, because of the storm… and because of you – hop I could come back to celebrate our birthdays! Love!

Dear Michael and Ruth and Bella I will miss you all Love

I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. You don’t grasp the fact that what is most alive of all is inside. Your own house, the breath inside the breath!!”Kabir” Meditate gentle Meditate!

Thank you for everything. The vacation was exactly what we were hoping and looking for! GRAZIE!

In order to fill the book we made a pool (sondage as we say in French) 100% of concerned parties have answered to the survey.

1. how were the two weeks vacation in Kastellakia?
75% GREAT!!!
25% I don’t like vacation with my parents.
2. how was the villa?
75% GREAT, gorgeous !!!
25% I don’t like being in a villa with my parents.
3. Would you come back?
75% YEAH!!!
25% without my parents.

And 100 % said THANKS!

Best Terrance for private sunbaths and romantic dinners. We were very happy here waiting for our baby to come! Thank you!

For my daughters Kea seems to be an unforgettable sunset. And for me? Well, the ultimate luxury because of you, because of your villa, because of the island, I feel HOME! I’ll be back..

As always a terrific stay! Will be seeing you again – wonderful beach BBQ – full moon! Love..

This is a great place – beautiful villas and amazing location! Thank you!

Thanks for such a wonderful time here! The beach was great! This was the perfect way to end our vacation! Thanks Again!

This was a great place to end our two month long vacation.

Perched about a gorgeous bay, built with love and car for details, beautiful and functional : Villa Maria is a real gem that feels like home. Thank you for letting us share your treasure, This has been a most memorable vacation for all of us.

Thank you for your wonderful hospitality incredible generosity and sharing your island with us. See you in the states?!

Dear Ruth and Michael, we had a wonderful vacation in the Villa Thymari so quiet and happy. Many thanks for this barbecue on the beach, an amazing evening engraved in the memory of my sons… I will come back with Frans very soon.

We had a wonderful holiday, great view, very peaceful. Everyone on the island was very friendly and Bella was glad to be reunited with Babe and Melon. Many thanks Ruth and Michael for making us so welcome.

Thanks to both of you we had a wonderful stay – your houses are astounding and your kindness the same.

I’ve fallen in love.. with this place with you and Bella dog. We are so lucky to get this opportunity to experience Greek Easter and spend time with you in the amazing place. And we will come back, for sure hopefully already in September, Anna (4 years old) already talks about it!

We love it here. You have done a beautiful job. I loved listening to the waves against the rock from the porch.

Thanks so much again for everything – this place gets lovelier and lovelier with each visit and your hospitality is unmatched. See you again very soon!!!

My kids say “this house has everything” we were able to swim under sunny skies and in warm water for 3 or our 6 days here- totally unexpected. The site is unique and we feel as if we know you after spending one week in this gorgeous house. Great walks on cool days, fabulous beach on warm ones. Everything for a memorable vacation.

Yes, we came back in September! A little cooler at night, less windy in the day, absolutely lovely again! We’re sure to be back again soon. Thanks again for being great hosts!

What a wonderful place! I can never thank both of you enough for your hospitality and friendship, as well as introducing me to the Island of Kea. This is the ultimate site to get away from it all. I look forward to returning to Vila Maria! Best of luck to you both always, go camels!