Jacaranda House Peloponnese

Restored stone house with private pool, colourful garden and in a quiet position just steps away from the heart of the village and 5 mins drive to the sea

The old stone house is a wonderful property full of character that is situated in a traditional Peloponnese village that has spectacular views across the Gulf of Corinth. Surrounded by a mature walled garden with private swimming pool, the property has been sensitively restored by its owners retaining many traditional features such as stone arches, fireplaces, wood burning stoves, thick stone walls, vaulted wooden ceilings and spacious rooms.

A large double wooden gate leads through the thick stone wall surrounding the property into the garden. The stone pathway meanders down through the flower beds planted with lavender, majoram, rosemary and a profusion of cloudy-blue plumbago and heavy-scented jasmine to the main entrance.

The house is on two levels. On the ground floor level, there is a farmhouse style kitchen with dining area and comfortable living area with sofa and armchairs around a wood burning stove. This is a great space for serious cooks with a very well-equipped kitchen. Down the corridor is a guest double bedroom with windows overlooking the garden. Next to the kitchen is a hallway with entrance to the main bathroom featuring Italian tiles and the original stone walls with full-size bath and shower.

Moving through the hallway on this level are two further bedrooms: The first is a spacious bedroom with twin beds which also has doors leading directly into the garden. Next to the twin bedroom is the master bedroom with an antique bed, large corner fireplace, en-suite bathroom and doors leading to the garden. These two bedrooms can either be accessed independently from the garden, or are well designed for families with small children since there is also an inter-connecting door through a thick stone arch between the rooms.

From the kitchen/living area a spiral staircase leads to the upper level. The upper level is one very large living room with vaulted ceiling that also has a double bed for extra guests. Two sets of doors open onto a very spacious veranda with sea and mountain views. The veranda has a large outdoor dining table for 8 people as well as various armchairs, comfortable outdoor sofa and day bed with plenty of pillows. An external staircase leads from this veranda and level down to the garden which is planted with many flowers, herbs, climbers, shrubs and trees including a magnificent purple-flowering jacaranda tree. The focal point of the garden is the swimming pool nestling amongst the flowers. It has a 9 metre swimming length and a large rounded area with steps across the width of the pool which is excellent for cooling off or for children to play. The swimming pool terrace is also partially railed so avoiding difficult drops.

In the garden there are two additional terraces - the sun bathing terrace above the swimming pool with its teak loungers, and the coffee terrace with its elegant table and chairs punctuated by a pink-plumed silk tree and four mature yucca trees. A large barbecue is situated conveniently close to the main kitchen door.

The villa has ADSL wireless internet, DVD, TV, music system, dish washer, washing machine, piano and an excellent library of books.

The village itself is 200 metres above sea level and the local beach is a few minutes by car. The village has two good tavernas, a cafe in the main square which also serves food in the evenings and a bar set in a leafy garden overlooking the sea. The local greengrocer and fishmonger visit the village twice a week. Otherwise, all amenities can be found in the neighbouring town about 7 kms distance. Kalavryta Ski Centre is about 40 mins from the house along a spectacular road that cuts straight through a gorge. The archaeological sites of Delphi, Corinth, Mycenae and Epidavros can be visited as day trips and there are many surrounding towns and villages of interest to visit.

Jacaranda House with its different areas for relaxing is a perfect choice for families or a group of friends wanting to 'chill out' in comfortable surroundings in one of the more authentic parts of Greece.