Luxury Dream Villa

The house itself was perfectly fine and the cleaner was lovely, but I can’t recommend this host at all. On day five of our seven day stay, he came to the house demanding our passports and €500, threatening to involve the police. He and his wife also tried to intimidate me by phone and pressure me into paying. I genuinely urge you to book somewhere else in Zakynthos. He even posts Google reviews under his own name, Spiros, which looks like damage control.

We left with half our belongings behind, just trying to get somewhere safe. I’ve been in some hairy situations, and this was the worst. The owner had shown up again without permission, woke friends who were sleeping, and demanded 2,000 euros: 500 euros each for two friends’ girlfriends who’d come by to say hello, plus a 1,000 euro security deposit. I still don’t understand what that deposit was for, since you’d expect it before arrival or at least on the first day. We’d already paid 4.5k for the place. He tried to keep us there and take our passports until we paid. I tried to talk calmly while he ranted, because I was afraid for my friends’ and my own safety. He’d come in with “complimentary pastries,” but don’t be fooled by that gesture. After we got away, he threatened the friend who booked the house, saying he wouldn’t fly out of the country. We spent the rest of the holiday on edge, looking over our shoulders. Before that, we’d spent 5 days feeling watched constantly. He sent us messages about things only someone watching us 24/7 could know. We decided to leave, even though it meant all 10 of us had to split up and find emergency acom, which wasn’t cheap, or stay with friends on the island. Without them, we would’ve been homeless. We didn’t damage the house, and the cleaner confirmed as we left that we were one of the nicest groups of lads she’d met. I believe he watches every move you make, even if he doesn’t confront you. He and his wife are some of the biggest bandits I’ve met. The ordeal left me shaken, because I hadn’t expected to be physically threatened by the owner. I’m not asking anyone to take my word for it. Book if you want, and I hope your experience is better for your own sake. But this is what happened to us, and it felt like a horror novel.

We had booked the villa for a week but left after just one night. The photos online made it look impressive, but reality was a big disappointment. The pool wasn’t clean, and the outdoor washing machine was rusty, with dirty water inside. Indoors, the place was unclean too: dust under a bed, kitchenware that needed a wash, a dirty, scaled kettle, and a huge spider web near the entrance. The air conditioning in one room leaked onto the floor, and the shower in another flooded. There were more issues, and the photos in this review show how things looked when we arrived, before we used them. The owner accused us of causing the damage to blackmail them. This wasn’t our first villa in Greece, and we’d never had anything like it. We were lucky to find a perfect replacement villa and still enjoy our family holiday. The owner first said we’d be refunded if we left immediately, which we did, then changed his mind. We have photos supporting what we’ve said and a written message from the owner promising a refund. We now have to take legal action to get our money back.

A really nice villa for a holiday.