Zakynthos, Greece

Cielo Villas

Price per night from$382.96

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR353.98), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Sapphire by the sea

Setting

Incandescent Ionian

Framed by a centuries-old olive grove, Cielo Villas – near the village of Akrotiri on Zakynthos – looks out over the Ionian Sea. The two modern, split-level houses are lovingly run by owner Nikos and his family: each shell-white, family-friendly stay has a lush garden (with a dividing hedge between the two), a private swimming pool and alfresco lounge and dining terraces. Inside each sleekly decorated villa there’s an open-plan living space, a fully equipped kitchen (where, on request, private chefs can do the heavy lifting) and a clutch of bedrooms well kitted out for family holidays.

 

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

Two bottles of wine, homemade olive oil and a basket of fresh fruit

Facilities

Photos Cielo Villas facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Two villas: one with three bedrooms and one with four bedrooms.

Check–Out

10am; earliest check-in is 2pm. Both times are flexible, subject to availability.

Prices

Double rooms from £342.75 (€400), including tax at 13 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional government tax of €10.00 per room per night on check-out.

More details

A seven-night minimum stay is required.

Also

Prefer to not lift a finger in the kitchen? Ask to arrange private chefs for your stay.

At the hotel

Free WiFi, laundry services, minibar, free bottled water and air-conditioning. Each villa has a kitchen with an oven, dishwasher, washing machine, kettle, coffee machine and grill.

Our favourite rooms

Villa Marietta has a more bohemian style than big sister Villa Athina, which has one more bedroom and a slightly sleeker, streamlined style. Both modern villas have been carefully decorated, have open-plan living areas and views of the Ionian Sea and Cielo Villa’s verdant grounds.

Poolside

Each villa has a private, unheated swimming pool surrounded by olive trees.

Packing tips

It’s all about the wide-brimmed sunhats, floating kaftans and over-sized sunglasses – the perfect ensemble for flitting between your private pool and the cooler climes of your spacious living room.

Children

Welcome. Each villa has a private garden and a swimming pool for little Smiths to play in. Highchairs and baby cots are available on request.

Food and Drink

Photos Cielo Villas food and drink

Top Table

Nothing beats your villa’s private alfresco dining terrace, which serves a side of sea views.

Dress Code

Take a page out of owner Niko’s book and don breezy linens throughout your stay.

Hotel restaurant

There’s no restaurant, but each villa has a fully equipped kitchen and evening meals around your private pool can be arranged. Prepared with gusto by owner Niko’s mamá, each dish uses organic ingredients and local produce to bring out the flavours of the island’s cuisine.

Location

Photos Cielo Villas location
Address
Cielo Villas
517, Akrotiri PC
Greece
29100
Greece

Cielo Villas is off one of the main routes in Zakynthos, in front of the owner’s family home.

Planes

Zakynthos Airport is 15 minutes away by car.

Automobiles

Zakynthos Town is five kilometres from the villas, which have free onsite parking.

Other

Ferry services run between mainland Greece and Zakynthos. If you’re skippering your own sailboat, it’s best to book a mooring in advance – particularly in peak summer months.

Worth getting out of bed for

Fancy an in-villa pampering session? Owner Nikos can call up local massage therapists and beauticians to soothe frazzled nerves and knotted shoulders. He also has a cadre of private chefs on call if you’re in the mood to pick up some local culinary know-how with a cookery lesson (or have a delightful dinner whipped up for you).

Stretch out your legs with a jog – Nikos will point you in the direction of the best local routes – or challenge your travel companion to a rousing match on the nearby tennis courts. Watersports – from paddle-board session to parasailing – can also be arranged on request.

There’s no shortage of sun-soaked beaches on Zakynthos, but for a more off-the-beaten-path saltwater dip, make your way (carefully, over the rocks) to secluded Korakonisi beach. This rocky seaside spot has a large natural rock arch and crystal clear water – have snorkels at the ready – but no beach huts or bars.

Take a gentle stroll up Bochali hill – just two kilometres from Zakynthos town – for panoramic views of the Venetian castle, the city and the sea beyond. Head up in the morning for cooler temperatures the reward of a hilltop coffee or fresh Greek breakfast. If you need to see famous Navagio Beach – on the opposite side of the island – charter a sailboat and plan to arrive early to beat the crowds; we’d recommend a pre-breakfast explore of the cliff-framed shipwreck.

 

 

Local restaurants

Looking for a leisurely brunch? Madisons dishes out mid-morning meals of bacon-topped eggs benedict, gooey croque madame, fluffy tahini pancakes, avocado-laden open-faced sandwiches and honey-drizzled Greek yoghurt. Fresh juices and rich coffees – from black-as-night to chocolate-laced concoctions – are on offer too. Taverna Kantouni (Logotheton, Zakynthos Town) dishes out authentic Greek fare. Tuck into feta-topped salads, cooling tzatziki and crispy fried smelt while you escape the midday sun. For uninterrupted sea views and fresh fish, make your way to open-air eatery Bassia. Share plates of swordfish souvlaki, shrimp and langoustine orzotto, seafood linguini and grilled fish. Modern Greek restaurant Prosilio is open during the summer months for dinner. Kick back at a table in the open-air courtyard, enjoy the creative menu – white shrimp with crispy cranberry, truffle-topped carpaccio, Jerusalem artichoke chips and coconut semifreddo are among the offerings – and pick a bottle of two from the extensive wine selection.

 

Local bars

Base Cafe and Roof Cocktail Bar is smack in the centre of Zakynthos town. It serves classic Greek dishes, coffees and drinks throughout the day, but the real draw is its rooftop bar, where you’ll get panoramic views, icey cocktails and DJs spinning beats into the wee hours.

Reviews

Photos Cielo Villas reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from these modern villas in Greece and unpacked their sunhats and breezy linen shirts, a full account of their private villa break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Cielo Villas in Zakynthos…

The crystalline blue of the Ionian Sea surrounds lucky little Zakythnos, island of dramatic cliffs, that photo-famous shipwreck beach and boutique stay Cielo Villas – a modern duo of perfectly appointed family-friendly holiday houses. Each private villa has a glittering pool (framed by olive trees, of course) a lush garden for littles to run about in and a generous handful of sun-soaked (and shaded) chill-out areas from which to enjoy the sea views. On-site owner Nikos and his family are your welcoming hosts; his mamá can even whip up traditional dinners that will land – as if by magic – on the table of your poolside terrace. Tzatziki with a sea-view? We’ll toast to that.

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Price per night from $382.96