Our Silver Travel Advisor Glynis Sullivan dispels the myths about villa holidays and discovers why CV might also stand for Carefree Vacations!
Aphrodite was our cleaner, Costa was our waiter and Nikos was our villa owner and supermarket manager! All I needed now was Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and I was away in my Greek dream. But I wasn’t dreaming, I had arrived in my dream at a CV Villas villa on the island of Corfu.
What do you want from a holiday? Sunshine and sea; a beautiful pool, peace and quiet for a rest to recharge your batteries; lovely Greek food and time to relax away from all the worldly worries; or maybe to take your family or friends with you to enjoy ‘down time’ with the children and grandchildren or just sit and enjoy the view. Whatever you want CV Villas will be on hand to ‘make your dream holiday come true’.
CV Villas were founded over 40 years ago. ‘CV’ means Corfu Villas, but to me it means ‘Carefree Vacations’ because this is what the company offer. Over 72% of visitors to CV Villas are repeat guests, and that speaks for itself. People are already booking their favorite villa as far away as 2017, so the CV staff and accommodation are obviously doing something right!
A series of myths surround villa holidays: villas are only for large groups of families or lots of friends travelling together. Yes CV has beautiful large villas for larger groups but the smaller ones for two or four people are situated very well and have excellent accommodation many with pools. You don’t do self–catering? If that is the case CV Villas will arrange a private chef , and many of the villas are within walking distance of lovely tavernas. Sitting by the harbour watching the boats come in and out whilst having breakfast, lunch or dinner means that cooking can be avoided. And there’s no need to spend time washing dishes as dishwashers and even a laundry service are provided by CV Villas.
We stayed at the beautiful, secluded bay of St Stephano on the North East coast of Corfu, secluded, yes, but only an hour away from busy Corfu Town. To approach the village is a long winding road which takes you to another world, its beauty and serenity makes you feel you have ‘escaped to the sun’. Well our villa was just that – the Villa Petrino certainly had the ‘wow’ factor. The villa took many years to complete but what a success.
The three bedrooms are all double en suite,with the quietest air conditioning units I have ever heard. One bedroom with a double bed and two with pairs of single beds are on the ground floor, and the kitchen dining area and sitting area are all on the second floor which leads out to an amazing seating/dining area on the balcony, which has the most wonderful, ‘moving picture’ view of the bay with all the large and small boats that visit this enticing part of Corfu with surrounding olive trees and more villas.
Further seating is to be found in the courtyard below the balcony. Steps lead to the ground floor adjacent to the swimming pool and jacuzzi where six sunbeds, a table and chairs plus a bar-b-q area with a pizza oven is situated. And to top it all there’s a table with six chairs for very sociable evenings under the stars of the Milky Way. Villa Petrino has fabulous views but the villa is at a higher point above the village so take good walking shoes, or hire a car – the villa is about three minutes’ walk down a rough track or steps but, however long it takes the views at the top of the incline are well worth the effort.
The Villa concept is really taking off at the moment, people like to have space and ‘do their own thing’ so if a family/friends holiday makes you want to “scream – oh no” then fear not – CV Villas will take care of all your needs. Villas with two, three or four bedrooms are available and are well fitted out with a range of ‘extras’ to tailormake your holiday to your own requirements. CV Villas have a representative at the airport when you land, which is lovely after a three hour flight, to organise all the transport arrangements. We had a taxi transfer to the villa, which is arranged by CV Villas and our ‘welcome pack’ was very substantial and an excellent start to our break. 
The cleaner Aphrodite – yes that was her real name – met us when we arrived and explained her work pattern – which fitted in very well with our time. The CV representative met us at the villa to explain some of the features, which was a lovely welcome and made settling into the villa much more easy.
Hiring a car was ‘pain free’, CV organised the representative from the car hire firm, Green Motion, to visit the villa and brought the car to us, another perk of the CV Villa organisation. We had a lazy time but did venture out to lovely areas around St Stephano. Kassiopi is a lovely place to visit, the harbour is buzzing with day trips and small boats, the town can get busy with coach tours from the many cruise ships that dock in Corfu Town and tour this lovely island. One highlight of our week was to go from St Stephano on a water taxi owned by Dino, for 20 euros each return. Dino takes you and others to Corfu Town via small bays along the coast picking up other passengers. We did see Dolphins just off the coast which Dino spotted first and slowed down for us all to take a picture – wonderful. Corfu Town is busy but well worth the visit – literally ‘oozing‘ with Greek life. Take a Red Bus tour or a horse drawn carriage around the history of this fascinating town, have coffee with the locals in the fish and vegetable market, or walk a little further to the Venetian forts that stand proud and sit with the locals and people watch.
The Villa Petrino was so well equipped, all the bedding and towels were provided for the bedrooms and bathrooms, even including plug-in adaptors for preventing mosquito bites! Bring shower gel and shampoos, a small bar of soap is provided but you may need more. The kitchen is fully equipped, and I mean fully equipped; the cooker and fridge freezer are a joy to use – the g & t does taste better cool, with ice! A welcome pack includes small packets of tea and coffee, biscuits, fruit and wine, check with CV Villas when you book as a variety of welcome packs can be delivered to your villa when you arrive. In St Stephano there are two supermarkets in the village so you can get what you need from these well stocked shops, or whilst you settle in just go to one of the five tavernas that are situated all around the bay and have excellent food and wine.
Corfu Villas – Luxury Villa Holidays – started in Corfu and has now grown worldwide with villas in Great Britain, Morocco,Turkey, Italy, the Greek Islands, Spain, France, Portugal and as far away as the Caribbean. Just look at www.cvvillas.com or contact them for further information on 020 7563 7997. The CV Villas’ prices reflect the quality, value and attention to detail that CV Villas gives.
The CV guests I spoke to at the ‘Welcome Evening’ that the CV representatives organise, at the Wave Bar on the harbour side each Wednesday evening throughout the season, give you the chance to talk to CV ‘devotees’ and find out why they return year after year.
My dreams now are of the place I visited with all the wonders of Greek mythology. Aphrodite the Goddess of Love, sang as she cleaned, Costa could have been in my Shirley Valentine film, and Nikos – well he wasn’t a Greek god – but he had a lovely smile and we had a wonderful time thanks to the company I know as CV Villas that helped me have my ‘dream’ Carefree Vacation.
Silver Travel Advisor recommends CV Villas
