Inside
Three floors, three bathrooms
Kitchen and dining below with the master bedroom, the sitting room and a study in the middle, two more bedrooms under the beams at the top. A heat pump runs through all of it.
The rooms →
Kalamitsi bay · Outer Mani, Messenia · Greece
Villa Helios
A house on the hillside above Kalamitsi bay, five minutes from Kardamyli, with the whole Messenian gulf in front of it. Three bedrooms, a private 13-metre heated pool, and no one between you and the family who own it.
The house
West facing,
and nothing in the way.
The house sits high on the hillside above Kalamitsi, looking west down the gulf. The terrace runs the length of it, the pool runs the length of the terrace, and at the far end the water stops and the sea carries on.
It is a family house that is let, not a hotel. You book a week, you talk to us, and the key is handed over by someone who knows which taverna is worth the drive this month.
3Bedrooms
3Bathrooms
13 mInfinity pool
6Sleeps
The pool
Thirteen metres, heated and cooled.
Long enough to swim in properly rather than stand about in. Heated, so April and October work as well as August, and cooled, so August is bearable at three in the afternoon.
The infinity edge faces the islet off Kalamitsi and, beyond it, Taygetos falling into the sea. Most evenings the sun goes down somewhere along that line.
“A good deal of this book was written at a table on that terrace, and I recommend it without reservation.”
Mani and the Peloponnese, the TravelBlis guide to the region
Outside
Terraces, and a barbecue
Shade when you want it and sun when you do not. Dinner outside every night from May to October, and the kind of quiet where you hear goat bells on the hill behind.
The terrace →
Down the hill
The bay, and the writer's house
Kalamitsi's pebble beach is below you, and Patrick Leigh Fermor's house is about 10 minutes on foot along the coast. Kardamyli is about 5 minutes by car.
The area →A look around
Eight of the forty.
Where you are
The best stretch of coast in the Peloponnese, and not a secret.
Kardamyli is a working village with a harbour, a pebble beach and enough tavernas that one dark window never ruins an evening. Patrick Leigh Fermor built his house on the next bay and left it to the Benaki Museum; you can visit on a scheduled tour.
Two festivals fill the village in October, one for books and one for jazz, and both are worth building a week around. Kalamata airport is about an hour away.
Straight answers
The six things
people ask first.
Anything not answered here, ask us. A real person reads it and a real person replies, usually the same day.
Where is Villa Helios?
On the hillside above Kalamitsi bay, the next bay south of Kardamyli in the Outer Mani, Messenia, Greece. It is about 5 minutes by car from Kardamyli, about 10 minutes on foot from Patrick Leigh Fermor's house at Kalamitsi, and about an hour from Kalamata airport.
How do you book Villa Helios?
Directly with the family who own it. The house lets by the week, Saturday to Saturday, with a minimum stay of six nights. You send an enquiry, they reply themselves with the rate for that week, and a deposit by bank transfer confirms it. There is no agency, no platform and no booking fee, and no card details are taken on the site.
Is Villa Helios on Airbnb or Booking.com?
No. The house is not listed on any platform. The calendar at villaheliosmani.com/availability is the only calendar, which is also why what it shows as free is free.
Is the pool heated?
Yes. The 13-metre infinity pool is heated and cooled, and a heat pump runs throughout the house, which is why Villa Helios works in April and October as well as in August. Those are the two loveliest months on this coast and most rentals here cannot offer them.
How many bedrooms does Villa Helios have, and how many does it sleep?
Three bedrooms and three bathrooms over three levels, sleeping six. The master bedroom is on the lower level with its own bathroom, next to the kitchen and dining room; the sitting room, television lounge and study are on the ground level; two further bedrooms and a bathroom are under the beams on the upper floor.
Do you need a car at Villa Helios?
Yes. The house is high on the hillside and there is no practical way to see the Mani without a car. Any ordinary hire car manages the lane; the smallest one you are comfortable in is the best one, because the village streets were laid out for mules.
How it works
Weeks, direct,
no booking fee.
We let the house ourselves. That means no platform commission on top of the rate, and it means you can ask a real question and get a real answer before you commit.
- 01
Check the week
The calendar is the only calendar. What it shows as free is free. Weeks run Saturday to Saturday and the shortest stay is six nights.
- 02
Send an enquiry
Name, email, the dates you want and anything you need to know. It reaches us, not an inbox in another country.
- 03
Confirm by transfer
A deposit by bank transfer holds the week, the balance is due before you travel, and no card details ever touch this site.