Glamorous in Greece? Step this way

Villa retreats rather than hotels are leading the way in elegant, cutting edge design. From Crete to Corfu, Nick Trend selects some of the finest

Greece has always been behind the curve when it comes to upgrading and investing in its hotels especially at the top end. But the same is not true of villa holidays. I remember not so long ago when there were only a handful of specialist companies offering them, and few of those in the brochures had private pools. Things have developed massively since then, with particularly high growth in the number of larger, better equipped and appointed villas on offer. Among our featured operators and agents listed below, eight now specialise in the pricier end of the market.

And there is greater choice of good value properties too. Jet2 has grown its portfolio of properties with new properties in Santorini, Mykonos and Skopelos, as well as more established destinations such as Crete, Kefalonia and Corfu.

So what about availability? Despite the current uncertainty, it’s much tighter this year than last. For example, Scott William says that at the start of January, it would “usually be around 10 per cent sold as we start our busiest booking month, but this year we were at 50 per cent”. July is the busiest month, as lots of cancelled 2020 holidays rolled over to 2021, whereas the majority of August 2020 holidays took place. Cachet also says that the combination of pent-up demand and deferred bookings from 2020 is making itself felt on availability, especially for the second half of summer. September is proving particularly popular and demand is spilling over into October. For Vintage Travel there is “good availability early season in Greece but peak season, especially July, filling up quite quickly”.

Several operators say they are seeing very strong demand for bigger houses – families are listening to their kids (especially with teens) who want company and sociability this year. Many of us have spent a long time with our immediate families and there’s a strong desire to share holidays with others.

You may want to hang fire for a couple more weeks yet before booking - until we have a clearer road map of how straigh forward travel will be this summer. But to whet your appetite, here is our selection of villa treats in Greece.

g Villa Fanya, Syros, Greece, comes complete with an amazing infinity pool, right