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Once upon a time, not a million years ago, the Greek islands were considered quite a cheap and cheerful destination. Greek holidays were bucket and spade breaks for families, who were packed like sardines into the weekly charter flights from Gatwick and Manchester and tipped out at the other end, at Corfu, Rhodes or Skiathos airport, for two weeks in the Mediterranean sun. With the drachma-sterling exchange rate almost always in sterling’s favour, the prices at the local tavernas allowed the family to eat out most evenings and no one noticed how simple the cooking arrangements were in their accommodation and that there was no coffee machine or roasting tin. In those days, a family of five could eat out, even on a quieter island like Paxos, for £15. How times have changed! And with them, Greek accommodation. The days of dribbling showerheads, poorly equipped kitchens, hard mattresses and creaking ceiling fans are becoming just a dim memory. Instead, the new villas springing up on the islands are more likely to be the last word in modern design and fittings. Take the three new villas currently being completed in the grounds of the old Manor House in Loggos, Paxos. Paxos is a tiny dot of land an hour’s ride by hydrofoil from Corfu, in the northern Ionian sea, and Loggos is the smallest of the island’s three coastal villages. Until now, the holiday accommodation in Loggos has been the traditional family houses and cottages where, before tourism arrived, the locals lived their quiet island lives of fishing and tending the acres of olive trees which Paxos has in such abundance. Of course, they were all adapted for the new overseas visitors, from Britain, mainly, but also Italy and other European countries, with new kitchens and showers, and perhaps slightly bigger beds for the bigger size of guest, but there were limits to what could be done with the older properties. Plumbing and wiring could be hard to renew, rooms could be small, and interiors damp in the early weeks of the season. Now, a new era is set to dawn in Loggos. In a prime position just five minutes’ walk from the village centre, with commanding views across the sea to the Greek mainland and Corfu, three new detached villas are going up which will be the last word in modern design and comfort. These are not just among the first completely new villas to be built in the village – Paxos has a justifiable reputation for protecting its character against all comers – but they occupy a unique position not just in Loggos but on the island of Paxos. Rising up above the lane leading down into Loggos from the hamlet of Fontana, the elevated site on which they stand gives them stupendously far-reaching views over the Ionian, in a broad sweep from Corfu in the northwest to mainland Epirus in the east. These staggering views can be enjoyed from the terraces, the pools and from all the upstairs and downstairs windows. Each villa has a private pool and terrace, while inside no expense has been spared to ensure these holiday homes have the very latest in technology and easy living: air-conditioning, TV and DVD, wifi connection, CD players, full kitchens with all cooking utensils, coffee-machines and ice-makers, power-showers, hair-dryers, eco-toilets. The contrast with the village houses of old could hardly be greater. How far things have changed, on even this tiny Greek island, in scarcely a decade. But if the comfort and convenience of the villas have changed, in one crucial aspect these new Loggos properties are no different from the old: everything remains within easy walking distance. Levrechio beach, known as the first beach as it is the first you reach from Loggos village, is a couple of minutes’ walk away, while the handful of tavernas, cafes and shops (including a bakery) that make up Loggos itself are also within a five minute walk. This combination of the old and the new, three modern villas in the setting of a traditional Paxos fishing village, epitomises modern Greece as a holiday destination. The accommodation of the Greek islands has moved into the 21st century, even while the character of island life, always one of Paxos’s greatest charms, remains that of a simpler and less complicated age. For details of Travel à la carte’s villas and apartments in Paxos , visit www.travelalacarte.co.uk or contact Chris Griffiths (email chris@travelalacarte.co.uk or tel 0030 26620 31207) or Tony Wells (email tony@travelalacarte.co.uk or tel 020 7316 1867).
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PAXOS HOLIDAY Travel a la carte
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