Stavros Villa is a beautiful and grand family home set high in the hills of Touliata in northern Kefalonia, with commanding views across the Ionian Sea. Built in 1925, the house has been lovingly preserved by the owner, Stavros. From the beamed high ceilings to the traditionally painted floorboards, from the original shutters to the wrought ironwork on balcony, railings and doors, the architecture of this house is both elegant and substantial. The walls are hung with family portraits, local art and an amazing range of historic artefacts and objets d'art expressing the history of the house and those who have lived there. Stavros, a musician, is clearly an artist too and the house is his canvas. There are three reception rooms ...two upstairs with chaise longue to enjoy the beautiful views from and three bedrooms with original cast iron and brass beds (the only tiny quibble is that the mattresses are quite hard, but we got used to them after a couple of days). There are two shower rooms and - unusually - a traditional bathroom with huge bath. If this sounds like a museum it isnt -it also had all the mod-cons that we wanted including air con, wi-fi, iPod dock, CD player (linked to pool for outside music), DVD, satellite tv, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, large fridge freezer etc. The gardens are the owner's passion and we loved them too. its tempting never to go out and just enjoy the spaces he has created. There are several distinct and private areas including a sheltered, sun-dappled terrace just off the kitchen for dining and a very private, good sized pool area, which is a real sun trap. The pool itself, though not a lap pool, was perfectly big enough for us and is great for splashing around and cooling off. The planting is amazing - mature palm trees, vines, apricots, olive and lemon trees and an abundance of flowers and succulents. Perhaps most importantly, we were welcomed with warmth by Stavros and his daughter Athina and it was pleasure meeting them. They are kind, thoughtful and warm and were very generous hosts. The location is perfect - secluded but not isolated. A 15 minute walk or 5 min drive to Maganos with shops and a family run taverna that does a great Greek night on Wednesday, and a 10 minute drive to Fiscardo for an abundance of restaurants and shops (taxi is 10 euro). Highly recommended for the location, the beautiful house and gardens and for the lovely hosts! A rare treasure!