While we visited Syros in the “off-season” in December, Kostas ensured we had a wonderful experience with his excellent hospitality including meeting us after we arrived by ferry. His local... read more tips were essential and all excellent - from restaurants to local sites to see. As others have mentioned the location is ideal - close to the town square but quiet on a pedestrian only street. The view from the rooftop terrace was wonderful and relaxing as well. We look forward to coming back during the spring/summer.

  From the moment we arrived on Syros it felt like we were at home. Kostas met us and walked us to the house, all the while explaining the best things... read more to do around the town and island. Kostas and Elisa are the most gracious hosts, helping in any way possible to make your stay enjoyable and comfortable. The view from the top floor is incredible, watching he sunset with a glass of wine in hand is a must. The furnishings and layout of the house is perfect, as well as impeccably clean. Very comfortable beds, and AC for the hot days. We spent breakfasts out on the shared courtyard. The shared kitchen is well equipped for your short stay. We did a cooking class with Elisa one evening and learned some traditional Greek recipes that were absolutely delicious! We plan to come back with the rest of our family— this place is a true gem.

  Super endroit pour un week-end, déco superbe, accueil au top avec visite et les adresses à tester ! Réactivité aux messages, et disponibilité!
Rien à redire, a tester sans... read more hésiter

  Very nice stay in this house very close to the centre, very comfortable! I recommend it fully. !

  Villa Maria is a dreamlike place with wonderful hosts. I would have loved to take the view home with me. Go there, I can only recommend it!

  Konstas and Elisa were great hosts! Any time again 🙂

  Elisa and Kostas provide a beautiful space from which to explore the joys of Syros

The attention to details to make your stay comfortable and welcoming is a... read more relief to the weary traveller

Thank you for your hospitality

Julia

  Kostas Stefanou and Elisa Mavropoulou are wonderful people and gracious hosts, and they made our stay at their Villa Maria a sweet, comfortable, intimate, and very warm experience.
Even before... read more we arrived, Kostas’s prompt responses to our email questions revealed how friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive he is. And when we arrived in Syros, his clear directions brought us quickly from the ferry to the main square, where he was waiting with an easy smile and great enthusiasm for our visit.
Ermoupolis spreads out along the port and uphill from it with many pedestrian-only streets and many, many stairs. Kostas guided us along the few streets and up the stone steps to Ydras Street and the bougainvillea-covered entrance to Villa Maria, an old mansion that he and Elisa have beautifully and lovingly restored. After showing us to our room, Kostas sat with us at a table on the second-floor outdoor courtyard and annotated a map of the city and the island, providing what turned out to be fabulous recommendations for places to eat, towns to visit, beaches to swim at, and trails to hike. He is discerning and knows the most special and the best of the best. And Villa Maria is well located, making it very easy to get to any and all of the places of interest in the city, from the opera house to the Vaporia, St. Nicholas to the ferry terminal.
The information and photos on the Villa Maria website accurately describe it and depict the rooms. We loved our stay in Yakinthos (hyacinth). It is one of two rooms—the other is Narkissos (narcissus)—on the second floor that have balconies. The room has high ceilings, and, as the photos reveal, it is very light, spacious, and airy. The bed was comfy and had extra pillows. The balcony offers a commanding, unobstructed 180 degree view out to the port and beyond, where we witnessed dramatic sunrises daily and sat in the early evening with glasses of Assyrtiko to watch the waning colors. On a more mundane note, we were grateful that Yakinthos, unlike many hotel rooms and Airbnbs, had several electrical sockets so we could recharge everything at the same time.
There is a small communal kitchen down the hallway. It has a refrigerator, double burner hot plate, and sink. The kitchen is sufficiently equipped for one to prepare breakfast, lunch, and even a simple dinner. There is cookware, utensils, and in a hall cabinet, glasses, and dishware. It is stocked with bottles of drinking water, coffee, tea, sugar, etc. We shopped for breakfast food on nearby Chiou Street, a charming market street lined with fish, meat, produce, and specialty food markets as well as bakeries, and every morning we had our juice, tea, coffee, and fresh yoghurt outside in the sunny courtyard.
Concerning food, the ground floor of Villa Maria houses a spacious, professional kitchen, where Elisa conducts cooking classes in traditional Greek cuisine. Being foodies who love to cook, we were very interested in what Elisa had to offer. So we met with her at a café to talk about it. She has a winning smile, a bright, energetic, engaging intelligence, a warm personality, and a profound understanding of food in general and traditional dishes from all over Greece. She provided us with a cookbook worth of options for dishes and several sample menus that she could show us how to prepare. Together we put together a menu comprising mezes, salads, sides, a main, and a dessert. We cooked together for most of an afternoon. Not only did she carefully explain what she did and demonstrate how to do it, but also she provided background on ingredients and nutritional value. It was an amazing culinary experience, devoid of food pretension, preciousness, and fussiness; it was surpassed only by the flavors of the various dishes that we had prepared. A truly peak and very personal experience for us. And as a bonus, Elisa provides copies of the recipes.
Ermopoulis is an authentic city. It is not dominated by the tourist industry and has not been scrubbed and polished so as to give every selfie the perfect background. There is impressive architecture and natural beauty, and there is also graffiti, dilapidated buildings, and cats, lots of cats. There is a shipyard and large ships and ferries coming and going and blowing their horns. There is a hustle and bustle of residents going about their daily lives oblivious to tourists. But for us, this is what made the city and Syros a realistic experience, dramatically different from the crowded, “must see” cruise-ship islands. And if one chooses to visit Syros, one could not stay with more generous and welcoming hosts than Kostas and Elisa at their lovely and special Villa Maria.

  What I loved..... a gorgeous mansion, ginormous bed, fresh breeze through the French doors and windows, walkable to everything, gorgeous places to swim! I love this town and of course... read more Kostas beautiful home!

  Phenomenal place to stay! The quality of the home is fantastic - it was even nicer than we expected from the pictures! Kostas and Elisa were great hosts, and were... read more very flexible and generous in terms of our check-in and check-out time. The location is terrific. The kitchen is incredible. We were wowed by this beautiful home on this wonderful island. Would highly recommend!

  Villa María se convierte durante los dias de estancia en un espacio agradable y cercano con una gran atención por parte de Kostas el cuál te recibe y te da... read more una serie de recomendaciones locales para poder disfrutar aún más de la ciudad. La habitación es amplia y las vistas que ofrece son de las que se quedan en la memoria. También dispone de una pequeña cocina de uso común así como de una zona exterior agradable siempre que no haga demasiado calor.

  Kostas was excellent throughout: easy to communicate with, fast replying and always accommodating.

The room is up on the hill, so expect some stair climbing , but it is... read more totally worth it and part of the charm. Beautiful views over the city and port from the balcony. Very spacious room, and good facilities overall.

Can recommend and would definitely come back.