Villa Maria was my first Airbnb experience and I feel it has certainly set the bar high! Kostas was super welcoming as soon as we arrived. He has provided a... read more beautiful environment for guests to stay in and offered lots of useful insight to the surrounding area. Everything about Villa Maria I felt was clean, safe, well organized, charming, perfect place 🙂 I hope to return again! Thank you!

  When traveling to a place as beautiful as Syros, Greece, it can be overwhelming as what to do to get the most out of your visit. Kostas and Elisa immediately... read more made us feel so at home and shared incredible recommendations for food and beaches. The rooms are newly renovated and the views are spectacular! A beautiful five minute walk from the town square, the Villa Maria is in the heart of the breathtaking city of Syros. The views from the room and not to mention the roof top that overlooks the harbor, were unmatched. Wither it be a romantic weekend, corporate trip, or family get away, you will not regret choosing this lovey accommodation.

  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 perfectly knows his Island, Syros and he gaves us very good adresses! The room was perfectly located and cute. A perfect host that has always the smile! Really recomanded.

  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.

  We stayed seven people here for several days and nights. A nice and relaxing place with a home away from home warm feeling. Very friendly and kind hosts. Though, if... read more you have problems to walk on stairs, look for something else. This is in an area where you need to walk many stairs. No possibility to take a car here. However, if you don’t mind, this is very nice with an modern old feeling.

  An absolutely beautiful home. A pleasure to stay there. Kostas gave many great local recommendations. I’ll be back!

  Kostas was extremely kind and generous. When we arrived he sat downstairs with us and gave us a thorough overview of local restaurants, bars, and beaches both in Ermoupoli and... read more around the island. He also let us know about the international film festival happening at the time which we had a great time at.

The house was beautiful and clean with two lovely balconies overlooking the city. There was also a shared courtyard which was beautiful. The courtyard also came with a sweet kitty which we loved spending time with.

Overall, a great experience. We would definitely return!

  Romantic setting, central location and clean room! It was just what we had hoped for. I can truly recommend this place for others!

  A very nice old traditional decorated restored villa in a very nice neighbourhood just north of Ermoupolis’ center. Kostas was very friendly and very helpful with tips for places to... read more visit and where to eat.

Water pressure could be a little better and the place a bit cleaner altogether.

Certainly value for money and a great experience.

Thank you Kostas !

  If you love historic homes, you will love this house! It's absolutely gorgeous, restored and refurbished with meticulous sensitivity to the period of its construction. Some of my favorite elements... read more included the high ceilings and gorgeous original windows. Great views of the Hermopoulis port from one of the bedrooms as well, and of course from the rooftop patio!

The house was incredibly cool and surprisingly quiet. Only one bedroom in this unit has A/C, but the other rooms have ceiling fans and I actually got cold at night (in June!) if the fan was left on. They do a great job of keeping the house very comfortable. And it's so quiet at night! The only noise we noticed was from the occasional cat-fight outside, and, well, you're going to find that anywhere you go on the island. 😉

The one thing you must know about this house is the STAIRS. There are a LOT of stairs to get up to the house. More than I expected. It wasn't so bad when we had nothing in our hands, but with loaded suitcases, or carrying a backpack filled with groceries, or a tired preschooler in your arms, it can be rough. Luckily, there is another -slightly longer- way to reach the house, which only has a handful of steps, so we took that route for most of our time. (You can also have a taxi drop you at either of the two nearby churches - Metamorphosis or St Nicholas, and walk the slightly shorter route from there. Particularly if you are coming from the port, have lots of bags, and/or it's very hot outside.)

Kostas and Elisa were completely wonderful hosts, answering all our questions, helping us with everything we needed, and even having us out to their house for coffee! We were so impressed with their thoughtful restoration of Villa Maria, and enjoyed getting to know them during our stay. If you have a chance to stay at this property, you should definitely do so.

  Great area not too far from main square and close to taxi service and buses for beaches.