San Stefano is let as a whole to one party at a time: families who live far apart and want one place to be together, groups of friends, and anyone who would rather stay in a house with a history than a hotel.
Check availability
Choose your dates to see availability and the price for the whole house, including the direct-booking discount. Then send your request: we reply personally within 24 hours, and you can hold an option while you decide.
In high season, from early July to early September, the house is let Saturday to Saturday. The rest of the year you can arrive and leave on any day.
Prices are for exclusive use of the house for up to twelve guests and include housekeeping twice a week, linen, towels and a welcome pack. Extras such as a cook, a boat or car hire are priced on request. Dates from January to mid-May are on request.
Availability calendar
Available Booked
Included
- Exclusive use of the house, pool, barbecue, gardens and balcony
- Housekeeping twice a week; linen and towels
- Welcome pack on arrival
- Air-conditioned bedrooms, Wi-Fi throughout
- Arrival arranged, and someone on call throughout your stay
On request
- A cook or private chef, cooking Corfiot family recipes
- Extra housekeeping visits
- Airport or port meet-and-greet, a driver, or a hire car
- A boat for the day, from Benitses marina
- Private guides: the Old Town, the Achilleion, botany, birds, walking
- Yoga, painting and Greek cookery with local teachers
- Nearby rooms if your party is larger than the house
When to come
Spring and autumn
April to June, September and October are warm, quiet and green: the season for wild flowers, walking from the front door to Gastouri, the Achilleion and the hill villages, and seeing the Old Town without the crowds. Shoulder rates apply.
Summer
Long days by the pool, nights on the balcony, and the coves below the house still quiet in the mornings.
We enjoyed the journey with the whole family (from 9 to 80 years old). We are still dreaming of it.
Fred, Zürich · July 2017
Good to know
Bathrooms
This is a historic house, so the bathrooms are shared rather than en suite: a family bathroom with a roll-top bath and shower, two shower rooms (one can be en suite to the Thirties Room) and a fourth shower downstairs for washing off.
Air conditioning and Wi-Fi
All bedrooms are air-conditioned, and there is Wi-Fi throughout the house.
Children
Families are welcome. This is a historic house with antiques, a steep staircase, long drops on the rock and an unfenced pool, so it suits older children best, and young children need watching at all times.
Stairs
The bedrooms are up a steep staircase, so the house is not well suited to guests with limited mobility. A day bed in the library can help a guest who would rather not climb stairs.
Do we need a car?
We recommend one. The house is reached by a rough, unpaved drive, so choose a car with good clearance; we can have one waiting on arrival, or arrange transfers and a driver. On foot, Benitses is about 15 minutes downhill and a steep 25 minutes back up.
The beach
A tunnel at the bottom of the road leads to a well-kept beach with a good snack bar, about 15 to 20 minutes on foot with a steep walk back up. With a car, many of the island’s best beaches are an easy drive away.
Meals
The farmhouse kitchen is fully equipped, there is a barbecue and outdoor seating by the pool, and a welcome pack is waiting when you arrive. A cook can be booked for some or all evenings, at extra cost.
The chapel
The chapel of St Stephen in front of the house belongs to the family. It is private and used only by the family for family occasions, so it is not open to guests, but it is very much part of the view.
Extras
A cook, extra housekeeping, a boat, car hire, a driver and guides can all be organised on request.
Booking terms
A 25% non-refundable deposit on booking, and the balance eight weeks before arrival. Read the full terms.
Larger parties
The house sleeps twelve. The family’s converted olive press down in Benitses can take more of your party, and we can arrange other rooms nearby.