Hidden. Tastefully decorated. An abundance of flowers and plants with a vibrant soul, a garden like many have never experienced before.
The Swimming Pool with Sea View is PRIVATE for our guests. The entire Ground Floor Suite with 2 bedrooms and PRIVATE ENTRANCE is all yours. So are the outdoor bbq and the outdoor gym.
The evergreen mountain closes the scenery in the background. The sea opens up the views to the South. Live The Life. In this 100% traditional mountain village on a Greek Island, where nature is all but shy. Live in style, in our boutique stone villa, known as “Arapaki Secret Garden”.
Open for bookings all year round.
The question is: Will you ever want to leave?
THE SPACE
Arapaki Secret Garden is a three floor villa in the mountain village of Vournikas, in Lefkada Island, Greece. Recently renovated with a boutique approach in all senses.
It is designed in such a way that the ground floor is 100% independent from the other floors.
When you book our place, the ground floor suite, 85 sqm interiors + around 600 sqm exteriors are for the guests only. The swimming pool, the parking, the bbq & outdoor kitchen, the elevated outdoor gym/exercise area. They are all included and for your exclusive use during your stay.
Up to 5 guests can stay here all year round.
BEDROOMS AND BATHROOMS
One bedroom with A/C and a double bed sleeps 2 guests (size of bed: 2.05x1.5m; size of room: 11.1 sqm). This bedroom exits to a lovely terrace semi-open with direct access to the ensuite bathroom with a shower.
The second bedroom with A/C comes with a double bed (size of bed: 2.05x1.5m) + a single bed (size of bed: 2.05x1m). It sleeps up to 3 guests (size of room: 19.4 sqm). The bathroom for this bedroom is situated next to the bedroom's door, in the living room. This bedroom exits to the living room and to the front yard of the house (where the private parking is).
They both have smart TVs with Netflix. No TV channels.
A foldable baby cot & high chair are available free of charge. Please ask for it.
LIVING AREA
The living-dining-kitchen-office is an all inclusive space for all indoor needs. Please refer to the pictures.
HEATING AND COOLING | ALL YEAR ROUND COMFORT
Both bedrooms have independent Air Conditioning units.
There is no air conditioning in the living area. Due to the stone built nature of the walls and the large covered terrace adjoining the lounge area, the main living space is surprisingly cool during very hot weather.
The central heating with radiators in all rooms makes this place nice and warm during colder days of winter. It is very rare to find accommodation in Lefkada with central heating, so we are proud to offer cosy winter stays to our guests.
The water is solar heated. If this is not hot enough for your requirements, please ask the hosts to provide hot water via the oil burner (30 minutes notice required).
SWIMMING POOL
The swimming pool is large and it comes with beautiful sea views of Vasiliki Bay and the surrounding olive groves, mountains and valley.
The swimming pool is seasonal, open from April 1st to October 31st. Nature everywhere you look. Peace and quiet. Sun loungers, straw umbrella, sea view & drinks. Sweet!
OUTDOOR KITCHEN & BBQ
The stone barbecue (charcoal/wood) by the pool is part of the outdoor kitchen with 2 X gas burners, spices and cooking tools.
OUTDOOR GYM / EXERCISE AREA
The outdoor gym has a boxing bag, a further punching-and-kicking target machine, exercise bench, free weights and various stretching and hanging bars. Gosia loves her boxing and is well trained in exercise, fitness, stretching and anything that relaxes or empowers the body & mind.
THE TERRACE
This is probably one of the nicest terraces to hang out in Lefkada. It has a solid roof, so very nice to sit including on rainy days. The view to the gardens, pool, and sea is just magical.
AMENITIES
Free private parking. Free WiFi. Desk and office chair for remote working in Greece. Equipped kitchen. Washing machine. Iron and board. Towels, pool towels, linens, free toiletries.
In the kitchen: microwave, toaster, kettle, coffee machine (teas/coffee provided), air fryer, tall refrigerator and freezer.
CLEANING
Included with your stay, cleaning is usually done every 3-4 days, together with the changing of linens and towels.
Extra things to make your stay extra nice
The owners travelled a lot. They have been pampered with all sorts of nice-to-haves during their stays all over the world. Antony and Gosia are excited to be hosts themselves and offer an experience-stay to their guests.
Breakfast
One of the things they are happy to offer is a poolside breakfast each morning. This is served at a time of your choice from 7.30am – 10.30am. You will be asked to confirm if you would like a ‘first morning’ breakfast after confirmation of your booking. You can decide on other mornings as you go.
Goodies on the house
On the house, some goodies from around: water from the village spring, olive oil from our village oil press, salt, pepper & vinegar, tea and coffee.
Goodies for the beach: Picnic hamper
Lefkada has so many unique beaches, you won’t know where to go first. You can go and sit on commercial beaches, on their sunbeds and umbrellas. Or… much nicer, take the Picnic hamper, beach chairs, umbrella, beach blanket and even a bat and ball paddle set and have a completely different experience. It comes with a small fee, but you get a day you will remember forever.
More goodies: Drinks
The fully stocked collection of wines and alcoholic beverages in the living room is for our guests. Reasonably priced. Just in case you want a drink and you don’t feel like going to the supermarket. A nice feature you won’t usually find in Lefkada’s accommodation playground.
Pet-friendly
Yes, pet-friendly. Owners with pets are welcome as long as they behave nicely. Please don’t let the pets alone inside the house for long hours, unless you know they are patiently waiting for you to come back.
Location
The villa is not on the beach. Therefore, no crowds.
It is situated at 400 meters above the sea. Thus, the insanely amazing views.
The place is South oriented. And so, winters here are pleasant. Summers are also nice and breezy, due to the winds that make Vasiliki the highlighted spot for windsurfing.
Arapaki Secret Garden is located at the end and highest point of the very traditional Greek village called Vournikas, in the South of Lefkada Island. The village is, as the entire island is… green all year round. It overlooks the layers of mountains and valleys. It is the silent kingdom ruling over Vasiliki Beach and all the sea up to Kefalonia.
The road leading to the villa is used only by 2-3 locals from time to time. There are no other houses after Arapaki Secret Garden. Just 2 farms where sometimes, you can see the sheep and goat and even their babies, depending on the season.
The mountain that guards the village is called Arapaki. Now you understand the connection.
There are two springs within the village. Four churches. The olive oil press. One mini-market with very-basic-shopping. One taverna. Both open all year round. And Olga, with her famous jams, liqueurs and crochets. A village lived in by only 120 inhabitants.
Privacy
The couple that re-designed this lovely place lives in the upper part of the building (second and third floor). They are private, quiet and nice people. The guests will not feel their presence at all.
We all love our beautiful end of the village and respect each other’s privacy.
Dining out
Many options. The taverna in Vournikas is called simply Yannis and Katerina and is open all year round, usually in the evenings. They can deliver at home. The next village, Sivros, has more bars and tavernas open all year round. During the season, the options closest to home would be in Fterno, Vasiliki, Sivota, Mikros Gialos, Marantochori, Ammoussa, Nidri.
Beaches
You will be in the South side of Lefkada. The beaches around are from 10 to 30 minutes drive away: Mikros Gialos, Desimi, Afteli, Ammoussa, the two little beaches left and right of Ammoussa, Agiofili, Vasiliki Beach - known for watersports.
On the West Coast of Lefkada, with car trips from 30 - 50 minutes, the most famous beaches worth visiting are: Porto Katsiki, Egremni, Gialos, Megali Petra, Kavalikefta, Avali, Milos, Agios Nikitas, Pefkoulia, Kathisma.
Activities
From June until late September, everything is open in Lefkada. All the activities for tourists are available. The usual summer activities in Lefkada include sailing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, paragliding, horse riding, paddle boarding, kayaks, biking, small boat trips, big boat trips, yoga, massage, trips to Meganisi.
During the rest of the year, the island becomes almost silent. Few have experienced a Greek Island, as the locals know it.
For someone living the big city life, being here in Lefkada in late autumn, winter or spring brings such an abrupt change of scenery, that it can be the big break and source of inspiration for new chapters in life. The silence and lack of action during winter can be a breath of fresh air for some of us coming from agitated lifestyles.
Directions
Lefkada is an island indeed, but it is connected to the mainland via a floating bridge that unites the island with the mainland, without the need to ride a ferry. Lefkada Island is accessible by car, with free passage, all year long.
From PVK Aktion airport, drive to “Arapaki Secret Garden” in Vournikas, Lefkada for one hour. This airport in Preveza is the designated airport for flying to Lefkada Island. It usually operates from April, May until late October.
For the rest of the year, Athens airport stays open and has reasonably priced flights. The drive from Athens International Airport to Arapaki Secret Garden is 400 km, most of it on the highway.
