A client review of their stay at Themelina studios…

My husband and I have just returned from a 10-day Greek island getaway: 3 days in Kos followed by 7 idyllic days in Emporios – Kalymnos.

What can I say about the studio and our host Themelina? We arrived at 2.30pm after a dramatic taxi ride from the capital Pothia (tip of the day: if you are able to wait until 3pm the 2nd bus of the day leaves for Emporios – €2 each way as opposed to a €25 cab fare). Anyhow – Themelina’s grand children who have an excellent command of English greeted us. Not long after that Themelina came up our very cute spiral staircase with a plate of spagetti bolognase for us each – I was very touched by this! This turned out to be a regular occurrence – with watermelon, fresh roasted figs from her fruit tree, bunches of freshly picked sage or other culinary delights were brought up to us throughout our stay.

The actual apartments are a delight: very comfy beds, the best-equipped self-catering kitchen I have ever come across (wine bottle openers, massive cooking pots, steamers, as well as an ironing board with iron – the shower even has a shower curtain – a big luxury in Greece!) We also had a TV but this is only useful if you speak Greek – anyhow – with stunning views who on earth would want to stay in and watch TV?!

I don’t have one single complaint about Themelina and her studios – she is wonderful – with a lovely, charming family – we were very sad indeed to have to leave! If you stay at the Themelina you will be treated to the very best views across the bay to the mountains in Emporios. Close by you will find the wonderful Harry’s paradise and a little further along the one road in the village you arrive at the shore to find a selection of tavernas (another tip – don’t bother with the rest – just head straight to Kastri – exquisite food!).

Emporios beach a mixture of shingle, pebbles and sand – the water is crystal clear and you will be treated to a variety of yachts mooring for a night. There is a very small, basic shop so if you plan on self-catering I would ensure that you stock up on meats etc in Pothia before you head to Emporios – but you will find fresh bread, pasta and various tins, bacon and eggs as well as beer, spirits, ciggies and the usual beach goods such as lilos etc so enough to keep you gong (and with such great, good value places to eat there isn’t really the need to go all out on the food shopping). There is however a fruit and veg van that comes twice a day selling the freshest, yummiest selection of fruit and veg and delicious eggs for a fraction of the price you will pay in the UK – it really is blissful, and simple and makes you realise we do over complicate things back home!

In short, if you are looking for an authentic Greek escape, away from the madding crowds in very cute apartments with fantastic service then look nowhere else: Emporios and the Themelina studios are exactly what you are looking for. We booked via Agni travel who I also can’t recommend highly enough – great attention to detail with phone calls and follow-up texts throughout our holiday to ensure everything was ok – just brilliant!

We will most certainly be back – for our very first Greek holiday I am over the moon that I managed to stumble across Emporios and the Themelina studios! It was by far the best holiday my husband and I have ever had – I actually feel quite emotional writing this – just brilliant (but please don’t tell everyone – I would hate for this place to be invaded by oodles of tourists!)