Pavezzo Country Retreat

Dear Secret Places I feel a little uncomfortable at not giving a full 5 star rating, since we so much enjoyed and appreciated our stay at Pavezzo. However, there are some issues that I should bring to your attention. We arrived after mid-night, but thanks to the Elias's instructions, we were easily able to find the hotel and our villa. The key was in the lock. Once inside, we struggled to navigate around the villa as many of the lights did not work. This was particularly important regarding the light going down the stone stairs. The bedside lamps were either missing or not working. There was no light in one bedroom and one of the kitchen lights was not working. The description of a "fully Equipped Kitchen" is not even close to being accurate. We had to request more glasses and mugs, a chopping board and a kitchen knife. The two ringed electric cooker was rusty and did not look like it had been used in a while. When we started to cook, the main fuse blew. At this point I contacted Elias who sent someone round with a replacement cooker, which worked to a degree, although was clearly very old. We were not able to cook without having all rings blazing simultaneously. This got use through the second evening, but despite my request, no electrician came to fix the original cooker or provide a better alternative. The only good bit of the kitchen was the fridge. So I got the impression that really there was no intention to provide self-catering accommodation. Your description of the Hotel seems out of date since there was no library, garden or evening restaurant. The other shortcoming of the Villa was that the two minor bedrooms lead off the main bedroom which means there is no privacy. This needs to be made clear on your website. The last issue I had was with the overall maintenance of the property. The bean bags had holes in, the outdoor dining table didn't exist. Parts of the decking were broken. The shower head was pointing in wrong direction. At a property of this level, one expects things to be working and functional. Having said all this, the Pavezzo Hotel is a wonderful place. Each day Eleni provided us with delicious breakfast which included home baked cakes. Elias came to see us each morning to offer suggestions on where we might visit, and tried his best to supply the missing items we needed. Loukia cleaned our villa each day. All three of the team were joyful and tried their best to make our stay a wonderful one. The concept of the Hotel is superb. We loved the ancient houses situated in the middle of a small village. From our Villa we had uninterrupted views of the mountains. The pools were clean. Then we had only to walk a few steps and we were in the village square. There is a wonderful café/shop and a Taverna with local cooking. We enjoyed sharing conversations with the locals and feeling at home, rather than in a tourist setting. The access to Lefkada town and the rest of the island with its beaches and mountain villages was easy by hire car. In conclusion, I think Pavezzo Country Hotel is a very special place, staffed with a very genuine attentive team. But I think the product description is misleading and overlooks some important details and the owner, who we met, needs to take maintenance more seriously.