How I found Arillas!

[justphil]

hi jinsky
You just said very eloquently what most of us feel.

So you see thats where the love affair started and still goes on, and ang is quite happy for it to continue and so am i

Jen and I could have written that. 7 weeks there this year, 7 months next year or more and then forever.

best wishes
Phil

[jean]

Hi England! We had a week with Anna back in May. You will love the studios and Anna and her family are lovely, cannt do enough for you. It was our 3rd trip to Arillas but first with Anna. We will definately be back because we found it so relaxing. We stepped of the plane and Anna's son was there to meet us. straight Arillas to find Anna waiting for us with drinks on hand. We hired a car for the day from Anna's other son! Lovely people, fabulous food, do try Anna's greek salad or any of the tavanas. We are feeling quite envious of you, have a great time, look forward to hearing how you get on.

[england]

hi england
we have been to Annas 5 times now you will love it.
me and ian are their from 4th till 18th so we will meet you
what airport you flying from we are from manchester at 13.30pm on airmalta
see you in 7 weeks
suexx

Hi Sue,

Snap, same flights as you. See you in a few weeks

england

[sue]

like the rest have said Annas is a fantastic place to stay. this will be our 5th year and we are on our own this year.
daughter moving out 2 weeks before we go away so will need this holiday as i will miss her terribley.
see you in 7 weeks.

[philippa]

OK - so we found Arillas last year - June 2007 - but ended up buying some land in Arillas- so were there again in Horizon in Oct - then again this May - arriving on the 24th so was that great sunset that is on the tube!!
We shall be back again in October - so that will be 4 times in 2 years!!

Amazing - after years of going to South Africa we have fallen in love with Arillas!!!
Great place and so convenient for us - ferry from Venice with our own car. We live in Austria so its only 4 hours max to drive

Good wishes to you all

Philippa

[blondegirl]

How brilliant is that Phillipa!  Being able to pack up your car with everything and be there in 4 hrs, no luggage allowance has got to be good!   Its quicker going there than it is to Cornwall or Scotland in the UK  (from surrey anyway).

[philantsue]

we found arillas by accident. after a pretty bad year we went to the travel agents to get a quick holliday, we needed to get away from all the stress and upset..we were told by the agent that we could end up in any of 3 places around corfu, of course we ended up in arillas staying at the kaloudis village and to be honest it was like a good old tonic, beautiful, idylic, relaxing, peaceful, friendly just everything we needed at the right time, arillas made me forget all the bad times and i feel very lucky to have found it. we promissed to return but had already planned and booked our holliday for the following year as it was a special occasion we were celebrating..believe it or not though it has taken us another 2 years of trying before we could finally get booked again ITS ALWAYS BOOKED UP.

[Fiona_]

We have very fond memories of our first Greek holiday in Corfu in 1984 when we just got a flight and then a bus to Paleocastritsa before we had our lovely children. Paleocastritsa was really unspoilt then. Since then we have visited Lefkas and Crete many times. Five years ago a friend showed us photos after they visited Arillas for their first Greek holiday and we couldn't believe how beautiful and unspoilt it appeared.  I found the website, thank you Dimitris, and the reviews were so positive.

So the four of us Roger my husband and Chris and Kath experienced Arillas for the first time in 2004 and it was a beautiful therapeutic holiday for us all. We had had a really tough year and I was determined for us all to have a lovely relaxing Greek holiday. We weren't disappointed. We stayed at Kokinos and just relaxed and walked the beach and visited Nicos and Angela's pool bar, which I think, had just opened. We all thought Arillas was lovely and Roger and I felt that we had found a little piece of heaven. As we felt you can't keep going back to the same place, the following year we went to Stegna in Rhodes. It was nice but not as beautiful or tranquil as Arillas and the sun sets over the land!

The following year I suggested Arillas again and we all agreed. This time we stayed with Eleni and Spiros at Irini villas who we consider dear friends. Their apartments are really lovely with so many extras provided. We stayed at Irini villas again last year, which was another lovely holiday, and are counting down the days until the 21st of July when we are staying at Irini Villas again. This will be our fourth holiday in Arillas. Eleni and Spiros are so welcoming and friendly and we can't wait to see beautiful Arillas again. My family will complain about me watching the sunsets and taking too many photos but that's too bad. We love walking over to San Stephanos and will visit Efionas again with that fantastic view! We are so glad we discovered the magic of Arillas.

[kcarol]

It was about 11 years ago we chose Arillas from a travel magazine, we had never been to Greece before, and only been abroad twice, as although being married since 1974 we had our family young, and little spare money for foreign holidays.

We arrived in Arillas at night in darkness, and as the coach drove down the narrow main street, lights from the few bars was the only indication we had reached a resort.
As the coach turned right and headed towards Kaloudis  the sea sounded very close to the road and there was no indication of what the beach was like. It was gone midnight when we were welcomed off the coach by Christos and Ruler who showed us our accomodation, which was simple but spotlessly clean. We peered out onto the balcony, but in the dark was difficult to tell what the resort was like, the only sound to be heard was the waves  gently lapping the beach, and in the quitness of the surroundings I felt a little uneasy, almost spooked by the stillness.

What a difference in the morning when we looked out to see an endless blue sky and Arillas bathed in glorious sun, we could see the beautiful beach, and the olive covered hills dotted with villas, from San Stephanos to Afionas.

From that point on our lives changed and thankfully we have never looked back. We visit Arillas once or twice a year and have lost count of the times spent there. We have explored as far as possible on foot from Magaloudes to Pagi and met such wonderful people in the small villages, and believe one day we will make North West Corfu our home, at least for a few years.

Inevitably there has been some changes, but in comparison tp practically anywhere else I can think of Arillas is timeless, and in all the years we have been visiting its magic has not dimmed

I sincerely thank the wonderful local people of Arillas for their hospitality and letting us share their wonderful home village with them every summer. I am not sure I would be so generous, I fear I would want to keep this jewel of the Adriatic a secret for myself, as I cannot help feeling quite possessive about it.

There is something about Arillas that gets into your blood and it feels part of you, and you long for it like you would when you are parted from a loved one. Well and truly a life long love affair i don't want to end.......

[justlynn]

What a lovely read your post made, kcarol!  Certainly agree that Arillas is both timeless and magical.

And you'll have to wink in Dimitris's direction for a regular visitors badge, me reckons!

Cheers,
lynn

[sharonF]

Yes that was a lovely post kcarol. 

My fella told his brother we would be going again in sept (4th time) and he says, why are going back to the same place again you saddos.  Billy said, just go and look.  I said, i dont want him to go!   Because he would be deteremined to pick holes in it and then i would have to smash his head in, lol. 

Sharon x

[Erja]

There is something about Arillas that gets into your blood and it feels part of you, and you long for it like you would when you are parted from a loved one. Well and truly a life long love affair i don't want to end.......

Well put! Once again I have admit: My name is Erja and I am a Arillas addict.

[Paul D]

Hi,everyone. Nobody knows how Arillas gets under peoples` skin - It just does. Ive stopped trying to work it out. Basically, `we`re all Arillas freaks`.

[The Tootells]

In 1992, as a then single parent, i was looking for a cheap holiday in Corfu for myself and my son. It was a choice between San Stefanos and Arillas, Arrilas won! Unfortunately, i can't remember why i chose Arillas,but i haven't looked back since! My son grew up and i re-married. I talked my husband into going to Arillas, taking our 21month old with us. It took him about 3-4 days to get used to the slower pace of life and by the time the holiday was over, Brian couldn't wait to return! we've been 'returning' to Arrilas every 2 years and stayed in several apartments (all very nice!). It's a very friendly place and every one knows us now, it's like our second home. Hopefully one day we can retire to Arillas!
We're due to go in 2 weeks time on the 1st August, staying at the Mirage!

[darren-jane]

We also found Arillas by accident. Me and Jane meet in december 2001. In july we decided to book a holiday. Jane suggested trying a greek island, she had been to kefelonia, lesbos and crete. I looked on teletext for a last minute deal  and we were offered corfu. It was in the thompson small and friendly brochure we were told, a place called bardis sun studios in Arillas. Was unable to find a brochure in our local travel agents so i was a little apprehensive. Jane assured me it would be fine everywere she had been in greece was lovely, accommodation was usually basic but the people were really friendly.
Two weeks later we take off from our local airport we land in corfu just after 11pm, just after midnight we get on our coach and do our tour of corfu dropping off most of our passengers. At just after 1.30am we see a road sign in the headlights, 2km to arillas. we twist and turn down the road until we hit the village we drive past two well light bars on our left then we can see the sea and we turn left for roughly 100yds. The rep asks if we had brought our torch as suggested in the brochure and the coach stops. Our cases are taken from the coach and put on the back of a battered old pick up which then drives off round the corner and out of view. I must have had a look of shock on my face as the rep said dont worry follow her and she would show us to our accommodation. As we walk round the unlit corner into the backend of beyond as far as i was concerned i was thinking home was such a nice place. we walked around another bend and there was the red pick up and our cases. the rep introduced us to poppy our host for the next two weeks and said goodbye. poppy took us to our room and said she would see us in the morning. i managed about 4 hours sleep and decided at 6am to go and explore our strange surroundings. i opened the patio doors to our apartment to find it was still dark but in front of me was a lovely looking pool area with the pool 10 ft from my ground floor balcony.  i  retraced my steps from the night before and was down by the beach.  walked past the resturants and shops and walked onto the jetty where i sat and watched the sun come up over what i know know is afionas. i have never felt so....... to many words come to mind but i think 'at peace' sums it up best. i rushed back to our apartment and woke Jane. we had the best first holiday a couple could ever wish for. our hosts poppy and spiros made us so welcome and everyone we spoke with at bardis seemed to have been going there for years.
the next year when the adds came on at xmas for holidays we both lokked at each other and arillas it was for a second year. on our 4th visit in 2005  we took our 4 boys for two weeks(they loved it too) and then we stayed for a further two weeks.
In 2006 we decided we were being boring and needed to try somewhere different and booked croatia. we hated it. why?....... it wasn't Arillas. So in 2007 we were back at the bardis and while there purchased our own bit of corfu land(just need to build a home now).
its now 2008 and we arrive next monday the 28th from manchester airport with the 4 boys in tow for their annual two week hols before we put them on a plane back and we enjoy our two weeks of paradise that is Arillas.