History
With taste and respect for environment and the dominant material of stone
The complex was built in Northern Ithaki near the large village Stavros, in an area known as Pilikata. Its name was taken from the nobles who, in previous centuries, owned the hill where the guesthouse is.
The story goes something like this: During her visit, the Queen of Austria, affectionately known as Sissy, asked the noble Pilika to give her the hill which overlooked three seas, so that she could build the Achilleio. As we are informed from sources and newspapers of the nineteenth century, he denied her, and the Achilleio was built in Corfu.
Now, I, Vasilis Aravanis, inherited this 11-acre olive grove from my mother who comes from Ithaca. Until today, it is famed for its superior quality olive oil. My obsession for old stone buildings led me to design these buildings, with the assistance of a civil engineer, get my building permit and construct the buildings using old style techniques, such as corner-carved quoins, windows and doors with headers, stone balconies with fourousia etc.