KISSOS CAMPUS ACCOMMODATION

The Centre's main building is a small hotel or large guest house (Xenonas, in Greek) located at the edge of the village of Kissos in the Pilion Mountains of Greece where, according to ancient Greek mythology, dwelled the fabulous Centaurs, half-man half-horse.

Pension Martiou is built upon a two floor stone house of Pelion traditional architecture, dated about 150 years old and restored by the present owner's father. The house is surrounded by a magical garden which includes rosebushes, hydrangeas, jasmine and other species planted and tended with love and affection by the Martiou family for many decades. The coolness provided by the climbing vines offer a natural environment. The view looking over the Aegean from the balcony is spectacular. The photos above taken in May 2008, shows the hotel from the driveway and front terrace looking West.
 

A few meters further left of the hotel there is a shaded patio where meals are served, and which is set up for art workshops out of eating hours. A separate building, just to the side of the patio, houses the fully equipped restaurant grade kitchen and two solar heated showers combined with toilets which serve the tents and yurts sited in the terraced grounds.

The Centre office and reception is located on the first floor of the hotel, nearby to which is located the adsl broadband internet terminal available for guest use. The WiFi network extends to most of the rooms and staff spaces.

The principle group room, sited on the north east terrace is planned to be a purpose built 7m reciprocal framed roundhouse to be constructed during the May 2009 workcamp. Small workshops and retreats in 2009 will be held in the 14 foot yurt; larger groups will use the new pergola.      

Accommodation Facilities:

The left photo shows our 14 foot yurt, which is used for group space for our small (less than 14 people) workshops and retreats. Behind the yurt on its left side, just barely visible, lies one of our staff tents. The climate here is warm enough from May through mid October that tent living for many is more attractive than inside rooms. We do have a limited amount of space for guest tents.

A couple of staff volunteers are seen in the photo to the left decorating feta cans. These big cans make excellent pots for the many flowers found on the estate. This area of Greece is renown for its gardenias and other varieties of flowers, and nearly every villager cultivates hundreds of flowers in their gardens, roofs and balconies as a cottage industry. Periodically these are trucked to Athens and other Greek cities for sale.

The right photo shows a view of the lower, middle and upper extended terraces, which contain staff tents, a fireside circle, vegie patch with compost area, and the sanctuary deck under construction. The upper extended terrace contains three magnificent black cherry trees and will become the permaculture site to be developed by the Permaculture Week, 19 - 26 June.

(Click to see a detailed map showing the layout of all rooms, tents and eco-yurts.)
 
Shown are a couple of typical twin bedded rooms in the hotel. These rooms both have ensuite facilities. Of the seven rooms available, five are doubles, and two are triples. The basic workshop costs given for each workshop are for accommodation in a double or a triple room. If you want to ensure that you get one of the double/twins, a £50/€75 per person supplement will guarantee it. If you require a single room, please specify this when booking. There is a single room supplement of £100/€150, and a £20/€30 reduction for tent accommodation on selected workshop weeks (please enquire), providing you bring your own tent, sleeping bag and towel.

When requesting a particular room please refer to the Kalikalos accommodation map. Log in as a guest to see the bed availability for any particular week.