- Sleeps 12
- 5 bedrooms
- Private pool
- Sea and mountain views
- Trails from the door
- 20 min to Corfu Old Town
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See the availability calendar · Rates, terms and what is included
A Venetian manor of 1782 above the sea at Benitses, let to one party at a time. Its guests have included royalty and illustrious figures from around the world, among them Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Queen Alexandra, along with celebrated literary and theatrical personalities such as Gerald Durrell and Vivien Leigh.
Five bedrooms for up to twelve, a private pool among the orange and lemon trees, and a balcony looking across the sea to the mountains of mainland Greece. Corfu Old Town is twenty minutes away, and mountain trails start at the door.
The balcony
Evenings on the balcony
The balcony faces east across the Corfu Channel. As the sun sets behind the house, the sky and the sea turn gold and pink, the mountains of Epirus glow, and later the moon rises over the mainland. It is the same view Gerald Durrell enjoyed over an evening drink.
The house
Room for everyone
A grand saloni the width of the house, a library, a dining room for ten and a farmhouse kitchen with a wood stove. Outside, a private pool with a barbecue and outdoor seating in the citrus groves.
We arrange your arrival, are on call throughout your stay and can organise a cook, a boat or a car. The rest of the time, the house is yours.
The story
Royalty, film stars and a field hospital
Built by the Venetian Giustiniani family, the house has passed only by marriage and dowry. The family’s visitors’ books record royal guests including Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Queen Alexandra; and the old farm buildings sheltered monks, nuns and a First World War field hospital.
Spring and autumn
Walking from the front door
Mountain trails climb from the house through olive groves and forest: about three hours’ walking there and back to Gastouri and the Achilleion, or four past the old waterworks and Stavros to the mountain village of Agii Deka, with coffee or lunch in the villages and lookouts across the island and the sea.
As featured in
The Sunday Times · Condé Nast Traveller · The Independent · Fodor’s
On screen as Villa Belmar in The Marble Hall Murders (BBC and PBS Masterpiece) and in The Durrells
Weddings and celebrations
Celebrate at San Stefano
Weddings for up to 120 guests, with a ceremony among the citrus trees or on the balcony, dinner by the pool and dancing under the stars. Birthdays, anniversaries and private dinners too.
If you ever have the chance to stay here, jump on it! We hope to be back as soon as possible!
Robin, Washington DC · September 2024
Make San Stefano yours
Choose your dates, see your price and send your request. We reply personally, within 24 hours.