Troulos help please

Map of Troulos, red dots triangle our walking routes.

Bottom right corner is Bus stop 18, Villa Maria is marked, 100 yards further on is Morfia on the right (largish oblong pool), Ratatouille restaurant is next door (part of the property), Christakis at top corner and Mythos to left of top corner. Down from there to the beach. Watch 75 seconds of the start of my video here www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUTFSuXrX5I-PUAQkXUOivPQ (video number 9, Troulos to Kechria) and Maria is at 33 seconds on the left after the bin lorry passes, white with orange roof, Morfia is on right at 47 secs, Ratatouille at 51 secs and Christakis at 1:14.

I've never been in Morfia, but all reports I've read have been glowing and I believe them. Lovely gardens. Ratatouile is one of the best restaurants, home cooking recipes, portions to make you sit back in awe. Looks to be a decent sized pool, but obviously higher occupancy. On the flat, coach drops you at the door.

So Villa Maria. Unashamedly biassed, we took less than a week to decide it was our thing and booked for the next year. Ever since, we have booked "next year" as soon as TUI as was Thomsons released them, always before we went for the first of the year - we booked our two 2020 visits in April 2019.

Sixteen rooms was one criterium, not  busy. The pool is small but good enough to get me wet and (even big girls blouse in June). Just enough loungers for everybody, but rarely occupied - it's more a plunge pool than swimming (but at my age now, I couldn't swim underwater the full length). Small pool bar with very limited choice stocks, but the beer and wine are freezing, so that's great. Snacks are very limited too, but we (I) only snack so not fussy. Ice cream bin. Seating area under a canopy shade. Free WiFi is Skiathos local, so it's slow and often you need to wander around to find the signal. I gave up on it and use my iPhone on Greek Vodafone 4G which is much faster and use the iPhone as a WiFi Hotspot for both our iPads (my contract has 20GB data and includes free roaming).

Three storey building with steps up to middle and top floors, down to ground floor. On the ground floor, two of the sixteen rooms are separated from the main building and don't have any view except of the small visible part of garden. Some people hate them, others who do like them love their spaciousness and their front patio. We've only ever looked into them, never stayed in one but would be happy to do so, inside is bigger. We've stayed in several of the rooms in the main building. Ground floor only views the gardens which are lovely, upper floors have views out across the valley. Self catering, hot plate rings, fridge, kettle, crockery, cutlery, pots and pans - more than we ever use. Furniture the usual dark (olive?) wood, twin beds with matresses on top of crossways planks, perfectly comfortable for us, though some find them "firm". Aircon available at local payment (we never do) a small telly on the wall at foot of beds, carefully positioned at a height that will knock your brains out until you get into the habit of avoiding it. I think there are photos on TUI website of rooms and gardens.

The main road is a couple of hundred yards across the fields and very occasionally there'll be an idiot on a loud motorbike in the small hours, but it's no real bother. The only real noise at night is my snoring, but I can honestly say I've never heard it, so no problem there either.

Family run, Angela and the two children speak good English, Husband is a bit rare as he has his own business in construction and is mostly invisible unless something goes wrong, whereupon he appears and fixes it. Early birds will catch him cleaning the pool each morning before he goes off to work. I really like him and we greet him effusively when we can catch him, he and I will stand together at the bar sometimes having a great time chatting - his four words of English, my four different words of Greek! Angela is marvelous. She speaks, reads and writes English so well you wouldn't believe. Sooo welcoming and helpful, just as good as every Greek you've ever met. Her business is important to her, so the gardens are bursting with flowers and cleanliness would be before Godliness if only she wasn't so regular a churchgoer. She instantly helped me out when I had that accident in 2017 and I know she's done equally well for others with problems. A true gem.

So - small, flat, a wet thing in the garden with cold drinks and a table to put them on. Add the best family and there you have it. We arrive on 25th June 2021 and if you're there I'll buy you a nice cold drink.