Greece pulled in over 35 million visitors in 2025 and generated more than €22 billion in travel receipts, per Bank of Greece data. A growing portion of that spending went to private villas rather than hotels. By the end of 2025, short-term rental beds across Greek islands reached 1.06 million, overtaking the country’s 895,000 hotel beds for the first time. At the top of that private villa market, one name keeps coming up. But most of what’s been written about Le Collectionist’s Greek portfolio gets basic facts wrong. What follows is the accurate version.
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Who Le Collectionist Is — and Why It Operates Differently
Le Collectionist was founded in Paris in 2014 by CEO Max Aniort. The company now holds over 1,900 properties across 30+ destinations worldwide. What separates it from a booking marketplace is the editorial standard applied to every property. Of all villas that apply to join the portfolio each year, fewer than 3% are accepted. Each one is inspected in person by a local team before it goes live.
The recognition holds up to scrutiny. In December 2024, Forbes described Le Collectionist as the highest-rated luxury holiday rental brand in the world when profiling Aniort. Condé Nast Traveller readers ranked it No. 4 globally for villa rentals that year, scoring it 95.41 out of 100. It holds B Corp certification, independently audited rather than self-declared.
Greece became a major part of the portfolio in December 2022, when Le Collectionist acquired The Greek Villas, a specialist operator founded in 2012 with over 500 hand-selected properties across 34 Greek islands and destinations. The original Greek Villas team stayed on after the acquisition. That is still the team running operations across the Greek islands today.
The Santorini Truth No One Has Written
Almost every article on Le Collectionist’s Greek private villa collection lists Santorini as a headline destination. Most of those articles are incorrect.
As of 2026, Le Collectionist has no active villa listings on Santorini. Their Santorini destination page returns zero results. Villa names that appear in competitor articles cannot be found in the live portfolio.
Santorini features in the Le Collectionist ecosystem differently — as a concierge-arranged day trip, not a base. The company’s official editorial documents a private helicopter excursion to Santorini arranged for guests staying at a Peloponnese villa. The island’s extreme density, limited buildable land, and shortage of genuinely private estate-scale properties make it difficult to source homes that clear the 3% curation threshold.
For travelers building a Greek island villa holiday around a Santorini base through Le Collectionist, there is currently nothing to book.
The Islands: Where Le Collectionist Operates
Mykonos Villas: Hillside Seclusion, Not Beachfront Exposure
Mykonos anchors the Cyclades portfolio. Le Collectionist’s properties here sit well outside the main town, on hillsides accessed by winding or unpaved roads. Privacy is built into the geography.
Named properties from the current collection:
| Villa | Size | Tier | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villa Adriane (Elia) | 6 beds, 450 sqm | Iconic, Club Concierge | Overflowing pool, jacuzzi, security guard, Mediterranean garden |
| Villa Jondal (Fokos Beach) | 9 beds, 1,275 sqm | Iconic Collection | Private beach pathway, designed by architect Loukas Bob |
| Villa Kounoupas | 8 beds | Iconic Collection | Private chapel on-site, elevated panoramic views |
| Villa Brooke | 10 beds | Iconic Collection | No television by design — full digital disconnection |
| Villa Leto | 6 beds, 350 sqm | Iconic, Tailor | Stone tower facade, heated pool, fireplace, movie room |
A guest review on file for Villa Kounoupas: “Heaven — there’s no other word to describe holidays with Le Collectionist.”
Mykonos Airport is 4km from town with direct summer flights from London, Paris, and most major European cities. High-speed ferries from Piraeus reach the island in approximately 2 hours 40 minutes.
Paros: The Greek Island Villa Market’s Fastest-Growing Destination
Paros sits centrally in the Cyclades and has become the clearest growth story in the islands. Property prices in Naoussa rose 18 to 22% during 2025 alone, with a 108% total increase recorded since 2018, according to Investropa’s Greek islands market data. That growth reflects what villa guests have been experiencing: genuine Cycladic character without the congestion that peaks in Mykonos by mid-July.
Le Collectionist has genuine depth here. Villa Philia was built by Maxime and Christine Belveze after fifteen years of summering on the island, designed with Cabinet Gem Architects among two-hundred-year-old olive trees and Byzantine-era mountain paths. The kitchen uses Naxos marble. The wood panelling was sourced from Paros. The roof collects rainwater. A Mediterranean garden produces oregano, lemons, and olives for guests. The owners recommend Safran in Naoussa for fish caught that morning, and Chez Halaris for grilled tuna.
Other active properties:
- Villa Leonis: A wildflower path leads from the villa to a private, neighbourless beach
- Villa Hanaé: Set in the island’s heights among lavender and olive groves, with views across neighbouring Cycladic islands
- Villa Lya: 13 bedrooms for 26 guests, weekly rates from €76,250 to €96,250
There are no direct international flights to Paros. Guests fly into Athens and take a high-speed ferry from Piraeus (3.5 hours) or a 40-minute domestic flight from Athens via Olympic Air or Sky Express. From Mykonos, the ferry takes 35 to 60 minutes.
Sifnos: The Island That Filters Itself
Sifnos has no airport. The only way in is a ferry from Piraeus, around three hours. That constraint keeps it quiet, and for guests who book here, it is often the whole point.
The island has the strongest food reputation in the Cyclades, built on clay pot cooking traditions including revithada (slow-cooked chickpeas) and mastelo (braised lamb). A ceramics craft tradition that predates mass tourism gives Sifnos a texture absent from the more commercial Cyclades.
Villa Avlaki, documented in Le Collectionist’s own editorial, was built by French couple Daphné Keiffer and Clément Pouget. Stone walls sit flush in the cliffs above the Aegean. The interior layers traditional whitewashed walls with pieces gathered across years of travel, including rugs brought back from Mexico and ceramics from the island itself. The couple designed the structure without prior real estate experience, combining two original buildings into one unified home by drawing plans in PowerPoint with guidance from local builders.
Corfu and the Ionian Coast: A Completely Different Greece
Le Collectionist’s Ionian portfolio covers Corfu, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Lefkada, and Paxos. These islands sit on Greece’s western coastline and share nothing with the Aegean island-hopping circuit.
One point that regularly catches travelers off guard: there are no ferry connections between the Ionian Islands and the Cyclades or Aegean. A trip combining Corfu with Mykonos requires a flight back through Athens. They belong to different sea zones and cannot be linked by ferry.
The Ionian character differs from the Cyclades. Heavier annual rainfall produces forested, deeply green landscapes. Venetian architecture defines the old towns, particularly in Corfu. Le Collectionist describes their Corfu portfolio as properties without neighbours and away from the crowds. Both Corfu International Airport and Zakynthos International Airport operate direct summer flights from UK and European cities.
Peloponnese and Porto Heli: Greece’s Most Private Coastline
Porto Heli sits on Greece’s southern mainland, roughly 200km from Athens. Yacht-friendly and almost entirely off the mass tourism circuit, it draws guests who have exhausted the islands and want something genuinely different.
Le Collectionist published a dedicated Peloponnese villa guide in July 2025 and a family holiday guide in September 2025, specifically flagging the region for October half-term travel. It stays warm into late autumn, the beaches clear quickly after August, and the archaeological sites including ancient Olympia, Mycenae, and Epidaurus are far more accessible without summer crowds.
Documented concierge experiences from this region include:
- Private guided tours of Epidaurus Theatre with VIP attendance at live theatrical performances
- Vineyard wine tastings at private Peloponnesian estates with sommelier-led sessions
- Yacht excursions through the Saronic Gulf with meals prepared on board
- Helicopter day trips to Santorini for guests who want the caldera experience without basing themselves there
Crete: The Right Base for Larger Groups and Longer Stays
Crete offers scale that the Cyclades cannot match. For multi-generational families or groups of ten or more, the island’s range of property sizes and landscape variety makes it the most versatile option in the portfolio.
Villa Medusa was designed around a specific request from owner Jacques Wittmann, who comes from a high-end watchmaking family and whose wife Katia previously owned a Michelin-starred restaurant. Jacques insisted the bedrooms be physically separated from the social areas of the villa, so that moving between them replicates the feeling of leaving work to arrive somewhere else. A Cretan architect built it. Villa Althéa in Rethymnon offers 9 bedrooms with an infinity pool set against Cretan landscape.
Heraklion Airport operates direct international flights from UK and European cities throughout the season.
The Three Service Tiers, Explained Plainly
| Tier | What It Includes | Works Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Verified villa, airport transfers, welcome package, business-hours support | Independent travelers with experience renting Greek villas |
| Tailor | Dedicated pre-arrival concierge, restaurant bookings, activities, local team on call | Guests wanting logistics arranged before they land |
| Club Concierge | Dedicated concierge before and throughout the stay, priority experience access | Fully managed holidays; included with Iconic Collection villas |
Club Concierge comes with Iconic Collection properties by default and can be added to other villas for an additional fee.
Pricing and Booking Terms
Weekly rates across the Greece portfolio run from €5,250 to €141,250, varying by island, villa size, season, and service level.
How the booking process works:
- 30% deposit due within three business days of contract confirmation
- Remaining balance due one to two months before the stay begins
- Security deposit collected before arrival
- Cancellation within 60 days of arrival: full payment is typically forfeited
Realistic booking windows for 2026:
- Mykonos and Paros in July or August: 9 to 12 months ahead
- Crete, Corfu, and Peloponnese in peak season: 6 to 9 months
- Shoulder season across all destinations: 3 to 6 months, with more flexibility on availability
Best Time to Rent a Greek Island Villa
| Month | Average Temp | Aegean Sea Temp | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| May | 22 to 25°C | 20°C | Low crowds, opening season |
| June | 26 to 29°C | 22 to 24°C | Full season, good balance |
| July | 28 to 32°C | 25 to 26°C | Peak demand, Meltemi winds |
| August | 30 to 34°C | 26 to 28°C | Busiest month, highest prices |
| September | 26 to 29°C | 25°C | Crowds thin, sea still warm |
| October | 20 to 24°C | 23°C | Quiet; best month for Peloponnese |
On the Meltemi: The seasonal Meltemi wind in July and August can cancel high-speed catamaran services in the Cyclades. Guests with fixed villa arrival dates are safer booking Blue Star’s conventional ferries on key legs, which operate on larger vessels and rarely cancel.
September is the most underused month. The Aegean holds above 25°C, villa rates drop below their August levels, and the character of the Cyclades changes significantly once the peak crowds leave.
How to Reach Le Collectionist
Advisors are available on +33 1 73 03 02 02 or at contact@lecollectionist.com, Monday to Saturday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM local time. A mobile app is available on iOS and Android.
For peak-season Greece, the conversation is worth starting sooner than feels necessary. Properties in Mykonos and Paros for July and August 2026 are already narrowing.
When Le Collectionist acquired The Greek Villas in December 2022, the original local team stayed on. Those are the same people who built relationships with Paros winemakers, know which Sifnos bay sits sheltered when the Meltemi runs, and have been managing these specific properties for over a decade. Booking a luxury Greek island villa through Le Collectionist is partly paying for the address and partly paying for access to that knowledge. The villas in the collection are genuinely well-selected. The local teams are what make them work.
