Hotel “eleonas” is an eco-conscious small hotel-awarded with Green Key- in an ideal position on a hill, surrounded by an olive grove where informality will never mean compromising on quality.
History
In 1963 my family came back to the homeland from Egypt where we had been living. That’s when I first came to Rovies to the family estate and fell in love the minute I saw it. I was 10 years old, Stefanos remembers. I decided to become an agriculturist, live on the farm and take care of it. I took complete charge of it from my mother in 1983.
Next step: build a house for my family.
It took 4 years for it to be finished and in 1995 we moved from Athens to live permanently in the country. It was an innovative move since even now the opposite prevails. People leave the country side to gather in the cities.
Friends and acquaintances who visit us in Rovies, Evia Island, don’t know a lot about the olive tree or the olive fruit, despite the fact that they provide the main ingredient of our diet. We like to explain and share our knowledge as well as guide them around Rovies telling stories about the past.
We like to live in the country and wish to remain farmers. When we heard about the LEADER program and the subsidies for Agrotourism we made a decision. We created the Agrotouristic Hotel which, after long deliberation, we named “eleonas” –olive grove in Greek- and we stared welcoming customers exactly like we do our fiends at our home.
“eleonas” opened its doors beginning 2000.
On the one hand visitors enjoy the walks through the olive grove and on the other the estate products were sold to the visitors. Work at the farm didn’t have to stop and the intrusion (building, waste, road through) was of minor scale and didn’t negatively influence the production.
There are two of us (husband and wife) and each of us deals with the subject which he/she is familiar with and happy working in. Stefanos –agriculturist and farmer- tends the olive trees and large farm as well as maintaining the hotel. Marina-with studies in Public Relation and her love for handiwork- takes care of customers as well as decorating the area where they stay.
Come and join us in Rovies
We offer local delicatessen for breakfast, olives from the farm, and eggs from the coop. We cook Greek traditional recipes with our olive oil for dinner; we sit together in the living room and chat.
