Firstly, a huge thank you to all the guests who took the time to leave such positive feedback in 2025 and trusting us with either your holiday or special event, some of whom we welcome back in 2026. Your insight, as always, is most welcome. It means a lot to us and allows us to learn, grow and constantly improve.
Spring 2026 Update
Returning to the villa after the winter months always brings a sense of anticipation — we never quite know what the garden will reveal. This year, the wet and windy winter created perfect growing conditions, and the display of wildflowers has been truly spectacular.
Inspired by the spirit of “No Mow May,” we allowed some parts of the garden to grow more naturally this spring, encouraging local wildflowers and wildlife to flourish in a biodiverse habitat. The result has been beautiful bursts of colour throughout the grounds, many spring flowers, including roses, are already in bloom, and there is an especially lovely display of wild orchids that appeared across the garden this year.
Honey bees are abundant, collecting nectar and performing that all-important pollination duty whilst making the world-famous Kefalonia honey.
A Flourishing Garden
We’ve continued to invest time and care into the extensive outdoor spaces, which remain such a special part of the villa experience.
Alongside the seasonal growth, we’ve been busy pruning, clearing, and carefully maintaining the grounds while preserving the villa’s natural surroundings and relaxed character.
We’ve also planted bougainvillaea to grow across the garden frame. In time, this will create a beautiful canopy of colour, as well as some very welcome natural shade during the warmer months. Talking of shade, there is now a huge shaded area behind the bottlebrush hedge, while large pine trees give protection and a tranquil escape.
In addition, we’ve pruned, mulched, fertilised and given extra attention to our productive olive grove of eating and pressing olives — here’s hoping for a bumper crop this year, although the November harvest is some way off!
Pool Refresh
The 10m swimming pool has been refreshed and is sparkling, ready for long, relaxed days in the sunshine as temperatures climb above mid-twenties degrees Celsius in early May.
More Space and Comfort
Inside the villa, we’ve made several updates to improve comfort and flexibility for our guests. The sofa beds in the upstairs living room have been replaced, and we’ve added two new guest beds. This now allows the villa to accommodate up to 14 guests comfortably or 15 with the cot, making it even better suited to larger families and groups. Naturally, we have provided additional sun loungers and pool towels as well.
Interior Updates
We’ve refreshed the soft furnishings in two of the bedrooms and fitted new curtains in the downstairs lounge, helping to create a lighter, fresher, and more comfortable feel throughout the living spaces.
Improved Wi-Fi
We’ve upgraded to a satellite Wi-Fi system for increased bandwidth and to mitigate equipment outages caused by summer thunderstorms.
Looking Ahead
The great news is that The Walnut Tree Villa is already open and receiving guests. We wish all of this year’s guests a wonderful stay filled with relaxation, laughter, and those ever-so-special holiday memories.
This year, we are delighted to welcome our first visitors from Tasmania, alongside guests celebrating birthdays ranging from 1 to 70 — including a few milestone 40th and 60th birthdays and a 30th Wedding Anniversary.
We are genuinely honoured that so many of you choose The Walnut Tree Villa to celebrate such special occasions.
And if you’re not visiting us this year, perhaps 2027 will be the one! Bookings for the 2027 season are open, and the diary is already filling up.
We look forward to welcoming both returning and new guests in the seasons ahead.
