Check availability
Villa Olivia Clara
Our Villa
Guest ReviewsBlogContactBook Now
Book Now
Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Rental Conditions
Back to Home

Rental Conditions

Welcome to Villa Olivia Clara! We've crafted these terms to ensure a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable stay for all our guests while respecting our beautiful island environment. Please read them carefully. By confirming your reservation, you agree to comply with these terms.

Last updated: 2 September 2026

The short version

Nine answers in plain English. The full conditions follow, and they are the agreement.

What it costs
The price you are quoted is the whole price: VAT and the climate crisis resilience fee are already in it.
When you pay
A 30% deposit confirms the booking. The balance is due 60 days before you arrive, and if you book inside that window the whole amount is due at confirmation. Payment goes through our secure booking page.
If you cancel
Cancel 60 days or more before arrival for a full refund. Later than that, no refund.
Security deposit
None. Nothing is held against your card. If something is damaged we ask you to cover the repair at cost, against a valid invoice.
Arriving and leaving
Check-in from 16:00, check-out by 10:00. Elena meets you at the house.
Housekeeping
Twice a week during your stay, with a linen change. Daily is possible if you ask Elena.
How many of you
Eight sleep in beds, across four bedrooms. An infant in a cot is on top of that and does not count towards the eight.
The pool
Unfenced, with no cover, no alarm and no stair gate. Children are in your care around it.
Who you deal with
Elena Philippou owns the villa and hosts it herself. No agency and no call centre.

The complete conditions are below.

On this page

  • 1.5. Payments & Receipts
  • Cancellation Policy
  • 2.1. Security Deposit
  • 2.3. Damage & Compensation
  • 3.2. Check-In & Check-Out
  • 4.2. Swimming Pool Policy
  • 4.4. Force Majeure
  • Section 5: Guest Support & Communication

Section 1: Agreement & Legal Framework

1.1. Parties Involved

This Agreement is between the lead guest making the reservation ("Tenant"), who must be at least 18 years old, and Philippou Eleni & Co LP, operating as Villa Olivia Clara ("Villa Olivia Clara"). The Tenant is responsible for ensuring all guests comply with this Agreement and is jointly and severally liable for any breaches of these terms by any member of their party or invited third parties.

1.2. Property Overview

The Property is a fully furnished, private villa located in Platis Gialos, Sifnos, Greece, for non-commercial use. It includes a private swimming pool and designated parking. Maximum occupancy: 8 guests. GNTO number: 1172K92001077301. The Property is registered as a non-primary tourist accommodation under Greek hospitality regulations.

We describe the house, its surroundings and our photographs in good faith and keep them current. Furnishings, gardens and the natural surroundings change with time and season, and beaches are shaped by weather and sea. Minor differences from the photographs are not a defect of your booking.

1.3. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

This Agreement is governed by Greek law. If you book as a consumer, this choice does not deprive you of the protection of any rules that cannot be set aside by agreement under the law of the country where you live. We always try to resolve any disagreement directly and amicably first. The Greek courts have jurisdiction, except where European Union or national law gives you, as a consumer, the right to bring or defend proceedings in the courts of the country where you live. Disputes may also be referred to the Consumer Ombudsman (www.synigoroskatanaloti.gr), the registered Greek alternative dispute resolution body.

1.4. Booking Details

Minimum Stay
3 consecutive nights
Rent
Total rent (including taxes and applicable tourism taxes & fees) is confirmed in writing at the time of reservation

Payment Schedule

  • A prepayment of 30% of the total confirms the booking
  • The balance is due 60 days before check-in, and a booking made less than 60 days before arrival is payable in full at confirmation
  • Late or missed payments will result in cancellation without refund, and a balance not paid when due counts as a cancellation made inside the 60-day window on that day, with the cancellation fee still due

Cancellation Policy

Cancel 60 days or more before arrival for a full refund. Cancel later than that, or do not arrive, and the cancellation fee is the full price of the stay, except statutory per-night fees for nights not spent, which we do not keep, subject to the resale credit below. This differs from the default rule of the Greek accommodation regulation and applies as the term you expressly accept when you book. When the nights resell, much of it comes back to you through the credit below.

If you cancel, do not arrive, or leave early, we will offer the freed nights for sale again. If they resell, we refund you what the resale recovered for those nights, less a tenth of that recovery for handling, and never more than you had paid for them. Within 14 days of your original departure date we send you a written statement of what resold and what is coming back to you.

If you choose to leave before the end of your stay, the unused nights are not refunded, subject to the resale credit above. Facility failures and events outside anyone's control have their own, gentler rules in 2.9 and 4.4.

Because this is a contract for accommodation on specific dates, the statutory 14-day right of withdrawal for distance contracts does not apply. Cancellation is governed solely by the policy above.

Any refund we owe you reaches your original payment method within 14 days of the event that gives rise to it, whether that is the cancellation, the resale statement, or alternative dates not working out.

We check our rates carefully, and we honour a price undercharged in error, unless the error is obvious and unmistakable, such that you could reasonably have recognised the mispricing, in which case we may cancel the booking and refund everything you paid.

When booking through a third-party platform, that platform's payment and cancellation terms apply to your booking.

1.5. Payments & Receipts

In accordance with Greek tax regulations:

  • Payments over €500 must be made via bank transfer, debit/credit card, or an approved online processor
  • Cash payments above this amount are not permitted
  • Card payments are processed securely by Viva (Viva.com, a Greek payment provider). Bank transfer, including IRIS instant payments, is also accepted
  • All payments will be accompanied by official receipts issued through Villa Olivia Clara's certified invoicing system and reported through the AADE myDATA platform

1.6. Taxes & Compliance

The price we quote is the whole price. It includes VAT (13%), municipal tax (currently 0.5%) and the Climate Resilience Fee, which for this villa category is €15 per night in the April to October period. The fee is receipted on its own statutory receipt, separate from the accommodation receipt, and carries no VAT. There is nothing further to pay for taxes on arrival or departure.

Section 2: Damage, Charges & Your Card

2.1. Security Deposit

We do not take one, and nothing is held against your card before or during your stay.

2.2. Care of the House & Reporting

Please leave the house and its fittings as you found them. Within 24 hours of check-in, tell us about anything you find already damaged or missing, so we can check it against the condition we recorded at the changeover rather than attribute it to your stay. If something breaks while you are here, tell us straight away rather than at checkout. It is easier to put right in the moment, and matters reported in real time are the simplest to resolve fairly for both sides.

2.3. Damage & Compensation

The Tenant is responsible for damage to the Property, and for damage to or loss of its contents and fittings, caused during the stay by any member of their party, by anyone they invite onto the Property, or by any animal brought onto the Property or kept there by them. Fair wear and tear is excluded. Contamination that requires professional remediation, such as a fouled pool or a blocked septic system, counts as damage. Compensation is always the actual documented cost of repair or replacement, never a penalty or a fixed fee.

Where we find damage, we will:

  • notify you in writing within 7 days of check-out, or, for damage that could not reasonably have been found by then, within 7 days of discovering it and never later than 28 days after check-out, with photographs
  • obtain a written quotation or invoice from an independent professional, based on an inspection of the damage
  • send you that document together with an itemised statement of the amount claimed

You then have 14 days from receiving the statement to pay, or to tell us in writing that you dispute the claim or will test the amount as described in 2.4. If you dispute in writing, saying why, that your party caused the damage, we will not charge your card. The claim is then resolved through the routes in 1.3. Compensation that is neither paid nor disputed within the period may be collected as described in 2.5 and otherwise remains recoverable under Greek civil law.

2.4. Testing the Amount

The repair itself is carried out by professionals we know and trust. The amount, however, can be tested. If, within 30 days of receiving the statement, you obtain a written estimate that was prepared after an on-site inspection, which we will arrange, covers the same scope of work, is priced net of VAT as our figures are, and comes from a reputable professional either based on Sifnos or including all travel and transport to Sifnos in the price, and that estimate is lower than ours, the lower figure applies. After those 30 days, our documented figure stands.

2.5. Paying, and the Card Used for Your Booking

The preferred ways to settle an amount due under this Section are a secure payment link we send you, or bank transfer. Paying with the card stored from your booking is optional and is never the default; where it is used, only the conditions below apply.

That said, by confirming a reservation you authorise us to charge the payment card used for the booking, as a stored credential, for the amounts in the payment schedule as they fall due, for additional services you have requested or agreed to in writing, and for compensation for damage. A damage charge can happen only when the procedure in 2.3 and 2.4 has run its course, only up to the amount in the independent quotation or invoice, no earlier than 20 business days after we deliver the documentation and not before the 30-day window in 2.4 has closed, within 90 days of check-out, and only where the rules of the relevant card scheme permit it. Every charge is itemised to you in writing no later than the day it is made. We never charge more than the documented amount.

2.6. If a Charge Looks Wrong

Contact us first. What we can fix directly, we will. If a charge has been made outside the procedure in this Section, we will refund it on request, and the underlying claim will then be resolved through the invoice route in 2.3 and 2.4.

2.7. Services Provided

Included Services

  • Cleaning twice per week
  • Towel change every 3 days
  • Linen change once a week
  • Pool and garden maintenance
  • Washing machine use (once every 3.5 days)

2.8. Additional charges

Extra wash, beyond one every 3.5 days
€25
Additional cleaning, per service
€50
Replacing a lost key
€50
Chefs, excursions and other third-party services
At the provider's price

These are prices for routine services. Putting right a breach of these terms, such as a deep clean after smoking or an animal, or a lock replaced where a lost key requires it, is charged at documented cost under the damage clause.

2.9. Facility Failure Policy

If essential amenities such as air conditioning, hot water, electricity, or pool filtration systems fail during your stay, Villa Olivia Clara will make reasonable efforts to resolve the issue within 24 hours. If, for reasons within our control, an essential amenity stays out beyond that, we credit a fifth of that night's rate for each further full day, and we may always do more. If we cannot restore it within a reasonable time and you choose to leave because of it, the nights you do not use are refunded. This does not apply where the failure was caused by your party.

Two boundaries on this promise. Interruptions of the island's public networks, meaning electricity, water, telephone or internet failures that originate beyond the Property's boundary, are not facility failures. On a small island they happen, especially in high summer, and while we will always chase the provider and help you work around them, we cannot be responsible for them. And the pool's water temperature depends on the weather. Cool water is not a defect.

Section 3: Guest Conduct & Use of Property

3.1. House Rules

  • Eight people sleep at the villa, across four bedrooms. An infant under 2 in a cot does not count towards the eight, and there is a travel cot and a high chair if you ask for them.
  • Only the guests named on your booking stay overnight, and nobody sleeps in tents, vehicles or the garden. The lead guest is part of the staying party, and changes to the named guests need our written agreement. Greek law requires us to record everyone staying at the house, which is why we take a passport or an EU national ID at check-in.
  • Friends are welcome during the day, and a few of them are just a heads-up to Elena so she can plan around it. A gathering larger than the party staying at the house is a celebration under the events rule and needs her agreement in advance, amplified sound outdoors included. Keep someone watching anyone near the pool. It has no fence, no cover and no alarm.
  • We cannot take pets of any kind. Some of the guests who come here have allergies, and the house is cleaned for them.
  • However charming they are, please don't feed the island's stray cats and dogs at the house. It teaches them to come back for guests whose allergies can't say yes.
  • No smoking or vaping anywhere on the property. That holds indoors and outdoors both, so the terrace, the pool area and the garden are included.
  • No fireworks, sky lanterns or open flames in the garden. Use the barbecue as the Welcome Book describes, and never in strong wind. A Cycladic summer is dry, and we take fire seriously.
  • The house is a private home for up to eight people, not a venue. It has been the base for a wedding party staying together, for bridal preparation and photographs, and for milestone birthdays. Ask Elena before you book and she will tell you what she can do.
  • Check in from 4:00 pm and check out by 10:00 am. Earlier or later depends on the changeover that day, so ask and we will tell you what is possible.
  • Greek quiet hours run from 3:00 to 5:30 in the afternoon and from 11:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning. The neighbours keep them and so do we.
  • There is private parking at the house for up to five cars.
  • Charging an electric vehicle, or any large battery such as an e-bike battery, needs our agreement first, so we can point you to a safe setup. Large batteries are never charged indoors.
  • No drone flights over the property or the neighbouring houses without our written agreement.
  • Commercial or editorial filming and photography need our written agreement first. Your own holiday photos are, of course, yours.
  • Please leave the house and its fittings as you found them. If something breaks, tell us straight away rather than at checkout. That is what the villa is insured for, and it is easier to put right while you are still here.
  • We do not accept unaccompanied guests under 18. Every minor stays with a responsible adult named on the booking, and needs watching near the pool and the terrace walls.

3.2. Check-In & Check-Out

Check-In

  • From 4:00 pm (early check-in subject to availability)
  • Valid passport or EU national ID required
  • Guest data recorded per Greek law

Check-Out

  • By 10:00 am
  • If the house is not vacated by 6:00 pm, an additional night may be charged and any documented cost of relocating arriving guests falls to you
  • Property must be returned in original condition
  • All keys returned at checkout

3.3. Quiet Hours & Legal Conduct

Guests must respect Greek quiet hours: 3:00 to 5:30 pm and 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. The house is open from 15 May to 30 September, so those are the hours that apply for the whole season. All guests must comply with Greek law during their stay. Discrimination or illegal behavior will not be tolerated.

3.4. Minors & Supervision

Villa Olivia Clara does not accept unaccompanied minors under the age of 18. All minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult guest and remain under their supervision throughout the stay, with special attention near the swimming pool and around elevated outdoor areas. The cot, high chair and any other equipment we lend are used with care and at the guests' own risk, with children supervised while using them; this does not limit clause 4.1.

3.5. Tell Us What We Should Know

If anyone in your party has reduced mobility, a serious allergy, or a medical condition that could matter at a house with steps, an unfenced pool and an island's distance from major medical care, tell us before you confirm the booking. We would much rather plan for it with you than discover it at the door.

Section 4: Health, Safety & Risk

4.1. Liability & Insurance

We are liable under the law for damage caused by our fault. To the extent the law permits, our liability for property damage is limited to direct losses, and we are not responsible for loss or damage caused by you or your party, by the nature of the item concerned, or by events outside our control. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our fault, for intent or gross negligence, or for any liability that cannot be limited under Greek law. If a third party brings a claim against us, a neighbour, an authority, an injured visitor, because of something your party or your visitors did, you will compensate us for what we are legally required to pay as a result.

The property is insured against fire, natural disasters and civil liability. That insurance does not cover guests' personal belongings, so keep valuables secured and tell us immediately if anything is lost or damaged; vehicles are parked at their owners' risk. We strongly recommend travel insurance for every member of your party, covering cancellation, travel disruption, ferries included, and liability for damage you may cause.

4.2. Swimming Pool Policy

The pool is private, unfenced and unsupervised. There is no lifeguard, no cover and no alarm. Everyone you bring to the house, guests and visitors alike, uses it entirely at their own risk, and children must be continuously supervised around it by an adult.

Important Pool Safety Rules

  • No diving or running around the pool area
  • Mind the depth markings
  • Continuously supervise children using the pool
  • Follow health and safety signage
  • Observe Greek quiet hours (summer: 3:00–5:30 pm and 11:00 pm–7:00 am)
  • Shower before entering the pool
  • No glass containers near the pool
  • Avoid using the pool during inclement weather

4.3. Environmental Practices

In accordance with waste management and environmental protection laws, we kindly request guests to:

  • Minimize water use and avoid washing vehicles
  • Reuse towels to conserve energy
  • Air conditioning runs with windows and doors closed
  • We may ask you to switch off cooling in rooms nobody is using
  • Switch off lights and appliances when not in use
  • Follow recycling and waste sorting instructions
  • Only flush toilet paper (septic system)
  • Dispose of other items in waste bins

4.4. Force Majeure

Events outside anyone's control, such as natural disasters, extreme weather, epidemics, government restrictions, strikes or port closures, are handled in two ways. If such an event disrupts your travel but the villa is available, the cancellation policy continues to apply, and we will do our best to help you rearrange dates. If it means we cannot provide the villa, or cannot go on providing it, we will offer you alternative dates first, and if none work, what you have paid for the nights we could not provide comes back to you as a credit for a future stay. We are not liable for consequential losses or for your travel costs. And if we ever cannot provide the villa for any other reason that is not your breach, everything you paid for the nights we cannot provide comes back to you within 14 days.

4.5. The Neighbourhood

We are not responsible for noise or disturbance originating beyond the Property's boundary, such as a neighbour's building works, village festivities or agricultural life. Where we know of significant works planned near the house during your dates, we will tell you in good faith before you arrive.

Section 5: Guest Support & Communication

5.1. Guest Information

Privacy

Guest data is handled in compliance with GDPR Regulation and Greek Privacy Laws. Data is collected only as required for legal compliance and check-in procedures and is securely stored.

Welcome Book

Includes appliance instructions, house rules, emergency contacts, and local tips. A digital copy is available via QR code on site or by request prior to arrival.

Lost & Found

Items found at the property will be kept for 30 days. Courier returns are offered at the guest's expense; please email elena@villaoliviaclara.com to arrange return.

5.2. Concerns, During and After Your Stay

Tell us about any problem while you are here. Most things can be fixed the same day, and a concern raised in real time is also the easiest for everyone to verify. Anything you want to raise after your stay, send us in writing within 28 days of departure. An issue that was never reported during the stay is difficult to establish afterwards and cannot normally ground a claim. If we cannot resolve a complaint between us, we will tell you in writing whether we will take part in resolution before the Consumer Ombudsman.

5.2. Emergency Contacts

Emergency Services

Fire Department:
199
Medical Emergency:
166
Police:
100

Villa Olivia Clara

Urgent matters:

+30 697 191 9382

Non-urgent:

elena@villaoliviaclara.com

Response time: A personal reply from Elena

5.3. WiFi & Internet Use

The house Wi-Fi is for legal, private use. Pirated content, IPTV, torrents and unauthorised streaming are prohibited; a breach can be grounds for ending the stay under the house rules. Network monitoring is limited to usage patterns, never content, consistent with GDPR.

5.4. Language of Agreement

These conditions are published in English, Greek, French and Italian, and we keep the four versions aligned. The translations are provided for your convenience. If a translation of a term differs from the English text in a way that is less favourable to you, the version more favourable to you applies.

5.5. Changes to These Conditions

We may update these conditions. The version that applies to your stay is the one published here on the day you confirm your reservation, and the date at the top of this page tells you when it last changed.

Final Provisions

If any term of this Agreement is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining terms continue to apply. If we do not enforce a term on one occasion, we may still enforce it later. Notices under this Agreement go in writing to the email addresses used for the booking. We may transfer our rights under this Agreement only in a way that does not reduce yours.

Questions About These Terms?

If you have any questions about these rental conditions or need clarification on any terms, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're here to help ensure your stay is comfortable and enjoyable.

Contact Us Call Us
Villa Olivia Clara

Elena's family home on Sifnos, yours alone

A four-bedroom villa with a private sea-view pool in Platis Gialos, Sifnos, hosted by Elena and her family.

Contact Elena

Villa Olivia Clara

Platis Gialos, Sifnos

Cyclades, Greece

elena@villaoliviaclara.com+30 697 191 9382

Ready to Book?

Tell Elena your dates. She'll plan the rest with you.

Book Now

The Villa

  • The 4-bedroom villa
  • Sifnos Villas with a Private Pool
  • Guest Stories
  • FAQ
  • Contact

Discover Sifnos

  • Sifnos Island Guide
  • Is Sifnos Worth Visiting?
  • Where to Stay
  • Getting Here
  • Getting Around
  • Bus Timetable
  • Car Hire
  • Map of Sifnos
  • Best Time to Visit

Villages & Beaches

  • Sifnos Beaches
  • Platis Gialos
  • Apollonia
  • Artemonas
  • Kastro
  • Kamares
  • Faros
  • Vathi
  • Chrysopigi
  • Cheronissos

On the island

  • Food & Restaurants
  • Experiences
  • Hiking
  • Boat Tours
  • Churches
  • History
  • Travel Blog
  • Sustainability
  • Rental Conditions
  • Sources & Method
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
LanguageEnglish|Ελληνικά|Italiano|Français

© 2026 Villa Olivia Clara. All rights reserved.

Designed & Developed in collaboration withAnotherSEOGuruDiscover CycladesPartner

Sifnos Photo Credit:Vivi Kofinaki

Seven Martyrs chapel photo by Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Artemonas village photo by Margaritaprounia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Registered with the Greek Ministry of Tourism as a furnished tourist villa (MHTE: 1172K92001077301).