about us
LuxurIOS Island Experience is a Greek owned tourism project that develops, owns and operates hotels, beach estates, villas, lounges and organizes authentic life experiences in the island of Ios.
LuxurIOS Island Experience is a Greek owned tourism project that develops, owns and operates hotels, beach estates, villas, lounges and organizes authentic life experiences in the island of Ios. This project was born out of love for our country with a vision to promote sustainable tourism in Greece and contribute our mental, emotional and financial resources to protect and promote the cultural and natural heritage of Ios. Following a long effort, a significant amount of land was purchased in the island creating one of the largest private holdings of still unspoiled beach front land in the Mediterranean. Our aim is to use a very low-impact, environmentally sensible approach to sustainably develop only a very small portion of the land that we own leaving 95% of it undeveloped, so that Ios’ natural beauty, unspoiled beaches, sense of place and Greek island cultural heritage continues to thrive for future generations of locals and visitors alike. Only a small collection of villas, lounges and boutique hotels will be developed based upon environmentally-friendly design and construction, working closely with the local community thus providing direct economic benefits through responsible tourism development. An integral part of the project is the offering of authentic island life experiences designed to expose guests to IOS’s incredible beaches, stunning landscapes and local products in privacy, luxury and comfort.
CONSTRUCTION
During the construction process all the materials we use, except wood, iron, glass and cement and s ...more
During the construction process all the materials we use, except wood, iron, glass and cement and some of the marbles, are produced locally. The uniqueness of this project is that our venues are built out of materials that are extracted from the ground of the actual building site..
They are then cut and carved by local craftsmen while the lower quality ones are grinded by a stone-processing machine to produce sand, gravel and plaster to be used as the building/finishing materials such as concrete, plaster, etc. We then use local master craftsmen to lay by hand and construct each one of our venues, some of them requiring millions of such stones in a painstaking but authentic effort.
The swimming pools, patios and open ground surfaces are alsoconstructed in the same way by adding thousand of marble pieces crafted byhand and put together similar to a giant puzzle aimed to create a uniquefinished product in yet another painstaking effort.
We are fortunate that some of our sites are significant stone- marble quarries offering distinctively different color and quality of marble and even stone-granite.
POWER LINES
There is no exposed infrastructure anywhere on our properties; no electric or telephone lines are ex ...more
There is no exposed infrastructure anywhere on our properties; no electric or telephone lines are exposed as all cables are dag underground at a great cost in order to not pollute visually the environment.
TREES
We planted more than 55,000 trees so far including more than of 500 ancient (300+ year old) olive tr ...more
We planted more than 55,000 trees so far including more than of 500 ancient (300+ year old) olive trees brought by boat from the mainland. They were destined to become firewood and instead have been given a second life in Ios. It is actually quite stunning to watch them every day give it all they have in order to grow again in their new home instead of being burned in a fire place in Athens!
WATER COLLECTION
Storm water management and harvesting is in the forefront of our land development philosophy. Every ...more
Storm water management and harvesting is in the forefront of our land development philosophy. Every venue of ours has very large (for a total of 8.500 cubic meters underground water reservoirs to collect water during the rainy season and consume it in the summer tourist season. Some properties have additional water reservoirs built at high points for irrigation through gravity and fire protection in case of wild fires
WASTE MANAGEMENT
All the water from the daily cleaning of the venues and various water features is recycled in separa ...more
All the water from the daily cleaning of the venues and various water features is recycled in separate waste management reservoirs to be used for the watering of our trees.
LOCAL COMMUNITY
We are actively committed to the well-being of the local community in more than one ways. In order ...more
We are actively committed to the well-being of the local community in more than one ways.
In order to protect the marine life and the surrounding waters from illegal fishing and other activities we have donated the only boat the Coast Guard of Ios owns . To ensure safety for the local community and the tourists we have donated to the police a 4X4 car. To protect the island from wild fires we have donated a fire track to the municipality of Ios. We financially support the local medical center. When needed, we provided significant financial assistance to the Ios cooperative of shepherds.
We are committed to youth and the children of Ios. We provide funds for music lessons and other activities during the slow months of winter. We have helped organize free yoga instruction in the square for local residents to experience and enjoy.
Supporting the Local People
We are actively committed to the well-being of the local community including donating the only boat that the Coast Guard of Ios has in order to protect the surrounding waters, supporting the local medical center and providing significant financial assistance to the Ios cooperative of shepherds.
We organize music lessons for the children on the island to practice, socialize and develop healthy interests, especially during the slow months of the winter and yoga instruction in the square for local residents to experience and enjoy.
Enhancing the Local Economy
We support the local economy by hiring people from within the community and buying products from local agricultural producers and artists.
We provide work to local managers, craftsmen and workers all year round and we are the largest employer on the island. In all our properties we hire local guides who know the island stories, culture and traditions, providing our guests with a vast wealth of information about Ios.
Transplanting of Olive Trees for the railway line construction
Our story
LuxurIOS Island Experience is a Greek owned travel business born out of a love for our country and respect for Greece’s cultural and natural heritage. Like many Greeks, we used to pass our summers travelling from island to island in the Aegean Sea enjoying its natural beauty and having fun swimming and eating fresh local meals in seaside tavernas in small towns and villages we discovered along the way.
Greece was very different 25 years ago, a country in its very early stages of tourism, with many islands still untouched by overdevelopment. As the country organized itself around what would soon become its largest contributor to the economy – the travel and tourism industry - many of Greece’s iconic islands started surrendering their character and beauty to the economic promises of mass tourism growth.
These islands gave up large sections of their traditional communities and small fishing ports to virtually unrestricted and unsustainable construction, becoming victims of their own economic gain as rapid mass tourism development also led to environmental degradation and loss of authenticity.
Ios, on the other hand, without an airport and largely known only to backpackers and intrepid travelers, escaped the mass tourism tide that washed over other islands. The tourists who came to Ios frequented the main town and the two nearest beaches. The rest of the island was left virtually untouched, and still a place of dramatic natural beauty and cultural authenticity.
We decided that we wanted to promote sustainable tourism in Greece and help to protect the cultural and natural heritage of Ios. We purchased a significant amount of land on Ios with the purpose of preserving it for the future by pursuing a model for sustainable development that included safeguarding vast tracts of natural landscape and building a small collection of private villas and boutique hotels based upon environmentally-friendly design and construction, working closely with the local community, and providing direct economic benefits through responsible tourism development.
Our aim is to use a low-impact, environmentally sensible approach to sustainably develop the land by leaving 99% of it undeveloped, so that Ios’ natural beauty, unspoiled beaches, sense of place and Greek island cultural heritage continues to thrive for future generations of locals and visitors alike.
Sustainability
Preserving & Restoring Nature
We have planted more than 55,000 trees and bushes to restore previously burned habitat by wild fires and land deforestation. This also helps decrease our carbon footprint and helps to assure that the future of the island will be greener. This action is the largest private land restoration project undertaken in Greece.
We have also transplanted 283 ancient olive trees from the Peloponnese (most are 300 years old) which were about to be cut down for a development project there. We transported them across the mainland to Athens and then by boat to Ios where they were replanted with the supervision and assistance of specialists.
Rainwater Collection & Water Preservation
In each of our properties we have installed extensive water catchment systems that collect about 5 million liters (1.1 million gallons) of rainwater per year stored in 12 large underground reservoirs. Rainwater which is collected during the rainy season (autumn and winter) is then used during the dry season (spring and summer). Through this system we are able to conserve a large quantity of water which provides the majority of the water for irrigation needs.
Building Our Eco-Consciousness
In all our properties we install our electrical power lines underground so that we do not visually pollute the natural landscape. In addition, by using a special stone cutter machine, we have being recycling the rock which is unearthed from the excavations of our buildings.
By cutting it in various sizes we provide the necessary building materials for cement on location, as well as plaster and gravel for the finish work. For the walls of our constructions we use the same approach: rock excavated on location in the actual digging of the foundation is recycled back into the building itself.
By using this method we have minimized construction waste and also significantly reduced our carbon footprint instead of increasing fossil fuel transportation by importing construction materials from far away.
This approach is more costly but it gives us a tremendous sense of relief that we are minimizing the impact of own construction on Mother Earth.
WE DO NOT HAVE TO DAMAGE THE EARTH TO ACCOMPLISH OUR DREAMS
The Luxurios Island Experience Family