Diles & Rinies | luxury villas | Tinos Cyclades

We were wanting a quiet, laid-back holiday with plenty of sunshine. We got that plus a taste of an authentic Greek island. We knew nothing about Tinos but Diles & Rinies met our accommodation requirements and so we plumped for it. We weren't disappointed. ||Tinos is only a short ferry ride from Mykonos so the journey wasn't as difficult as some of the Cyclades' islands. Plus our accommodation was only a short taxi drive from the Port and the main city in the island so the location was perfect. Yet, we were away from the hustle and bustle up the hillside with the most magnificent views overlooking the Aegean and surrounding islands.||Though there were several self-catering villas on the site it was very private, quiet and chilled out. The accommodation offers the best of both worlds in that we were fully self-catering, but there was a cleaning service, concierge, shared pool, bar area.||Top tips/pros/cons||1. A car is a must. We made the mistake of not getting one but you need it to get to the supermarket and to the towns and beaches. Don't make our mistake - we had to go and get one.|2. The accommodation is tastefully designed. We chose the three bedroom villa with pool for 2 adults and 3 teenagers and we all had plenty of room with three bathrooms and spare beds between us. It was so well arranged over the two levels and the air conditioning was welcome.|3. There was plenty of outside seating and areas to sit in so we didn't feel cramped at all - lots of space for our family.|4. Some areas of the villa were a little tired - stains on the kitchen table/counter etc. But it was clean and comfortable.|5. The beds took some getting used to as the mattress was very firm but we did after a day or two.|6. The wind is very strong in July & August which is both a blessing and a curse. It means that you don't feel the heat too much, but it's still comfortable to sit out in a bikini, there are fewer biting insects when it blows, too. However, the winds are a pain with things flying around and keeping towels on seats - pegs help. It's not as bad lower down. The couple of days respite were much hotter! I would just counter this with having a cardigan for the evening or something similar.|7. The kitchen had basic cooking utensils, including a blender, which was useful but absolutely no condiments or anything which was not. We literally had to buy everything including washing up liquid and pepper and salt.|8. Luckily the local supermarket which is a five minute drive was super useful and well-stocked. We have vegan members in the household and we could get an array of milks; tofu; even Green cola so it was helpful. |9. You cannot drink the water so we did go through mountains of bottled water and there is no recycling.|10. There were a couple of power cuts but they were completely manageable - I learnt to ensure everything was charged!|11. There is a washing machine, and everything dried super quickly which meant we went home with a suitcase full of clean clothes!|12. The cleaning staff came about 1pm every day and emptied the bins, wiped over the bathrooms, left fresh towels etc. This was a real bonus. |13. The concierge staff couldn't have been nicer and more helpful and it was really comforting to have someone on site to call and to ask questions of.|14. The shared pool and bar area were lovely so if you do not have one of the accommodations with a pool there was that area. We used both.|15. There are not many other English holidaymakers on Tinos. It felt very authentically Greek and it was a pleasure to visit the centre and the side streets and restaurants in the evening. Mostly they spoke English as we speak no Greek.|16. The local beach is nice enough though the bed accommodation wasn't for us. We just went and had a dip in the sea (pure sand all the way out with marble rocks in it!) and then had a lovely lunch in the Elia restaurant on the Eastern corner.|17. We went and visited the Museum of Marble Crafts and the village of Pyrgos which was a lovely day out. The roads are difficult - just take it slowly but it is lovely to view the island. The island is very brown and dusty/rocky but there are lovely old windmills, dovecotes etc to see. The village of Pyrgos was a lovely white village with narrow villages and little shops and restaurants to the main square. We were all pleased we went and the museum was interesting.|18. We visited to the Sanctuary of Poseiden and Amphitrite in Kiona and the Archaeological Museum in the centre of Tinos where many of the findings at that site are now located. Fascinating and just the right length for the attention span of teenagers.|19. We visited Agios Romanos beach though it was a difficult drive so we kind of wished we had stayed at our local beach which we felt was nicer.|20. We hoped to do a trip to Delos but we should have organised it from England as we couldn't get replies. The hotel put us in contact with a private charter but it was quite pricy so we decided not to. You can do day trips from Mykonos but they are long trips and the timings of the ferry are not all that reliable (both our ferries to and from Tinos had timings changed - up to an hour - something to bear in mind when you are catching a flight!).|I wish we could have factored in a private yacht tour though - you are looking at minimum 1000e.|21. The accommodation offers some food delivery and we got this a couple of times as all the family really enjoyed it and the concierge did the ordering. Very convenient.|22. The local bakery was excellent and we visited it daily.||We spent 8 days here. I liked the way they were flexible with dates. We arrived on a Wednesday and left on a Thursday. So it was very accommodating. It was also the perfect amount of time to do a mix of activities and do some essential relaxing which we all wanted to do. It's given us a taste to explore some of the other Greek islands that are less well-known. ||We have used hotels mostly in the past but we really enjoyed the convenience of having this hybrid of self-catering. Definitely something I will look to booking again elsewhere.

We had a large group of friends join together for a reunion at Diles & Rinies. It was simply perfect. The location was gorgeous, the villas were wonderful and we had amazing service from Anni and Frank who could not have been more helpful. We had a catered dinner up at the main pool which was very special, and Anni made us many reservations at fantastic restaurants. The main pool is divine - just a wonderful place to spend time together.

Panos, Eleni, Annie and Frank!! You are the best. What an amazing experience for our family of 4, and my in-laws. You have a magical place, and Tinos is the place to be if you want a relaxing time and an amazing island to explore. The experience made us feel like we had our own villa in Tinos without any of the hassle of maintaining a vacation home. The convenience of a bar and snack area, cool people at the poolside and all the pointers we could possibly ask for; all while having beautiful villa around the corner that felt like our own. Such a pleasure to meet you all. We will be back to our home away from home!! Thank you for an amazing experience.

I'm writing this as I'm leaving and I'm genuinely sad to be leaving. We actually only booked here due to a mistake with our other booking but I'm really glad we did. ||The villas are well presented and very high quality, there are multiple levels to them and multiple places to sit and relax and look at the amazing views! They're cleaned regularly, with fresh towels and bedding to a very high standard. ||We went before the season really started and so it was quiet, but I really liked this tbh. The infinity pool looks amazing, it was a little cold but that's to be expected really, it was also really nice to go in the pool and then when you get out the weather will dry you refreshingly. ||I've left the staff till last as they were the best bit. Frank and Ani are really beautiful people who will go out of their way to help you, nothing was too much trouble for them. The service we received from them was outstanding and I really hope to see them again. Even the cleaners there were really friendly and seemed happy to be doing their jobs. You would see them laughing and joking with each other while walking around and I loved this. My only qualm is that frank was a little too good at playing cards (obviously I'm joking, he did beat me a few times though and I'm still bitter 😆). As I said at the start, I'm genuinely sad to be leaving. ||I cannot recommend this place any more and I will be back. If I had more time, I would tell you about how beautiful this island is, but I think you'll want to see it for yourself.

We had a marvelous time at Diles & Rinies! We stayed in one of the villas as two families with kids, and absolutely all our wishes and hopes were fulfilled. Fantastic location, breathtaking views, modern high quality features. Great mix of attentive service & privacy in the villa. Big thank you to Manos and the wonderful team!

We (three families with 9 children) have had an amazing week staying at Diles & Rinies. Anni and Frank have been fantastic hosts, making great coffees and cocktails and booking many great restaurants for us. The owners of the hotel are also very friendly and told us a lot about the island. Thanks for a great week !

The villa and its services are amazing! We loved the infinity pool and it has also great sea and sunset views. Also, we tried the food by the pool which was excellent too. I strongly suggest to order the spinach pie and Greek salad. Lastly, the host Ms. Anni was very kind and helped us with restaurants bookings.

A very good place to stay in terms of value for money, mainly due to the wonderful location (provided you have a rented car). We were Two families of Five each, in One house (2 floors), in late September. The place is big enough and comfortable. We used the kitchen for cooking meals and the outdoor grill as well (extra charge for charcoal and equip. for some reason....). Overall maintenance is good but could use improvement - mainly the doors closing mechanism. The staff were very helpful and kind when asked for help, although there were no active touring tips/suggestions on their part. Notice that some times parties are held there, so if it bothers you - maybe check before booking.