Eirini Hotel in Grikos, Patmos

Everything starts with an idea. The greatest things, though, start with love. Christos Kamitsis, a stonemason and martial arts teacher, fell in love with Eirini and they got married. Their house in Chora was so beautiful! Only there was this voice at the foot of the big hill that was calling to Irene. For those passing by, Sapsila was just a hill overlooking the sea... For Irene however, it was a land that spoke to her heart. It was energy coming through the noise, awakening the world to reach the potential of its beauty. It was her paradise.

Although there wasn’t any money to spare, Christos made Irene’s wish to be his mission. And life found its way to respond to true love. The money for the land was found, but there was nothing left for a house. Mister Giannis Kamitsis, master builder, together with his son Christos, undertook themselves the construction of the family’s cottage on every weekend, holiday, evening and even on some nights. Stone by stone, beam by beam, every piece of material taken from Patmos’ old constructions and from whatever was hewed by the sea. “Every stone has a life” tells Christos “My job isn’t building with it; it’s finding it a place where it shall live better”. It took three years for all the stones, beams, doors and windows to find their place in that first cottage. It went by the name of Meropi. And when the chiseling of the wood and stone was done, Irene took over the decoration. She started embroidering the curtains, collecting furniture and decorative items, everything to follow Patmos’ tradition.