Mesta, May 30-31

Dimitris Pipidis Studios

We rented this studio on arrival from the friendly Dimitris Pipidis, who hangs out in the main square of Mesta, biding his time in between making his own ouzo and wine, growing vegies and waiting for his grandchildren to be brought round for a visit. He has both typical village houses and studios available, all with cooking facilities. We plumped for a studio, which was the downstairs half of one of the village houses, and literally a minute's walk from the main square. It was full of character, very clean and super-quiet.
Category: Self-catering accommodation

View: Small street
Cost: 35 euros
Recommended: Highly

Chios Town - May 27-29, June 1-2

Chios Rooms, room 5

Lonely Planet writes that Don, the ex-pat Kiwi who owns this pension, is always ready for a beer and a chat. So don't be surprised if, when you turn up, someone has already cornered him in the kitchen to pick his brains about everything from Chios restaurants to politics. We did, many times. The rooms are in a lovely old neoclassical building right on the harbourfront, some with views out to the water (these tend to be noisier, however). We originally checked in for one night, but stayed for 5. If you hire a scooter, here makes a good base for discovering many beaches north and south, as well as sightseeing inland.
Bathroom: Outside the room across the corridor, quite clean, although rather public in that the doors don't go all the way to the floor. (People walking past will be able to hear you weeing.)
View: Chios harbour
Cost: 30 euros
Special note: The ceilings in this place are incredibly high – we guesstimated them to be 3 JBs high (the JB unit of measurement being how many JBs could stand on top of each other in the room, naturally).
Recommended? Highly
Contact details: 110 Leof. Aigaiou, Chios Town tel: 22710 20198, email: chiosrooms@hotmail.com