Dear guests from Prague,

thank you very much for taking some time to write your opinion about our hotel. Reading your comments I understand that the main reason for making you feel like prisoners for a night in our hotel was the look of the buildings and not their function which aims at giving guests the freedom and independence of entering and exiting their room through our large sea side garden, not obliging them to walk through the reception, carpets and elevators. Your are totally right there is no “luxury” in the hotel. No spa, no swimming pool, no television… If you have a closer look at our website we actually offer more than what we promise. BUT we believe that there is comfort according to our standards: Large and comfortable beds, plenty of sunlight in the rooms, renovated interiors, homemade breakfast by the sound and smell of the Mediterranean, and a very relaxed and informal atmosphere. For all the above reasons indeed more than 60% of our guests are repeaters.

By getting older I know now that there is no absolute beauty. The only judge is the time. Therefore I believe that it is important for the history of a place to keep some characteristic buildings of a certain period, giving them the chance to be judged! It would be easy, for me as an architect to fully “modernise” Votsala. On the contrary, respecting the “less is more” principal of Bauhaus -which is similar to our hotel's philosophy- the only exterior change I decided to do was to add, next to the original local stone, one more traditional element: the colourful windows and walls of Lesvos. Many Bauhaus style buildings like Votsala are now protected in “ex-west” Europe. It is very possible that after one or two generations the "communist era concrete buildings" in Prague -that means the East version of Bauhaus- will be also protected! But in between we need to give buildings a chance and not to globalise everything erasing memories and History!

Despite your experience at Votsala I hope you felt the very special charm of our island and found the right places on Lesvos to enjoy your holiday (actually there are very nice luxurious hotels on the island!).

Best Regards,
Iannis Troumbounis
Hotel Owner