All year

A deposit of 10% of the total price of the stay is required at the time of booking. The hotel may ask for an additional credit card guarantee or deposit by bank transfer.  The outstanding balance is to be paid directly to the hotel upon checkout.  

The 10% deposit paid online at the time of booking is non-refundable. The hotel will charge a further fee if the booking is cancelled less than two weeks or ten days prior to your arrival date. This fee is calculated as follows: 
40% of the total price of the stay is charged if a cancellation is made less than ten days prior to the arrival date in low season, or less than 14 days prior to the arrival date in high season.
90% of the total price of the stay is charged if a cancellation is made less than 3 days prior to the arrival date in high season, as well as in the case of a no-show or an early departure.

Jacoline's Small Hotels in Greece reserves the right to debit your credit card on behalf of the hotel in accordance with the above cancellation policies.



En-suite bathroom (bath or shower)
Telephone
Television (with DVD in some of the rooms)
Some of the studios and all suites have a fireplace

Sitting/dining room with fireplace
Meeting/events room (in garden house)
Garden/terrace

Hotel Helydorea is situated in the mountains of the northern Peloponnese, in the village of Trikala. It is a quiet location, but there are several restaurants and cafés very close by.

Follow the national road between Patras and Korinthos. Turn off at a town called Xilokastro (about 30 km from Korinthos or 105 km from Patras) and follow the road signs for Trikala. The hotel is on your left in Mesea Trikala (middle Trikala, there also are Ano, or upper, and Kato, or lower, Trikala) about 24 km from where you get off the national road.

When, in the late 1990s, I first visited the village of Trikala in the mountains of the northern Peloponnese, there wasn’t much to it. It was just a little village (actually, three villages, as Trikala is divided in a lower, middle and upper part) in a beautiful area, with a limited choice of places to eat and stay. Hotel Helydorea was the main reason people (including myself) came here for weekends.

The village has changed a quite a bit since. There are now several decent places to stay; the choice of restaurants has increased, and there are also some vaguely trendy little bars. There’s even a tiny ski resort now. Clearly, Trikala has been discovered and is on its way up. The area is beautiful and unspoilt, wonderful for walks and hikes. The skiing is a bit of a joke (there’s only one lift for the time being!), but when there is snow, you can also go on a snowmobile trip or rent a sleigh. In other seasons you can rent mountain bikes, or, if you are the adventurous type, climb to the summit of Mount Ziria (with certified guides) and make a descent into the Flambouritsa Gorge. It’s also a beautiful area to drive around; don’t miss the lake of Doxa or Feneou.

At barely a half-hour (beautiful) drive from Trikala Korinthias you will find the Buddhist Centre Karma Berchen Ling, where people come to study Buddhism, meditate and share experiences. Several times per year the centre organizes Buddhist retreats, meditation and courses, but visitors are welcome any time to get information, have a cup of tea, and to admire the Kalachakra Stupa of Karma Berchen Ling. After more than 20 years of preparation, this Stupa was inaugurated in August 2010 by Lama Chogdrup Dorje and Lama Ole Nydahl, an event that drew thousands of visitors to this magical spot in the mountains. For more information about the Buddhist Centre Karma Berchen Ling, meditation, Buddhist retreats and courses, you can visit the website of the Buddhist Centre Karma Berchen Ling: www.berchenling.org. Read their blog about the construction of the Kalachakra Stupa, impressive!