St John's House, Ephesus Holiday Rentals

A fantastic house - you can see Ephesus, St John’s Basillica and one of the 7 wonders of the world 5 minute walk into the town of Selcuk which is an authentic Turkish town. Alison’s communications and support were great

Great property for a blended family with older teens. Plenty of space for privacy but also good communal space to connect.

Our group of six adults had a fantastic stay at St. John's house, made even better by the attentive and helpful house manager, Alison. Entrance to the St. John's cathedral ruins and the citadel is less than 50 yards up the hill from the house, and continuing over the hill brings you directly into town with restaurants, shops, the Saturday market (a-must visit) and the small, but terrific Ephesus museum. Turning left out of the house takes you down to the 14th century Isa Bey mosque and then a palm tree-lined avenue with several restaurants. Continuing and turning right down the bike and pedestrian path (along the D515 road) takes you to the Artemis temple. It is possible to continue and cross the roadway and walk to the lower entrance of the Ephesus site. One of our group is runner who ran the two miles to the entrance and two miles back. St. Mary's house is much further and requires a taxi. Alison was enormously helpful: arranging transportation for our group from the airport and various times during our stay, stocking the house with some groceries we requested, being an amazing source of information, and providing excellent communications throughout. It was a real pleasure to meet her. The house itself is built on a hillside with the bedrooms upstairs, and kitchen, living area and backyard/pool downstairs. With the exception of the master bedroom, the other bedrooms are simply decorated--nothing fancy, but comfortable. The bathrooms have very good fixtures and excellent showers. An issue with the hot water was quickly resolved by Alison. The backyard was flowering with roses and the small pool was a very welcomed escape from the heat. A sauna and shower are in a part of the basement off the pool--we used the shower, though not the sauna. Washing machine in the basement was also welcomed. You're never sure what to expect when you rent homes based on photos and other reviews. In this case, everything was as expected and better. And Alison was a wonderful host making our stay truly special. One note: other reviewers have mentioned the stairs. Yes, there are three or four stone stairs from the backyard to the pool level, and then to the sauna. They could be an issue for anyone with mobility concerns or someone who has had too much raki.

Our family of 9 all had an amazing time, the property is a great size and everyone had their own space. The property is a situated almost directly opposite st John's basilica up a hill but the view is amazing. All the rooms are a good size and their are also two extra spaces that the kids liked to use to get away from the adults occasionally. The kitchen is a little small in terms of work space but even with 9 we managed and it is very well equipped. The garden is lovely although very hot as there is little shade for most of the day. The pool is quite small yet that did not stop the 4 boys from having a whale of a time in it using it 3 times a day most days. All bedrooms are air conditioned so sleeping is comfortable. Alison was amazing arranging for provisions on arrival and also organised a trip to pammukale and a boat trip out from kusadasi for us. The bus station is a short walk away from which you can jump on a bus for as little as 50p to go to many of the other local sites. A great holiday was had by all and with ages from 8 to 70 I think it says a lot for how nice it was.

I can't say enough good about this beautiful villa and its surroundings. The photos looked great but -- this is a first -- the reality was better. The house was airy, light, and outstandingly comfortable. I had been concerned about noise in the early morning from a close-by mosque but the bedrooms were quiet and cool. The villa must have had an architect involved, as it's beautiful and its functionality has been well thought out. From the street, one sees only the top level, with a pretty flower garden screening it. One enters directly onto the second floor, which has bedrooms flanked by a long verandah that overlooks the old town. The master bedroom, at one end, opens onto its own small private sitting room that shares the verandah's view. (Great for the adults to have a quiet morning coffee.) Because the house is at the top of the town, nothing overlooks it, and the view is wonderful. Downstairs is a decent kitchen (could use more counter space, but I quibble) and a huge sitting room that opens via large glass doors onto the lovely garden. At the other end of the downstairs, tucked away, are a sauna and a Turkish bath. I regret that we didn't use them, as we there in the heat of summer, but I can imagine that a winter stay would have its own rewards. The jewel, though, is the garden, which is split into two levels. The main garden is a lawn flanked by flowering bushes, with a wood oven along the side. It is walled off from neighbouring houses, situated further down the hill. At one time there was a large tree in this part, as the stump is there, and it did rather lack shade but was very pleasant in the early morning and evening and has its own resident tortoise. Put some fruit out for him -- he'll be grateful. Down stone stairs is the lower garden, with a beautiful little pool surrounded by trees and comfortable lounge chairs. Just fantastic. Manager Alison Morel is helpful, reliable, and knowledgeable. She is an arranger extraordinaire, laying on groceries in advance at my request (at cost, no fee), supplying airport transfers and very inexpensive rental car, replacing a broken coffee pot as quickly as possible. Couldn't ask for more. Selcuk itself was a pleasant surprise. Evidence of tourism but not nearly the level of pestering to buy that we encountered in Istanbul. It had a human scale. Nice little restaurants, wonderfully courteous and charming people, and a market for fresh food. We really lacked for nothing. Idyllic!