As a businessman I have had years of experience in providing innovative tourism, such as luxury rail cruises in South Africa with Shongololo Express. I expanded Shongololo from a single train running from Johannesburg to Cape Town into a total of three separate trains running their own unique trips throughout South Africa and its neighbouring countries.

After selling Shongololo, I moved with my family to Australia. A few years later I went into partnership with my son, Alexi. We built a yoghurt manufacturing business from the ground up, paving the way in the Australian market for probiotic yoghurt (kefir) and other health foods. In our 10 years working together, I found that there is no business partner I would rather work with than my son.

I wanted to leave Sydney for a simpler, quieter life in the country of my birth. Having lived all my life since childhood outside of Greece, I have felt like a tree in a pot; never fully able to anchor myself to one place for too long. Now, finally, I am returning home to let my roots grow deep into the soil. Kos is the perfect place for me to do just that. Its quiet beauty brings back cherished memories of romantic retreats with my wife and of family holidays with our children. I think that Greece’s natural beauty and warm, welcoming culture makes it the perfect place to create those kinds of memories, and I am so glad that my family is here with me to do so.

Family is everything to me, and that is why family business is my ideal. In working and overcoming challenges together, we learn to play to one another’s strengths, share in one another’s successes, and build stronger relationships. At Sails on Kos we hope to extend that family atmosphere even further, with a team that we have collectively chosen for their excellence and their spirit. From the chefs and suppliers, to the activities manager and the yoga instructor, all of them will be able to come together to create the incredible resort that we as a family hope to create.

We have a wonderful word in Greece, and that word is “Philoxenia”. In English, this translates to “friend to the stranger”. It is a custom of hospitality and goodwill that dates back to ancient times, and remains just as important today. We hope to maintain that custom at Sails on Kos, to make our guests feel as welcome and as cared for as if they were old friends.