Astraeus is... listen; can you hear that?! A gentle breeze, a sunny day and THE Voice: "Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars, let me see what spring is like on a Jupiter and Mars; in other words, hold my hand, in other words, baby..." There are villas. And there is Astraeus.
Villa Features
Astraeus nestled comfortably on a hill above the small village of Ivan Dolac, on the sunniest part of the island of Hvar, as befits the God of the stars.
Villa Astraeus was finished in 2013, after a renovation of two old stone houses that used to belong to the Machiedo family. The owners of Villa Astraeus are primarily cosmopolitans, but also aesthetes that can be matched by few. During the renovation of the house, they hired one of our favorite Croatian architects, Duje Kaliterna – and the man did an amazing job: he made Astraeus the way it is today. The Villa has kept its gentle Dalmatian image with minimal interventions into the natural beauty bestowed upon it in abundance.
The cascading estate, which stretches over 1250m2, has two stone houses: a bigger, main house covering 115m2 and a smaller guesthouse of 40m2. The cascading terrain that descends from the main to the guesthouse was ideal for a summer kitchen, a sundeck and a terrace with eternity pool.
The summer kitchen is located to the left of the house and has a built-in barbeque complete with a dining area.
The main house has a ground floor with a kitchen and a living room. In the old days, this very ground floor used to be a wine producing plant, which is still visible in the living room floor tiles shaped as a canal. The first floor of the main house has a master bedroom with an en suite bathroom (bathtub), another, smaller bedroom with with 2 bunk beds, an en suite bathroom (shower unit) and a lovely terrace.
The guesthouse, on the other hand, was designed as a small, comfortable studio apartment. It has a kitchen with a living room, which has a doublebed and a bathroom. Each room on the estate has an AC system, a satellite TV and a stereo set.
A painfully beautiful view of the endless blue extends from the stone cascade terraces. It is hard to imagine that this kind of Zen is only a 40-minute drive away from the vibrant nightlife of the town of Hvar.
The owners have fully redecorated the plot by planting different kinds of authentic plants, and an irrigation system has also been created to make the plants feel well even during the hot Hvar summers.
The villa is fully enclosed and private; it has video surveillance and a parking area for three cars.
The rustic interior and exterior of Astraeus, traditional Dalmatian details such as the wooden shutters and the pergola, natural materials – high quality wood, stone and cast iron – combined with stylish tailor-made Italian furniture complete the design of this lovely Hvar story.
The astonishing Astraeus, a stylish jewel among the hills of Hvar, is what every soul needs to enjoy the ever so desired peace and quiet away from city noise. In its intimate, sequestered environment, this recently refurbished embodiment of Mediterranean architecture offers all kinds of sensory delights. It prides on its luxuriant greenery, abounding in typical Mediterranean flora, as well as the breathtaking views reaching as far as the surrounding islands. An amazing experience indeed.
It seems we are in love. Again!
"Fill my heart with song, let me sing for ever more…"
