My family and I just concluded a three and a half week stay at Kleopatra's house, and everything was absolutely perfect. The house was clean and everything worked great including all kitchen appliances, the internet, air-conditioning, clothes washer. We have two children (13 & 10) and there was plenty of room my both me and my wife and them. The house itself is a really nice mix of the old and new with some beautiful architectural features from the original layout of the home added to a recent remodeling which made everything sparkle. The house is conveniently located to the Gialos which is the main town and port (probably no more than 5 minutes walk). There are abundant tavernas as well as all the stores you will need to be able to eat your meals at home if you choose. We regularly went to the fish market, butcher, fruit and vegetable vendors as well as the local super markets to get our food.
Kleopatra and her colleague Stamatia were extremely responsive and helpful with anything that came up and were extremely useful in getting us settled and giving us the lay of the land.
The house was a great value and really suited our needs as a family perfectly.
There is a beach located on the main town, which is about a 15-20 minute walk depending on how fast you walk. It is a nice beach with a good taverna and beach bar. The best beaches however are available through the water-taxis, and these beaches are definitely worth the extra cost. We found it best to discuss rates with one family (Paulos and Anna) who owned a taxi -boat and negotiate a price based on the fact that we would use their boats frequently throughout our stay. Thus we ended up a with a cost of 15-25 euros for the four of us per ride depending on how far the beach we were going to was.
We ended up splitting our stay 50/50 between the beach in town and the beaches accessible through the water-taxis. Some of these beaches are also accessible via car and bus if you want to rent a car.
We are from a Greek family and I, along with my children speak Greek. My wife does not. We had never been to Symi before and we can't express how much we loved the island. While speaking Greek is always useful in getting to know people better, there is no doubt that Symi is very welcoming to everyone, and we encountered many people who spoke no Greek and got along just fine.
The island tends to get very busy during the day with visitors from Rhodes, but the evening is really quiet and is so worth spending time here beyond just a day visit. While the island does not have famous ancient sites, it has a lot that is worth seeing for those who want to really immerse themselves in a unique Greek culture, and we found Kleopatra's home to be a perfect way to explore all of it.
This was a great vacation in every way.