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ΕΛ

Companies

Seven companies

Each runs its own business and answers for its own numbers. What they share is an owner and a standard.

Mobility

  • The fleet that meets the aircraft.

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    ( the car you drive yourself, and it will be there )

    Mercury is the fleet most visitors actually drive. Small cars, mid-size cars, a good number of automatics, two vans. They are cleaned, serviced and handed over at the airport, at the port, or outside the door of wherever you are staying.

    In a fleet this size the cars are not the difficult part. The difficult part is having one at eleven at night in August, when a flight has landed three hours late. Mercury holds enough vehicles across the island to say yes at that hour. Enough of them are the same model that a fault on the Tuesday does not become a problem on the Wednesday.

    There is one price. No second driver fee, no charge for a child seat, and fuel goes out full and comes back full. Whatever is not included is written on the first page of the agreement rather than the last.

    The fleet

    A · Economy
    4 seats, 1 large case
    B · Compact
    5 seats, 2 large cases
    C · Family
    5 seats, 3 large cases
    D · SUV
    5 seats, raised for unsurfaced roads
    E · Seven-seat
    7 seats, 4 cases
    F · Open top
    2 seats, limited in July and August

    Practical

    Locations
    Airport, port, town office, plus delivery to your accommodation.
    Season
    Year round. Full fleet April to October.
    Hours
    07:00 to 23:00, with out-of-hours handovers arranged for late flights.
    Languages
    Greek, English, Italian
    Driver
    Minimum age 23, licence held two years. Second driver at no charge.

  • Cars for the length of a stay, not the length of a transfer.

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    ( the same island, from a better seat )

    Selecta exists because a share of our customers wanted something the volume fleet could not give them: a car in its first year, an interior with no trace of the last renter, and a person to hand it over rather than a key safe on a wall.

    The fleet is smaller and turns over every eighteen to twenty-four months. Each segment is there for a reason rather than to lengthen a list. Handover is done by a colleague who walks the car with you, pairs your phone, and tells you which filling station is open on a Sunday.

    The same cars run transfers for Argile Resort and the group's corporate accounts. That is deliberate: a fleet working all year is maintained better than a fleet that wakes up in May.

    Segments

    City
    For narrow villages and parking in Lixouri.
    Saloon
    For distance, and two people with luggage.
    SUV
    For the roads that are not surfaced all the way.
    Electric
    Supplied with an island charging map.
    Seven-seat
    For families travelling together rather than in two cars.
    Convertible
    Two seats. A small number, booked from March.

    Practical

    Locations
    Airport, plus delivery to an address.
    Season
    Year round.
    Handover
    Always with a colleague. About fifteen minutes.
    Languages
    Greek, English, Italian, French
    Driver
    Minimum age 25 for the SUV and saloon segments.

  • Short hops and last miles, on two wheels.

    Wheego is an international brand. The rights the group holds are for Greece only.

  • A driver, not a rental. Weddings, transfers, corporate visits.

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    ( somebody knows the road, and is waiting )

    Selecta Chauffeur is not a rental company with a driver attached. It is a transfer service with permanent drivers who know the island the way you only can if you live on it: which road closes when it rains, what the run to Sami actually takes in August, which port suits which boat.

    The price is fixed and agreed before anyone gets in. There is no meter, no night surcharge, and waiting time on a delayed flight is not charged. The driver watches your flight number and adjusts.

    Most of the work repeats: transfers for Argile Resort, wedding movements, corporate visits, and the same family returning each July asking for the same driver. That says more than we would.

    Services

    Airport transfer
    Met at arrivals with a board, help with bags, flight tracked. Waiting is not charged.
    Port transfer
    Poros, Sami, Pisaetos, Lixouri. Timed to the ferry schedule, which moves.
    Day hire
    Eight hours with a driver at your disposal. You set the route, or the driver suggests one.
    Events
    Weddings and corporate movements with more than one vehicle and one person coordinating.

    Practical

    Coverage
    Kefalonia and Ithaka. Lefkada and Preveza by arrangement.
    Season
    Year round.
    Vehicles
    Saloon for up to three, van for up to seven. Child seats at no charge.
    Languages
    Greek, English, Italian
    Booking
    Confirmed same day. For weddings and groups, two weeks ahead.

Hospitality

  • One bay, and everything that happens on it.

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    ( the one building the group put up itself )

    Argile stands on the Paliki peninsula in western Kefalonia, where the earth is red and the sea takes its colour from it. It is family-run in management rather than in style: reception does not close, breakfast is served late, and the staff come back each year.

    Rooms look either into the gardens or at the water. Suites have a courtyard of their own. There is no better floor sold at a higher price, and no category that exists only to make the next one look reasonable.

    The restaurant works with whatever reaches the island that week, and the menu changes when supply does. The pool opens at seven. What the hotel promises, it says once and then keeps.

    Rooms

    Standard
    Two guests, garden view
    Superior
    Two guests, balcony to the sea
    Family
    Up to four guests, two spaces
    Suite
    Two guests, private courtyard
    Maisonette
    Up to five guests, two levels

    Practical

    Location
    Paliki peninsula, Kefalonia.
    Season
    May to October.
    Check-in
    From 15:00. Departure by 11:00.
    Languages
    Greek, English, Italian, German
    Transfer
    Arranged by reception through Selecta Chauffeur.

  • Where the day ends. Cocktails, cold wine, small plates.

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    ( the same table, four times a day )

    Alaya is on the sand. It opens with coffee, moves to lunch, becomes shade and a cold drink through the afternoon, and after sunset the light and the music change. One place, four different hours, and the same kitchen behind all of them.

    The food is Mediterranean without announcing it: the day's fish, vegetables from the island, bread that arrives in the morning. The list is short because everything is cooked there. When something runs out, it has run out.

    In season the evenings have a programme: sets from local and visiting names, and a few times a year something larger. The other evenings are quiet on purpose. Each explains the other.

    The day

    09:00
    Coffee, juice, something baked. Loungers set in a line.
    12:30
    The day's fish, salads, a pan. Served on the sand and on the deck.
    17:00
    Cocktails, cold wine, small plates. The shade moves west.
    21:00
    Dinner by reservation, then music on the nights there is music.

    Practical

    Location
    On the beach, Paliki, Kefalonia.
    Season
    May to October, weather permitting.
    Reservations
    For dinner. Lunch does not need one.
    Languages
    Greek, English, Italian
    Children
    Yes, at every hour. A children's list at lunch.

Travel

  • The incoming agency behind the itinerary.

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    ( the person who knows which day the boat goes )

    Carpe Diem is the office that makes the appointments line up. It holds a travel agency licence, issues tickets, books guides and boats, and works with the same fifteen people on the island year after year. That is the entire product.

    For a visitor it means a plan that holds: the boat leaves when it says, the guide speaks the language that was asked for, and if the weather turns there is a second option before you ask. For the trade it means a partner in the destination with invoicing, insurance, and a person on the phone who is on the island rather than in another country.

    The agency works for guests of the group's other companies, and for tour operators abroad sending clients to the Ionian. The two roles are different. What they share is that somebody here has been to the thing being sold.

    The office also runs the houses. Villa and apartment management sits here rather than in a company of its own, because it is the same work: price a week, fill it, meet the people who arrive, and answer the phone at one in the morning. The owner sees occupancy, revenue and every maintenance job on a single monthly statement, and no supplier discount is kept back.

    What is booked

    Day excursions
    Melissani and Drogarati, Assos and Myrtos, Ithaka by boat, a walk through Lixouri. Small groups.
    Private boats
    With or without a skipper, half or full day, to destinations that depend on the day's wind.
    Bespoke itineraries
    Seven to fourteen days, written from scratch, with the driving times worked out honestly.
    Ticketing
    Ferry and air, including the changes when the weather breaks.
    Groups and events
    Weddings, incentives, conferences. Accommodation, transport and venues coordinated together.
    Villa and apartment management
    Letting, pricing, housekeeping, maintenance and one monthly statement, for owners who are not on the island.
    Hotel management
    The same operation run for small hotels, from the reservation book to staffing the season.
    Trade services
    Accommodation contracting, destination representation, inspections, B2B invoicing.

    Practical

    Coverage
    Kefalonia, Ithaka, Lefkada, Zakynthos, Preveza.
    Season
    Office year round. Excursions April to October.
    Languages
    Greek, English, Italian, German, French
    Payment
    Card, bank transfer, invoicing for the trade.

Would you rather work for one of them?

Most people arrive for one summer. A good number are still here years later, and almost none are doing the job they started in.

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