THE STORY

follow your visions and all are possible

It was at the beginning of the 80’s, that Mr George Saloustros, an intelligent, creative, diligent man decided to launch a work of a lifetime. His intention was to offer something unique to Crete, his motherland. The same time massive international hotels were built all over Crete. However, he decided to establish a place where aspects of the cretan culture could be gathered, maintained and transmitted to the new generations and to foreign visitors.
He shared his dream with his future business partner Mr Nikos Kallergis and two eminent architects, Mr. Sotiris Sotirakos and Mr. Elias Patronikolas.
The area for the project was a pasture of his father in law Mr. Michalis Kallergis. Nothing was there before, no buildings, no ruins, nothing at all. The land was uncultivated with many rocks, wild trees and plants.
It was the spring of 1985 that the foundations of the building complex were set.

Two years before that, Mr. Saloustros had avidly strived to collect the materials that would be used to build and decorate the houses. He visited isolated, abandoned villages with destroyed houses to gather items such as stones, doors, windows, old house items that were dumped and unwanted.
Gradually, Arolithos village was taking its form. The experience of old men who knew how to build with stones, the original materials and the passion gave a very special result. In 1988, Arolithos village was inaugurated. Since then, it operates while adhering to the tradition of Crete. It was the first company in the whole of Greece in the category of alternative, agrotourism and cultural tourism.

Nowadays, Arolithos village is exclusively owned by the family of George and Marika Saloustros. Together with their four children, Giannis, Eleni, Michalis and Vaggelis, they work with zeal and passion to maintain that long term vision.