Fundana Villas Corfu: one of 9 best secret hotels in the world

Fundana Villas Mansion

(Budget Travel) -- Each year, Budget Travel scouts out undiscovered hotels in popular destinations, from Italy to California wine country. Here, are the best picks from around the world, all for less than $210 a night.

Fundana Villas, Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece

If there's any doubt whether Spyros Spathas values his heritage, just look at the reception area of his Fundana Villas, where a more than 200-year-old stone olive press serves as a reminder of the Spathas family's six generations of local history.

It's been 29 years since Spathas converted his farm's stables and outbuildings into 12 guest bungalows, but the accommodations have been updated with flat-screen TVs and modern kitchenettes.

And the views from the rooms are as glorious as ever: No. 10 has two wrought-iron balconies that look out on the Ropa Valley, and No. 12 takes in the green slopes of Mount Pantokrator to the northeast. A guide for the Greek National Tourism Organization for more than 35 years, Spathas maintains a half-mile hiking path to the 18th-century Monastery of St. Onoufrios, open every other Sunday, and leads weekly botanical walks through the area.

His 26-year-old son, Foivos, just opened a traditional Corfiote restaurant on the grounds, serving dishes such as veal with garlic sauce and pan-fried artichokes from Fundana's gardens. If you feel inspired to venture off-property for dinner, stop in at Elisavet's Taverna in the nearby village of Doukades.

There, the grandmotherly proprietress sits in front of her establishment encouraging visitors to try the kokoros pastitsada -- rooster over macaroni -- a local specialty she's been making for 20 years. 011-30/26630-22532, fundanavillas.com, from $67, breakfast $9.