The apartment is on top of a house in a beautiful small village close to Matala beach (10km), and only one hour drive from Iraklio. Lovely 92 year old Grandmother Syrmalenia welcomed us at the house but before and throughout our stay we were in contact with Dimitris on-line and he was very helpful and friendly. He even called me a week or so before our trip to give some instructions. Syrmalenian welcomed us with delicious fresh figs, sweet grapes and some cool and sweet watermelon.

The apartment has a wonderful balcony with a lovely view of the valley and the mountains in the background. Inside the apartment is fine for 2-4 people. It is simple but has character. The mattresses could do with some changing, but we are sensitive to that because of back issues. It is not really a place where one can do cooking except for some very basic things. We ended up eating in the local tavern which has a small selection of basic dishes and is open for breakfast as well.

The village Kousses is off the beaten track and the village is not touristy at all (aside from one small cute shop called Botano that sells lovely herbs, teas, olive oils and soaps and attracts small groups of tourists). This very "authentic" and charming atmosphere might or might not work for people. We had mixed feelings about it as we loved it on one level, but we also felt very much watched and observed when walking through the little village. In the evenings and in the mornings it was also quite noisy as our lovely neighbours were all chatting away. It was sweet but felt a bit overwhelming.

It was definitely worth the experience and interesting but I wished I had known some Greek to be able to communicate with people better. I have to say that throughout our stay in Crete we have been humbled by the level of friendliness and helpfulness by people. I have never been anywhere else in the world where people have been so consistently nice.