We have just returned from a fabulous week away in this amazing villa, which we booked through AirBnB.
We arrived in Crete last Sunday evening and took a 20-minute private transfer from the airport to the villa. On arrival we were met with a warm, friendly welcoming smile by the Greek couple who owned the property. They opened the gate to an amazing first view of the villa, down a spacious driveway we could see the modern villa, the manicured lawns and pool area at the rear of the property, with the amazing blue of the Mediterranean Sea beyond. It is a view you can never get tired of, ever.
The owners of the property gave us a brief introduction to the villa, showing us all of the key amenities in the property, the bedrooms and the kitchen. They also showed us the separate barbeque area outside which also has its own kitchen and wc bathroom.
Before the owners left the property they provided the contact details for their daughter Penny, who speaks perfect English and was available via WhatsApp at all times. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she was always happy to recommend restaurants (that we tried and were all fabulous, particular favourite of ours was the Saradari Fish restaurant which is a beautiful restaurant, stylish and with an amazing menu and the food was simply fantastic). We also were interested in a private boat charter and Penny again provided 4 or 5 interesting options for us to consider.
The villa is very spacious and modern with ample land surrounding the property and can only be a few years old. The décor is immaculate throughout and fitted to a high specification. The appliances throughout the kitchen are Miele or NEFF, with Sony Audio Visual equipment in the lounge.
There is modern air conditioning throughout the property and individual air conditioning units within each of the bedrooms that provided an amazing chilled escape from the hot sun. On the ground floor there is a double bedroom with fitted wardrobes and TV mounted on the wall, with a good-sized modern bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath. On the first floor there is a further two bedrooms, one double room and a second room with two single beds. There is a further bathroom on the second floor.
From the airy landing on the second floor, there is a door leading to a well kept patio area where there is a table and chairs, providing the perfect setting for early morning coffee to watch the sun rise or to watch the sun going down.
There is also a separate studio bedroom located in the basement of the property. Double bed, small kitchen area, sofa, TV, air conditioned and with a small bathroom with shower. This was perfect for my son to call his own space.
Outside of the property from the lounge, there is a spacious patio, with a table and chairs with a magnificent view down the lawn to the sea. There are two further relaxing chairs with cushions on the patio.
For us the beauty of this property is the large outside space, giving us all our own space to sunbathe, relax, read or listen to music. There is a luxury 10-meter-long pool which is around 8 foot deep at one end, allowing the kids to dive and jump in to their hearts content. You can float at the deep end whilst looking out across the beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea.
In the garden there is a separately constructed wooden garden gazebo, which houses an outdoor dining table with four chairs plus a rattan sofa and separate armchair. This was where we enjoyed our daily lunches at the villa.
At the bottom of the garden there is a smaller decked area with a padded two seat sofa and chair literally overlooking the water. There is a wooden gate at the bottom of the garden providing direct access to a part sand – part rocky beach, with some wooden steps provided to help you into the welcoming waters of the sea. There is a bigger sandy beach just 200m to the left of the property.
The location of the property was also perfect for us. The well stocked SPAR hyper-market was just 200m away, perhaps a 7 minute walk, which had everything you would expect from a hyper-market, with fresh fruit and vegetables, a delicatessen, a butchery counter and a good selection of Greek wines, spirits and beer. We found a lovely bottle of dry white wine called Moschofilero and enjoyed a few Mythos beers during our stay!
Most of the restaurants that Penny had recommended were no more than 10 mins in a taxi ride away and cost no more than 10 Euros per fare.
Penny also helped organised a private massage at the Villa for my family. The cost for a one hour full body massage was 70 Euros, similar to UK Spa prices, but my wife thought it was one of the best massages she had experienced.
The help and advice provided by Penny throughout our holiday was superb and was like having your own private concierge service!!
Overall, we had a brilliant week stay at Villa Hersonissos. I would highly recommend this place for families or two couples looking for a luxury, relaxing holiday in Crete.