Maria's villa was absolutely amazing-it was our first place we stayed at in Greece and was incredible. Maria was very kind and gracious in welcoming us to her home. The house is wonderful and being close to Elafonissi beach makes it a treat. The restaurants nearby are good and the house also comes with a sweet black cat that will make herself a welcome visitor on occasion. We loved the views to the olive tree groves and monastery on the cliff nearby and it was nice to hear the bells on the local goat and sheep herds on occasion. The swimming pool is a wonderful amenity on the hot days too. One small thing to note is that there is also an attached unit in the rear so the pool and laundry are shared. We really enjoyed meeting the guests in the rear unit at the pool but it's important to know that you don't have exclusive access to that part of the property. At Elafonissi, the caves and ridge above with a small shrine are must-see things to do there. The main beach is beautiful with lots of beach-chairs and palm-shades but the highlight from my experience is found by walking through the marked path through the sand dunes (or wading around the rocks to the right of the main beach) and then you can see the higher ridge with caves in the distance. The first day we went there I thought that part was off limits and you can't see the ridge/caves/shrine from the main beach, but the second day we went back and found this area-really stunningly beautiful.....