Our stay at Casa Di Mare was excellent. The interior of property itself is beautiful with a white "Greek Modern" theme. It slept the advertised 12 guests easily. The exterior of the home is also a showcase, with an incredible outdoor eating ares and a fantastic infinity pool with views of the local beach and sea right below it. There is also a kid friendly lawn area and pool, and a working Sauna. The location was central between Heraklion and Chania, and although each are about an hour drive, it gives you a choice between the beautiful beaches near Chania and the nightlife and historical ruins near Heraklion. There are also some more local gems to try out. There is a solid private beach right in front of the villa and two small restaurants and a small market in walking distance. I would also try Panormos for dinners (about 15 minutes drive) at night instead of driving all the way to the bigger cities. What really shone about the villa was the service. Valia arranged for a private taxi transfer for one of our guests, and a private chef (more about that later), and Eva even made us a moussaka for lunch. I would rate the Casa di Mare a 5. A couple of minor dings that don't even lower it to a 4, I wish the Jacuzzi next to the pool was heated (there is another private Jacuzzi on the Master balcony that is heated), and I wish there was maid service and toilet paper replacement every two days. Again these are super minor next to the excellence of the property.
But by far the best part of staying at Casa di Mare was the private chef that Valia arranged. His name is Kostas Papasyris. I get private chefs for nearly all of my stays on AirBnB, but Kostas is a step above. Every single dish he made for us was elevated beyond belief. His family literally makes the cheese he serves up on a local mountain, and much of the produce he serves is grown on his family farms and picked the same day, including the eggs. Our entire party was blown away by the breakfast every day. Whether you stay at Casa di Mare or any other villa in the same area, I highly recommend hiring Kostas as your chef. The pricing is also ridiculously inexpensive, about the same as going to any low end restaurants nearby.