We were a group of four fifty-something's, a married couple and a single male and female. We'd all been to Greek islands before, but only one of us to Elounda, and we're all experienced travellers. Despinda's house looked new to airbnb so with no reviews to go on we weren't sure what to expect.
From the start, Despinda was very helpful and accommodating, responding quickly to messages, showing flexibility over dates, and arranging for someone to meet us even though we were delayed and arrived very late at night, and letting us stay all day on our day of departure as we had a late flight. She sent very helpful suggestions about the area and places to visit. She was unable to meet us personally, but her local assistants brothers Freddie and Klajdi were very helpful and good natured - even offering to fetch supplies from the supermarket for us.
I hope it is fair to say that there were some negatives regarding the house, all of which I am sure Despina will address. It is a rustic property with immense charm and potential, but very basic. There is no hot running water in the kitchen or second bathroom, and appliances are rudimentary and worn, although functional. The property appeared to have been unoccupied for a while, so appeared dusty and a bit neglected. A deep clean and a coat of paint would make a world of difference!
On the positive side, Elounda is a lovely place, brimming with surprisingly inexpensive seafront restaurants with welcoming staff and good traditional Greek and fresh seafood. The windmill is only a gentle 15 minutes walk to the harbour, and much of the way is a stroll along the sea past bars and restaurants. Almost next door is a great Taverna, Paradaiso, run for decades by a couple who provide good home cooking in a traditional setting, and treat you like honoured guests - even offering free eggs from their chickens roaming around the surrounding countryside. The windmill stands almost at the end of a small no-through road with no passing traffic, so is very quiet. It is surrounded by a stone wall so is very private and peaceful, and has a nice courtyard shaded by an ancient hibiscus and olive trees, where we spent many pleasant evenings relaxing in the shade drinking the excellent local Cretan wine. We also greatly enjoyed the upstairs terrace, taking up some stools and enjoying the stunning views over the sea and surrounding mountains. It was a real treat to wake up to the sound of nothing but birdsong and gaze out over the views from the upstairs windows. There is a pebble beach only a few minutes walk from the windmil which was almost deserted when we visited. If peace and privacy are what you are seeking then this is definitely it, and you can still walk into town!