Yanni's place is super nice and perfect for a family with small children, or anyone who want a quiet place, yet close to town (30 min lovely walk along the sea side). The house is a pearl, very tastefully and generously decorated. It is situated in a beautiful garden very close to a very nice beach with shallow waters. Except for the beach, the area is pretty quiet (in april/may) and a bit boring when it comes to restaurants. We preferred to eat in town or make our own meals in the well equipped kitchen and enjoy it in the garden. Yanni is a very nice and reliable host. He gave us a warm welcome and showed us around telling us about everything and that the house was once his childhood summer paradise, as it has been the summer house of his family since he was a kid. At that time the house was surrounded by gardens of orange- and lemon trees. Nowadays, it is surrounded by hotels. They are rather modest, though, so you can still get the feeling of being on the country side. There is a small supermarket next door who sells nice, local wine, fresh bread, basic groceries and beach stuff. The people working there are very nice and helpful. If you want to go to town by bus, they sell the tickets and the bus stop is just across the street.
Chania is an extremely beautiful town, with plenty of nice restaurants. The places most east on the harbor are the nicest and less touristic ones. Even better is to walk away from the harbor and investigate the narrow streets of the old town.
We met friendly and interesting people everywhere and are truly thrilled by the super fascinating history of the island. Crete is so much more than nice beaches!
The archaeological museum in Chania is very nice, the folkloristic museum is a small treasure and the Kydonia excavations are very interesting, too. Everywhere you go, you step on layers upon layers of history. You can go so far back in time that history meets mystery, like in the Minoan civilization, which precedes the ancient Greece culture with millennia.
Unfortunately, today's hard-working Greeks are still victims of the financial crisis. And like anywhere, tourism is both a blessing and a curse. We got our eyes opened when locals told us how airbnb makes the prices of houses rise, so that ordinary people no longer can afford to live there. Like in many other places, airbnb encourages people to speculate in housing, and what was once an idealistic sharing culture, is now threatening local communities and culture. Chose a hotel next time, they said, they employ people, pay taxes and are beneficial for the society.
So, dear fellow tourist, think about where to spend your money. You make a difference. That said, if you want to be independent in a beautiful surrounding, chose Yanni's place. It is still a summer paradise:)