We spent a week in Dimitros' place and loved it. The place itself is full of beautiful wooden furniture and rustic bits and pieces, reinforcing the feeling that you're really in rural Crete. Big fridge for beer and food, an oven to cook with, bed was comfortable. We most enjoyed sitting on the deck above - you have a wonderful view of the valley which is just pure green - olive groves, fruit trees, chestnuts and oaks. You see and hear a tonne of birds (including eagles), and distant goats and farming work. And the stars at night were amazing for city dwellers - the whole place is perfect if you want to get away from it all. We made friends with the amazingly friendly dog who slept outside at night, keeping guard (she did bark a little but we just closed the windows).
Dimitros gave us some great advice about places to go but was not at all intrusive, left us to ourselves. Getting there - I'd definitely recommend a hire car though I think you could get a bus. On the drive there, turn around 100m from the entrance, much easier! From the village, which doesn't have much in the way of amenities you have beautiful Western Crete within about an hour's drive - we mainly went south (Kandanos has shops and a taverna, is beautiful and 20min away). The roads are for the main part well-surfaced and a pleasure to drive on. And Western Crete is just gorgeous - big mountains, very green, wild places, undeveloped.