We stayed at Anastasia's Villa Zambia for two weeks in April, and enjoyed the time very much.
We met with Anastasia in a village near Rethymno from where we were led to the small village of Prines few kilometers away, where the house is. We were couple of hours late, but Anastasia was fortunately flexible. She had made us a traditional greek dish, which was a nice surprise and perfect food for our late arrival.
The house was initially a bit cold after having been vacant for some time, but we managed to get it warm with the fireplace and extra heaters. The tile floors remained chilly throughout our visit, but Anastasia helped to solve this issue with extra carpets on the floor.
The kitchen and living area downstairs are convenient with a 4-person dining table and couple of sofas. Upstairs bedrooms are very nice with balconies in both. There is A/C for cooling and heating in both bedrooms.
We really enjoyed the backyard, which is completely private and sheltered. There are walls/fences around it, so you can safely let your kids roam around. The small pool is nice for kids to play, although it is unheated and therefore was a bit chilly during our stay.
The patio in the backyard was perfect for eating your meals outside, but also just for lounging. Sun was shining to the patio from early morning to the afternoon, making it an excellent place to just sit and relax. There is a outdoor kitchen with a sink (only cold water tap), fridge and a cooking plate, which we used quite a bit to prepare our breakfasts and some other occasional meals. We had some issues with cats roaming around, apparently they live in neighbouring houses, and we couldn’t leave any food unprotected or otherwise they would just snatch it (in which they succeeded before we learnt not to leave anything outside).
The village of Prines is very small, there are two restaurants and one mini market in walking distance. Having a car is highly recommended, as just getting groceries would be quite limited if depending solely on the village mini market. We did some nice walks around the village, which has none or very few tourists, but more local people.
Overall, we really enjoyed our stay very much, and would recommend it to anyone seeking a peaceful accommodation.