We were a family of five holidaying on Crete for the first time. All interaction with George was really good prior to arrival although we had a little difficulty finding the house the first time – this isn’t really helped by the local driving which by UK standards can be quite surprising. It means you need to fully concentrate on what is happening around you!
The house itself is almost perfect. It’s actually the middle floor apartment (of three, although the other two were not ready at the time of writing). George met us and showed us round – there were lovely cakes for us to eat and regular deliveries of fresh vegetables and olive oil from his organic farm. He was really wonderful and even an immediate drama by one of our children did not phase him!
Positives: Its location was perfect – a real slice of paradise, with an excellent raised sunbed area at the end of the garden and a boardwalk out onto the sand, where you could feel like you had your own private beach most of the time. The large L-shaped balcony was perfect to sit out on at all times of the day with a lovely hammock, a swinging chair, a table and chairs and a sofa. There was often a cooling breeze off the sea which could be quite firm but was never a problem, in fact it was often a relief. The showers in the bathroom AND in the garden are great – it was hard to get our little one out of the one in garden! The kitchen is very well stocked. And for those who don’t wilt in the sun, there is a private beach volley ball court.
On the beach front there are numerous tavernas, separated from the house by an empty plot on one side, and a long stretch of grasses on the other. A couple of them have little pools for children to splash about it, and free sun loungers. The food is pretty good and cheap in the second one to the right as you look at the sea.
Less positives: It is very close to Crete’s major coastal road and the noise could be a bit of an issue from some. The bed in the main bedroom is *very* firm and we had to soften it with a couple of duvets. There’s only one airconditioning unit and it’s in the bedroom with two single beds, but we found the temperature to be just fine. Really these are minor concerns though.
The truth is this is about as perfect a place with as perfect a host as you can get. We were very lucky to have found George’s house and were very, very sad to be leaving when our time was up. Thank you very much George!