My husband and I stayed here for the month of December 2021 and had an amazing time.
Openness by the Sea is perfectly architected with a great layout and beautiful design. Every corner of the house is designed to maximize the space. The house and service are what you would expect from a 5-star hotel, except even better because you have this entire place to yourself. The views are stunning through the floor to ceiling windows, the place has a great indoor/outdoor feel and it's easy to feel at peace just by being there, watching the seagulls and enjoying a coffee or glass of Greek syrah.
Gina arranged for a team of cleaners to service the house every 3-4 days, and they often left different treats for us: fruits, cookies, local wines/spirits, baked goods, and even a homemade lamb and potatoes dish baked in the stone oven outside (one of our favorite meals in Crete). Despite the rainy days and thunder storms (which were still beautiful), we had lovely sunny days as well and swam in the sea, tanned on the patio, etc. Since it was winter, we paid extra to turn on the hot tub and it was well worth it. Listening to the waves, looking up at the stars and feeling the cold breeze while relaxing in the hot tub was pretty nice.
The house is located in the beach town of Marathi. The area is pretty rural, mostly consisting of vacation houses (mostly empty due to off-season, some seemingly abandoned or undergoing renovation/in disrepair) and a few tavernas (most closed due to off-season) by the beach. We went to the beach a few times (2 min drive, 10 min walk) and found mostly locals swimming and fishing. Nearby is a great paved road for my husband who likes a good morning run -- it leads past grazing goats and up the mountains (Ekklisia Agios Nikolaos) where you'll get a great view of the entire area and the white mountains. Close by is also a naval base. During our stay, we heard fighter jets flying around every 2-3 days and also saw submarines and other ships sailing through the waters within view of our window. The house is close to Chania airport but the planes don't fly over Marathi so there isn't a noise problem.
You will need a car to get around. The closest town is Sternes with some small convenience stores and restaurants. But likely you will want to head to Kounoupidiana (10-15 min drive) or Chania (25 min drive) for the nicer grocery stores, coffee shops, bakeries, shops and restaurants (our favorites were Alibertos, Salis and Tamam. We also found some of the best grilled meats/bbq at the Old Chania Market). The roads around Marathi are not super well lit but they are very well paved. For local produce we loved the tomatoes and cheese/yogurt, for meats go with the chicken, pork, and lamb (beef seems to be imported from the USA so more expensive and less good than we are used to in California).
If you like moderately hard hikes and great nature views, we recommend checking out Balos beach (1.5 hr drive, 2+ hr hike), Stavros to Moni Katholiko trail, and the Seitan Limania beach (due to off-season, we were the only people there and had the whole beach to ourselves - really fun to swim in those clear waters). We wanted to check out the Samaria Gorge but unfortunately it's closed during winter (~Oct to ~May). We also made the 2-hr drive to Heraklion, went to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum and had dinner at Peskesi. It was fun but overall could be skipped (we liked Chania more) and might be more fun during the summer months when all the waterfront restaurants are open.
If you want to bring home any bottles of olive oil or wine in your checked luggage, we recommend that you check your airline policies. Olive oil needs to be packed in a special wooden box and we almost weren't able to bring ours home with us.
Last note, one of our favorite activities was feeding cute stray cats. There are cats everywhere, all over Marathi, Chania, Athens, Santorini - everywhere we went in Greece!