Sophia-our wonderful host was personable and always available to address any questions, concerns or requests. This includes a request to participate in a moussaka cooking lesson courtesy of her mom. While we unfortunately had to forgo this endeavor due to last-minute time constraints, we fortunately reaped the reward of a "Sophia and her mom's homemade moussaka" that was delivered by Sophia one evening. It was the best moussaka I ever had eaten.
The Forest Hill Villa is a great jumping off point to visit adjacent Rethymnon, Chania, local beaches and southern Crete. The Villa is in a quiet location that is a 5-minute drive to fabulous restaurants (Manolis), and an excellent bakery that makes the best Cretan sweet cheese pastries (kalitsounia).
There is a farm the Villa where you can hear the bells of goats as they move from one location to another. Sophia can arrange a tour of the farm where you can see and feed various animals such as the colt Hector, or her mom Pandora! This is done courtesy of her brother Vangelis who explained about the animals and their habits.
The Villa affords spectacular views of the Aegean Sea and is surrounded by lush hills in a private locale. There is cookware, dishes, a refrigerator/freezer, and outdoor area adjacent a pool where you can drink coffee in the morning and enjoy a meal. There is also a spacious rooftop where you can watch the sunset in the evening and imbibe in a local wine. If we did not feel like going to a beach or site-seeing we had the luxury of utilizing the well-maintained pool that we used daily.
We will definitely return again. For those considering a visit you will not be disappointed. I have some "constructive criticism" and will offer that while there was dish soap, hand soap or extra garbage bags for example were not found. While we stayed 10 days and made a few grocery runs, it would have been more convenient to not have to purchase hand-soap or garbage bags for our trip.
Thank you Sophia for making our wonderful vacation more enjoyable!!! Also thanks to your mom and brother too for the moussaka and tour of the farm.