Maria’s is a fabulous apartment, and we would gladly stay there again. Maria herself was impossibly friendly, helpful, generous, and accommodating from the moment we contacted her until we left the apartment. When she found out we might not have a car, she found bus schedules and connection information; when we mentioned we might want to visit Knossos, she found ticket info and opening hours—all without us even asking. She even offered to organize something special for my wife’s birthday! She was in touch throughout our stay and immediately brought over extras we mentioned might be helpful. Even little things weren’t too much: within a couple of hours she had unexpectedly replaced the towel that the wind blew off the line with a clean one, and when we asked where we could buy swim diapers for our daughter, we found two packs hanging on the doorknob when we got home. Maria also provided a very helpful booklet of her insider tips/suggestions regarding beaches, restaurants, sights, and activities. We couldn’t have asked for better!

The apartment itself is large, bright, airy, and impeccably decorated. We were met with an exceptionally nice welcome basket filled with local goodies, and we were happy to find beach toys for our daughter and luxurious (and plentiful) bath towels for after the beach. The pretty, open kitchen is well stocked, although some food storage solutions (e.g., Tupperware) would be a helpful addition. The view from the main bedroom, in particular, is breathtaking, although almost every window has a view of beach or mountains. The beaches right across the street are truly gorgeous, with soft, white sand and shallow water that was perfect for our toddler, and there are a handful of good restaurants right on the beach. (Make sure you talk to the very friendly Stavros at Salavantes. And try their herb pies—the best we found.)

There was no washing machine, which we thought might be a problem, but Maria provided soap for hand washes, and everything dried within hours on the line. In the end, the only things we didn’t love about the apartment were the street noise (especially in the main bedroom) and the shower. The downside to being right across from the beach is that the only thing between you and the beach is the main road into Chania, and it’s busy at all hours. It didn’t keep us up at night, but it did mean that we wanted the a/c on at night to block the sound, even though we didn’t need the a/c temperaturewise. In the shower, there’s nothing to hold the shower nozzle above you, so you can’t really use a washcloth and stay under the water at the same time.

All in all, though, we highly recommend Maria and her apartment. We’ll definitely be back.