We were a family of 6 adults and a small child and very much enjoyed our stay in the villa Thigatera with its wonderful location, offering spectacular views.
The house was, apparently, built in the 1980's in a typical Cretan style and, very importantly, a large, established garden with tall trees, which provide shade in different places during the course of the hot, sunny days (mid July).
There is also generally a breeze/wind which helps to keep things a little cooler.
The inside was very clean and we had a change of linen in the middle of our 9 day stay.
The pool is maintained and cleaned every 2-3 days and was a joy to use.
The 3 main bedrooms have very good air-conditioning.
The 4th bedroom does not and, since it is located at the top of the house, it picks up the heat during the day and the fan provided does little to cool it down at night, so not ideal for the height of Summer.
The traditional Cretan style beds with stone bases were generally comfortable, though bigger people may have issues with the narrower ones.
There are small local bays and beaches, which need a car to get to as it is a steep walk down to the coast .... and a hotter walk back.
During the week there was plenty of parking and beach space, but you need to be early at the weekends!
A couple of recommendations - Taverne Sirocco on Ligaria beach, or Yamas All Day above Psaramoura beach.
The airport is about 25mins away
Knossos is about 30mins away (be there by 9h as it quickly gets fuller and hotter)
Rethymno is about 50mins away (with a big parking lot just outside town)
The villa is managed by Andreas, who was very friendly and helpful and generally answered our questions very promptly.
Due to unexpected changes in our flight schedules, we were also glad for his flexibility in amending our check-in and check-out times.
We can thoroughly recommend the Villa Thigatera, with the reservations mentioned above.