I was drawn to Maria’s Place. I read about the small village that was nestled into the rock near a waterfall. After making the booking, I asked Maria about a taxi to collect us. She then organised her son and daughter-in-law to meet us from the airport and the cost was more than half the price of a taxi. It was a night drive that took us about an hour to reach her place from Heraklion airport. As we pulled up on the stones just a short distance from the beach, our bags were carried to our accommodation, and straight away Maria was there to greet us. As soon as I walked in it was clear the apartment was clean, tidy, and welcoming with everything you require for your stay. But it is Maria that makes this apartment even more special. She lives upstairs with her husband, Nickos and Maria want nothing else but for you to love her place and to enjoy their village and surrounding areas as much as she does. The beach is a few steps away from the apartment. As you walk along you will pass three tavernas that are so very friendly and as you eat your food the beach is right there. As you continue walking you will eventually come to more of the beach and nestled at the foot of the rocks are a few trees some distance apart which are wonderful for keeping out of the sun if it gets too hot. When you swim out in the clear, clean sea you look up at the mountains and can see the eagles and the vultures that you will only find here circling high about the mountain top. A mountain that is a Unesco site and is considered to be pyramid shape in nature. Maria and her friend Maria drove us one day into the mountains and showed us the gorge that drops all the way down to the village. Such a magical space. It embraces you with love and offers you a feeling of the wild and would be a wonderful place to walk In the future. There is a small supermarket about 1 minute's walk away from the apartment offering basic foods including a fridge that stocks fresh fruit and vegetables. It is open during the summer but if you want to visit in the winter months Maria will gladly get shopping for you from a supermarket about 20 minutes ride away if you do not have a car yourself. Maria and her husband can also take you out on a boat ride. Nickos is a fisherman and knows the water very well. Maria will also continue to look after you the whole time. During my stay, she brought a freshly caught and cooked Kalamari meal to us, Honey balls for breakfast, spinach pie as well as a freshly cooked sweet pastry stuffed with chocolate. Two of us rented Maria's apartment and I slept on the pull-out couch and it was super comfortable for the whole 14 nights. I would leave the sliding door open just using the fly net as it was super safe to do so there. It meant I could listen to the ocean as It lulled me into sleep. Maria’s place offers you so much more than just an apartment. When you leave you have the memory of the landscape and a temporary home but you also leave with the memory of new friends. A huge thank you to my new friends, Maria and Nickos x. Rachel Bolton - Devon - UK
An extra special part of Crete .
So grateful to Rachel for booking the 2 weeks at “Coastline of Paradise”.
The apartment was delightful , fully equipped and with a wonderful view to the East over the bay of Tres Ekklies . Perfect for sunrise .
We were fortunate to stay there for 14 days and really fell in love with the place, the beaches are clean and the swimming/ snorkelling great . The Mountains and landscape enchants the soul and seeing the Eagles and Vultures spiralling on the thermals delightful .The Tavernas all offering simple fare were just perfect and the people friendly and accommodating.
As to Maria and her husband Nicos you could not ask for more hospitable hosts .
We were warmly welcomed and the treats of food , offers to go out in the boat and company far exceeded our expectations. They welcomed us with open arms and we will most certainly be returning as soon as we can .
Susan DeMuynk