When you arrive you will receive a very warm welcome from the owners Alexandros and his mother Eva. These are very special people. Kind, intelligent and you feel that they really want you to have the best experience possible in Crete. They treated us to an amazing night in a traditional Cretan village in the mountains where we spent time with the local people and learnt about the history and architecture of the village. The food was outstanding, wine and Raki flowed and our table was filled with laughter and interesting conversation all night. It was an experience we will never forget. Alexandros also came to our villa on the last evening with one of his students and played traditional Cretan instruments to us which was another great privilege. They made a real effort to make us feel part of the family.
The villa itself is in an amazing spot being right in the heart of the old town. Everything you need is on the doorstep and the lively atmosphere of the streets below is a great backdrop to an early (or late) evening drink on the balcony. The accommodation is laid out over 3 floors and whilst it is quite small, there is everything you need for a home away from home. I loved the roof terrace especially where I could go and read quietly in the mornings before the rest of the family woke up. Very private area with a lovely view of the port and fort. It did get pretty hot up there though!
The beach is great and only a 15 minute walk from home. The kids soon realised you could rent electric scooters using an app and paying a few cents per minute so they would use those to get to the beach. Sunbeds are $5 each and there are plenty of watersports on offer. Make sure you barter on the price though, they will come down a bit if you do!
Rethymno old Town is beautiful. The food is generally of a very high standard, the staff in both the tavernas and the hundreds of little shops are friendly and you'll soon find yourself looking at pictures of their kids/grandkids/cats on their phones. A very open and hospitable place to visit.
Etouri (the management company) kept in touch and offered advice on places to visit and arranged a trip to Baja beach club for us. This was my husband's favourite day as he prefers a pool to the beach and they played good music and had extremely comfortable beds to laze on. The food in the restaurant there was excellent too but pricey! As were the cocktails. On that basis alone we only visited once. We didn't meet Kostas but were in contact with Robert who was extremely helpful and friendly.
To summarise, this was a fantastic holiday, made all the more special by the amazing hospitality of Alexandros and Eva, the helpful nature of etouri and the outstanding location of Loggia Home. We will be returning again.