Wow wow wow!!! Horizontes Villa is a stunning and rare example of brutalist modernism cut into the landscape and almost hidden from view on the South Cretan coastline. Built on one level from board formed concrete and local stone with polished concrete floors throughout and filled with floor to ceiling glass. It's minimalism at it's best. If you are seeking peaceful remote solace then this is the villa for you. The views of the Libyan Sea are breathtaking by day and by night you can see every single star in the sky.
The management team at Etouri are really incredible and there's a phone in the villa which is directly connected to their office. Our local host Areti was amazing throughout our stay. Checked on us by text regularly, notified us when the cleaner and pool man were coming and solved any issues immediately. Areti even picked up some groceries for us and organised a beautiful restaurant and a cake for our son's birthday. We were the very first guests to stay at this villa other than the owners themselves so don't be put off by the lack of reviews.
The villa is in a remote location so a car is 100% essential. Etouri also took care of our car rental for us which was delivered and collected from the villa. Agios Pavlos is less than 10 minutes drive away. It has two beaches, one is small but has a bar/cafe and car park which is perfect for families. A short walk away is a steep sand dune beach for the more adventurous, this also has a little bar at the top of the dune but is definitely a little more off road!
The nearest town is Agia Galini. It's only 14km away but it takes 30 minutes to drive there as you will have to navigate the winding cliff roads which have a 40kph speed limit and trust me you do not want to drive any faster on these roads!!! The views are stunning though! Agia Galini is a pretty little harbour town. Lots of mini markets, butcher, bakery, pharmacy and loads of restaurants and souvenir shops. There's also a beach there. You can also drive another 15 minutes from Agia Galini to the town of Tympaki. There's much more choice in Tympaki including a big supermarket. Once we realised how remote we were we drove to the Tympaki supermarket and stocked up on groceries which lasted us for most of our stay.
Don't let the remote location put you off. This is a really beautiful villa in the most stunning landscape. We travelled with two young children and we all absolutely loved it. The pool is a decent size and there's a big LG TV which allows you to login to your Netflix, Disney+, Prime TV etc. We will definitely be back at the first opportunity and we'd definitely recommend it to others. Thank you again Areti and everyone at Etouri.