The Stone House is a little gem 30 minutes south of Heraklion and about an hour north of Phaistos, in the small village of Pyrgou. The archeological sites came alive for us with the help of expert guide, Marilina, at elissos.com!
Pyrgou is hidden above a quilt of olive groves, vegetable gardens, and vineyards, and is full of kind, jovial folks. The local mini market is an easy 5 minute hike up the hill to the main road, and had a great selection of fresh veggies, coffee, pasta, dried beans, and good bread. Our neighbor, Eleni, has a perfect coffee shop/bar a few steps outside of the front door of the house. We started most mornings there, chatting with the locals and sipping espresso.
The Stone House is very well equipped with extra blankets (I guess we were visiting during a record cold spell!), an amazing kitchen, and plenty of olive branches to burn in the fireplace.
The welcome reception we received from Maria, her friends, and Eleni was truly amazing--we felt like royalty!!
Our family's experience in Crete was phenomenal, thanks to Maria and The Stone House!!!