Pamela and Emmanuel are wonderful, warm hosts. Believe all the reviews! Pamela especially goes out of her way to be present and helpful whenever you need anything. We arrived from a long journey to find some provisions (Greek salad, bread, eggs, olive oil, wine, raki) which was such a thoughtful touch. Here you feel more like you are visiting family or old friends than staying at an Airbnb. I have nothing but praise and gratitude towards them :)
The chalet is beautiful, the view is absolutely amazing (the sunsets here are magical!) and you have all you need. The interior is cozy and you feel immediately at home. It is, as everyone else mentions, very simple. The opposite of a luxury resort where everything is taken care of, and that’s why we booked here. Pamela helped us arrange a car for the six weeks we stayed and I would say it’s absolutely vital to get around and really see Crete, both near and far. The discount she gets for you is serious!
The chalet is perfect for one or two people. We stayed as a couple and with the massive verandah it felt comfortable. For such a long stay as ours we found the bed a bit saggy and discovered putting the mattress and topper down on the floor was extremely comfortable (I say that as someone who has low back pain). Then we would fold it away in the little side room and have the couch for chilling and more floor space during the day.
We found the wifi was very good :)
The kitchen is small but totally adequate. I have a very restricted diet and cook a lot as eating out is difficult. I was worried about not having a proper oven. The chalet has a nifty convection oven like I had never seen, conveniently located in the laundry room. I read the booklet and was soon baking whole fish and gluten free cakes in there. Amazing! And so much faster than a regular oven. I loved it so much I’m now hunting to find one for myself at home!
There’s a nice collection of beach gear - umbrella, snorkelling stuff, flippers, balls, beach towels - that we made good use of. And we were lucky to be there for apricot season, picking them fresh from the tree in the garden every day was beyond delicious. Pamela even generously shared her homemade apricot pie with Dan :)
As others have mentioned the airport is close and you do hear some noise from it depending on the wind. There is also a neighbour to your left across the valley that has a very bored and very intelligent dog tied up 24/7 and it understandably barks. Pamela had warned us about another neighbour who has a mental disability and randomly yells things out, it can sometimes be quite loud. Overall these things didn’t detract from our experience at the chalet but are just details to know.
We weren’t there in the height of summer but we did experience a heat wave the last couple of weeks and the chalet does get very hot in the late afternoon. Thankfully there is usually a breeze blowing up in the hills of Prassas :)
We will fondly remember our time in Crete, thank you for everything Pamela and Emmanuel!
Nadia & Dan