Very lovely home in a spectacular setting.
Ioannis was very communactive suggesting places to visit in the area. Sweetwater Beach is spectacular, and it's worth it to hike there from the road if you are fit enough for its vertiginous path.
Aside from day trips, we spent one entire day simply hanging out and enjoying the villa.
Ioannis also offered to stock groceries ahead of our arrival. But since my wife and I enjoy visiting markets while traveling, we took his suggestions to buy fruit and veggies at a very good market in Rethymno instead. He left a generous welcome gift of a bottle wine (bottled nearby) and some snacks.
While at Askyfou we stopped at a small market in the village, just off the main road, and bought the local sausage, and local village wine and raki. If you stay there, we recommend doing the same thing.
The villa is a mix between older and modern. It felt a bit more rustic than my wife and I expected, but that's just what we needed for rest and relaxation. There is no shortage of 'charm' but some times it comes at a small cost to practical living. It took a day or two to hit the proverbial brakes; to slow down and adjust to country life from city life.
Older aspects:
-your bedroom may not have a window, and natural light is limited in some areas; This is great if you are there for rest, but you may end up sleeping in until the afternoon without an alarm
-the layout is challenging if you like to unpack everything from your suitcase (instead of living out of the suitcase); and some sinks have limited counter space
Modern aspects
-infiniti pool, albeit a bit chilly in October
-solar panels on roof (assurance of power in a remote area!)
-functional kitchen with a clean modern fridge, a gas range, good-tasting mountain water (plenty of hot water, too)
-wifi and flat screen tv (connection was fast enough for Netflix without any issue)
-washing machine was in good working order
Overall we highly Recommend a stay at Villa Askyfou.