My family and I (two adults and two kids, 12 and 14) had an absolutely wonderful 3 night stay at the Old House. It is exactly as it appears in the photos - spacious, open, beautiful; we knew just what to expect.
The house itself is remodeled and fully updated. It was spotlessly clean and everything seemed brand new. The beds were comfortable with fresh linens and towels laid out. The air conditioning worked well and there are outlets everywhere. There was plenty of toilet paper and the kitchen was fully stocked with every utensil or cooking necessity we could have wanted.
There were plenty of other little amenities as well: an electric fan, iron and ironing board, hairdryer, etc. (We didn’t use these but were glad they were available!)
The pool was great - completely private- and the roof offered a wonderful view all the way to the Aegean.
FYI: the bunk room shares a (mostly opaque) cubed glass wall with one of the other bedrooms. As such, because of the glass, if the other bedroom has its lights on, the bunk room will be lit. (For example, if my husband and I were staying up later than our kids and they were in the bunk room, their room would be bright until we turned off our lamps.) This isn’t a negative - the bunk room gets plenty of light and the wall is beautiful! - but if you’ve got a sleeper who is very sensitive to light, you might reconfigure your sleeping arrangements!
One of our favorite things about the Old House is where it’s located. In literally 90 seconds, you can walk into the village square with restaurants, shops, the church, etc. There are mini mart close by (like 2 minutes away by foot) and many restaurants, grocery stores, etc. within a 4-5 minute walk. (There are many, many other restaurants within a 10-15 minute walk as well, although they’re in the touristy beach part of Malia, which we weren’t interested in...) The beaches are about a 15 minute walk away.
This location offered very easy driving access to Heraklion (and beyond) and Agios Nikolaos. One day, we took a taxi into the neighboring seaside village of Stalis (about a 5 minute drive and 7 euros each way for all 4 of us). We enjoyed the restaurants and shops. Another day, we did an excursion with Safari Experts into the mountains... It was our favorite tour, ever. Very highly recommend!
Joanna was easy to contact and always helpful. When we got lost in the narrow streets and our car got stuck, Joanna’s mom met us and guided us to the house. She gave us the key, showed us around, and made sure we knew there were many bottles of water for us to use. We parked by the Hotel Fanouraki just around the corner (and left the car there for our stay; the neighborhood was very friendly and felt safe).
This is simply a great spot! The shopkeepers got to know us and would greet us every time we passed through. We loved opening the shutters to the balcony, walking right into the village, swimming beneath the stars, and feeling like we were really experiencing life in Crete. Stay here, for sure!