We had a lovely two weeks holiday at Nautilus Farm Villa. The property is located about 15 minutes drive from Heraklion airport on a hillside, surrounded by olive groves and is ideally located for seeing many of the archeological sites of the island. It also has a number of lovely beaches nearby.
Our hosts Hara and Michalis were welcoming and friendly. They were at the Villa when we arrived even though we came in on a late flight and provided fresh fruit, cheese, olives and eggs which was an added bonus and meant we didn’t have to worry about supper or breakfast on our first day. During our stay Hara cooked a delicious Mousaka for us and we were also welcomed to the family restaurant (Nautilus) in Heraklion for a meal.
The Villa itself was spotlessly clean and any issues we had were responded to. Michalis visited the Villa each day to feed the animals (horse, donkey, chickens, goats, geese, ducks, rabbits…!) that live in the paddock behind the Villa (lovely to have fresh eggs when we wanted them!) so it was always easy to ask questions. The highlight of the holiday for us was time spent in and around the beautiful swimming pool - the pool lighting meant after dark swimming was possible which the 12 year old in our family loved!
The Villa isn’t located in a traditional resort area which was one of the things that attracted us to it and we felt we got a much more traditional Cretan holiday as a result.
We used the local mini market and bakery in the small village a two minute drive away for supplies as well as a Lidl just a 10 minute drive away.
If I’m being super picky, as a family of 5, it would have been useful to have a dishwasher but overall a lovely relaxing holiday!