Manolis house is a great place to base yourself from to explore the area, away from most of the mass tourism but still within easy reach of several smaller but more intimate beaches where many of the locals go to. Tersanas beach is the best beach for miles around for small children, and ours even got onto the local swimming lessons in the sea! Marathi Bay is beautiful with more action and sheltered from the northerly Meltemi, it also has speedboat rental. And Kalatha can be really amazing when the waves are small and the water clean, and always ideal for a kayak rental. There are several good restaurants in the area, from the one in Tersanas with a beautiful waterside location to the local hub of taverne Irene which has no view but has good quality and well priced food, with the typical Greek hospitality. Super markets are within easy reach (12mins drive) and the beautiful and busling Chania and Samaria Gorge are close by.
The house has lots of unique features and has a certain cool to it, keeping the sound system tuned to D-CODE is a must!. It is well equipped and the hosts have prepared it well for families. We had no issues with mosquitoes (One or two) and were able to sit outside all night to eat and really enjoyed the Mythos breakfast table on the north side of the house., followed by reading in one of the 3 hammocks. We also really loved the outside shower to cool off and wash the sand off before heading in to eat more watermelon.
The house is close to the airport which has its obvious pros and cons, the commercial planes don't disturb at all but there are F16 fighter jets taking off during the day and they are loud for a few moments and add a bit of excitement to the otherwise very laid back nature of Crete.