We had a great 1 month stay at Alyona Villa. Our hosts, Katerina and Antonis, are tremendous people, warm, and very responsive. This is a modern, wonderfully designed, ultra clean, and very hospitable home. The children loved the pool and the toys; the outdoor grill area was perfect for evenings we wanted to stay at home, the air-conditioning was quiet and excellent. The villa is placed in the hills, surrounded by citrus groves, overlooking Chania and next to a lovely small town -- so if you're looking to be in a major tourist area, this is not it. But we were an easy drive to Chania, about an hour to Falasarna beach (highly recommended), and other beaches. Sometimes we just walked to the taverna in Skines or the cafe and walked back home. The place was cleaned spotless every week. Every time Katerina came over she had something special for us: oranges, olive oil, baking from home. If something went wrong (we had trouble with the upstairs Wifi) they responded immediately and solved the problem. The Cretans are a sincere, authentic people who have not been made cynical by tourism -- and our hosts and everyone in Skines were especially genuine. We couldn't have asked for nicer hosts or a nicer place to stay.