We had a really excellent week at the Stone House.
Maria welcomed us with her friend (who spoke enough English to get us up and running) then arranged for fresh fruit, yogurt and raki from the cafe next door. Very welcome refreshment and a shame we didn't get the chance to spend more time at the cafe - we were out and about too much.
You definitely need a car to get around but the neighbouring villages and mountains are so beautiful and relatively easy to explore.
Highlights were Parachakis olive oil factory (short tour but really interesting), Iraklio museum really impressive (park near the port/harbour as lots of space), Boutari wine tasting (8 euros for 4-5 small glasses) and Agios Nikolias and Spinalonga (early start and long day out but worth it). We did visit Knossos but go about 5pm when it's much quieter and still plenty of time to explore (closes at 8pm in summer).
Facilities and space at the house were excellent and ongoing communication through the week with directions to supermarkets etc was immediate.
Thank you so much Maria!