We spent a glorious week at Villa Manoutsio and used it as a base to explore Crete. We can't say enough about our experience there. We met Stelios at the beach just off the highway after flying in late to Heraklion because Melina was out of town when we arrived. When we got to the house, there was a meal waiting for us and a nice bottle of wine. There were bathrobes and towels laid out for each of the five people in our family and all of the rooms and grounds look just like they do in the pictures on the site. The beds were comfortable with really nice bedding and the house was very clean down to the last detail. We spent a lot of time in the covered barbecue area and enjoyed using the barbecue and wood-fired oven for the meals that we had at home. The kitchen was fully equipped.

We also spent a lot of time at the local beach. There are several tavernas to choose from along the mile or so section of beach that is near the house and we would get set up at one of them for sun chairs, umbrellas and drink service and often ate breakfast and a late lunch at one of them. The food and drink was fabulous and relatively inexpensive.

We spent a day in Chania, a day in Heraklion and Knossos, rented a paddle boat at Kournos Lake one afternoon and spent most of the rest of the time just relaxing at the house or at the local beach. You will definitely need a car if you are planning to stay here. It is a beautiful rural setting, but very close to the National Highway, so you have access to the whole island if you want to do some exploring.

I had some work to do related to my job in the states and so internet access was very important to me. Initially there were some difficulties with access, but Melina worked with the local technician and ended up sending her IT expert from Chania who resolved our access issues right away and I was able to do the work I needed to do without incident. More than anything, I relate this last part mostly to illustrate how Melina and Stelios were willing to go the extra mile (okay, 1,6 kilometers) to make sure that our stay was as pleasant and relaxing as possible. We couldn't have asked for better hosts and a better place to stay. Efharisto to Melina and Stelios.