We spent one week at the villa with our kids, age 3 and 6. Needless to say, one week is too short but it was such a relaxing and wonderful holiday from day 1 that it actually felt like a proper time out from our daily routine.
The location is pure paradise! The villa is perfect for a family of 4, the garden with the orange trees is so lovely, and the pool is just fantastic! It has a separate baby pool which was perfect for our little one. It was a bit chilly as we were there in April but the last days, the weather got warmer and we used the pool the whole day and enjoyed it so much!
April is actually very nice to visit Crete. Since it is still before main season starts, not everything is open yet. Some restaurants (e.g. Frosinis Garden), bars, beach kiosks or activities start after Orthodox Easter, which was when we left. But the good thing is that it is not crowded at all, you can explore the island all by yourself and enjoy the empty beaches. The weather was really nice. We had around 18 degrees Celsius at the beginning and every day it got warmer until the last day was 25 degrees. We took advantage of the cooler temperatures on the first days to do some hiking and explored the stunning beaches on the warmer days. We even swam in the sea, it was so lovely!
The location of the villa is perfect to explore the western part of the island.
Chania is such a wonderful city with a historic city center and stunning architecture and picturesque narrow alleys.
You can drive to the beaches Falassarna and Elafonissi which are marvelous! The turquoise water is like in the Caribbean Sea!
There is a beautiful winery not to far from the villa and the Cretan brewery is basically around the corner.
Stratos (the owner) hospitality was incredible and made us feel immediately very welcome.
We arrived very late at night, still he met us to show us around. He even organized some milk for our little son so we had some at the villa when we got there. He also gave us a gigantic basket of fruits and vegetables and a bottle of so good self made olive oil. We had freshly made orange juice from the orange trees in the garden every single day and I already miss it!
The kids are going to miss all the cats, the cookies from the friendly neighbor, the ice cream that they got in almost every restaurant without even asking for it, the beaches, the pool and the amazing jacuzzi bathtub in the villa.
In general, I have to say that the Greek hospitality and child friendliness is extraordinary! Wherever we were, we always and immediately felt welcome and cared for. The people are so friendly and full of life, it makes you feel like you don't want to leave the island.
It truely was one of our best Airbnb experiences and the island and the people are just amazing!
Emmanuel & Yannis were very caring and accommodating, their communication was super fast before and during our stay. They also gave us some nice restaurant recommendations for the area. Thank you very much for being such great hosts!
We‘d love to come back some day!