Villa Katerina is the best place to stay for guests with a car, expecting privacy, calmness and genuine, Greek traditional village feel. The house is placed in real, quaint, traditional building, among others, traditional houses.
At first, the route to Milatos, where Villa Katerina is located, felt complicated and remote, but quickly we got used to it and it wasn't that hard or long. That route ensures that this places stays far away from mass tourism and offers more than meets the eye. Although this quiet town is without real stores, it turned out to be an advantage rather than obstacle. Why? Because we could live and enjoy a very chilled, genuine, Greek village without noise and tourist crowds, but if we needed civilization and tourist typical attractions, with a car we could reach easily in 15 minutes Malia, where we found a lot of stores, bars, cruises, sea sports, beaches - very lively, tourist town where all action happens. A bit outside of Malia center there is Potamos Beach, which is probably one of the best beaches in this part of Crete! We should know, because we explored a lot and had 10 days to do so.
In Milatos however, you will find a safe refugee with a great terrace with a sea and a mountain view, a garden and the best of all, En Milatos - traditional, family, Greek restaurant, opened from 6 pm to midnight (except Tuesdays), with live music every evening (at least in the August) and very friendly and hospitable owners. It's around 50m from Villa Katerina and you can either enjoy the live music in the evenings from the terrace or go downstairs, join the other guest, and try excellent wine, raki and Greek food. And no, the music wasn't too loud, so you can still enjoy it and quietness at the same time - just the perfect spot!
The house itself was very clean, modern and comfortable with air conditioning, nice, well-equipped kitchen and a large fridge.
This was really a blast, and we enjoyed the place very much! Friendly host and neighbors, friendly En Milatos owners - all contributed to the experience, and we felt, that staying outside the touristy towns was a spot on location! We would never have enjoyed it that much if we stayed in touristy places. If you have a car, that location is way better.
If you have time, you can wander around charming Milatos streets, meet the people and of course cats :). You can visit No Name bar where you have a safe place to swim without waves or go along the shore in the East direction to find more and more, rocky but very nice looking beaches. At the end, you may even find a hidden beach, a real gem among the rocks and with beautiful surroundings. However, if you need more welcoming, sandy beaches, Potamos Beach is not that far away, so basically we got everything we wanted.
All in all, we were very happy with the location and the whole experience! Thank you, Brian, for this gem! We won't forget the breakfasts and dinners on this lovely terrace, with sea, Greek music, food and wine :D.