On many measures this property is probably the best on Gavdos, but I can’t recommend it.
It is well appointed, has good wifi, it’s clean and it has a rooftop terrace view that it unsurpassed - boasting a 270 degree panorama, including about 180 degrees of sea views across to a dreamy Crete and beyond.
But the view is problematic because the terrace is “common property” to be shared with another rental. During our week-long + stay, the intertwined neighbouring property was occupied for only one night and those tenants were barely sighted.
Had it been otherwise, our stay could have easily become a week from hell.
The property is simply not designed to be shared in this way. Bedroom windows adjoin outdoor areas. Privacy is non-existent. Outdoor lighting and window shutters are controlled by the other property.
Of more concern however is the misleading description on the website.
I don’t know about you, but to me “entire home/apartment” means you have the place to yourself. I was surprised to find that the “hero shot” on the booking confirmation was actually the front door of the adjoining big house. The other door in the picture (which looks like the laundry or similar) was the entrance to our “dungeon”. I didn’t even know there was an another property.
The beautiful terrace is photographed on the website, so one would naturally assume it was for our exclusive use. But the same photo appears on the other property’s web page too (which takes some effort to actually find) - giving the neighbours the same false expectation that it was for their exclusive use.
Whether or not this deception is deliberate, Airbnb should intervene.
It should also be made clear that “entire house/apartment” means the downstairs “cave” of a larger adjoining house.
I say cave, because we spent the week crouching through tiny doorways, with the lights on in the middle of the day because there are only two tiny windows for light and air. We’ve still both got cuts on the crown of our heads.
Our stay was mostly pleasant only because the house was unoccupied.
Of most concern was the inhospitable and aggressive manner of the local manager. The nicest thing I can say about her is that she is forcefully forthright and unnecessarily turned the most benign interactions into potential confrontations.
Expectations that Nikoleta was our “host” turned out not to be true. It would be more accurate to call her the owner, but not the host, because she doesn’t live on Gavdos.