THIS PLACE IS PERFECTION!
There are too many positives to list, so I will try to write them all here (in no particular order):
1. The location is STEPS away from a gorgeous and clean beach! The beach has soft sand so that you don't need to wear shoes and the kids can play in it all day! And unlike many other beaches, the water has waves all day which my children especially enjoyed! The proximity to the beach was great because everyone in the family could come and go as they wanted, and there was not the usual production of packing everything up and hauling it all the way to the beach where you feel trapped there for the whole day.
2. The host, Maria, is super responsive - she met us at the house and made sure we were all settled, and she checked in on us often to make sure that we had everything we needed! She even left us some groceries and beautiful fresh fruit upon our arrival. I can't say enough good things about her!
3. There is an authentic Greek taverna right next to the house (also on the beach), so you can grab snacks and drinks and ice creams throughout the day, and even sit down and have a proper meal without having to change out of your bathing suit!
4. Beach chairs, towels and an umbrella were available at the house, and we were happy with the very clean and gorgeous beach right outside our front door. But if you want something fancier, there is a very very nice beach club a little further down where you can rent chairs and have beach side service and even catch a fancy meal or cocktail if you desired.
5. The house is very large, very clean, and very comfortable! Even better then the pictures! And the air conditioning and WiFi are great, which is ever so important!
6. It is central to the island, so you can easily get there from the airport and then easily spend the day in Elounda or Ayios Nikolaos or Knossos. Chania is a little further but we made the day trip no problem!
7. With the airport so close, you can see all the planes landing right over the water! But they are not loud at all - my husband says that it is because they are landing and so the motors are not revving. Anyway, our kids just loved spotting planes on their flight tracker app (so they could learn what countries they were arriving from) and reading all the badges on the sides as they passed (yes - they are that close - but I promise it is not loud and actually a fun extra attraction!).
8. The bathrooms are large (in fact, all the rooms are spacious), and it has a washing machine and a fully equipped kitchen with a dishwasher.
9. All the bedrooms have balconies, two of them overlooking the sea on the front, and the third looking over the greenspace in the back (which I actually find equally as beautiful because you can see the authentic village houses and native trees with the cicadas buzzing on the back side - it is actually magical!)
Like I said, too many good things to list! If Maria's place is available for your visit do not hesitate to book it!!!!