One thing about traveling to places you’ve never been to before, and Greece was such a place for me, is that you often don’t know where to go and when you pick out a destination, you don’t know what the best part of town is to stay in. I feel as if I’ve been inordinately lucky with all the places I’ve settled on using this platform, and my streak of good luck continues with staying at Nikolaos’s place.
It’s located on the eastern edge of the old town, close enough to walk to everything and far enough to avoid the noise. We discovered that the apartment is on the top floor of a 500 year old building, which has been restored by Nikolaos. One of the most arresting features is the approximately 500 ft.² terrace, and an even higher rooftop deck which affords 360° views of the city. We had a friend from France join us and he just wanted to spend the whole day soaking in the view, which predominantly looks north to the sea. Bedrooms are comfortable and well spaced apart. Bathroom is large by European standards. There is a full kitchen and a washing machine. Clothes dry pretty quickly on the terrace. Unlike some properties listed on this service, this home had personalized touches, since Nikolaos and his family live below and sometimes move upstairs for the winter.
One of the highlights was meeting Nikolaos who is a high school teacher teaching Greek classics and history. Consequently he has a lot of knowledge of Greece and Crete which he is happy to share, and we learned a lot from him.
There were some quirks with low water pressure from repairs the city was conducting and Nikolaos was immediately on the scene with bottled water.
One thing to keep in mind is that this is essentially a five-story walk up and this unit would not be suitable for anybody with disabilities or mobility issues. Pack lightly when you come here because you’ll be toting those bags up and down an unair-conditioned stairwell. Also, keep in mind that the closest free parking is probably about half a mile away.