The Airbnb listing location is not correct, the property is almost as close to Akrotiri as Megalochori, so it is a good distance from the town (about 2km, 30 min walk), not in the town as shown. The decor and villa design is beautiful, it is quiet and peaceful, and the private jacuzzi is a great feature. However the jacuzzi was a bit cool for our tastes, about 27 C (80 F), and it wasn’t adjustable by us. The water heater in the unit didn’t seem to work, the showers we took were cold. These were minor concerns, and we were too busy to worry about mentioning them to the host.
Food delivery is not reliable as we waited 2 hours, expecting it, then were told it’s unavailable for several more hours. We hadn’t eaten for nearly 30 hours and the host response was we need to order food the previous night to give them time, and we can just walk to town like everyone else to get food. Getting to town is a dangerous uphill walk on the main road, I was struck by a car on the busy narrow roads trying to bring food to my seasick wife, and teething 2 year old. There are horse trails leading to town if you stumble through the neighboring grape fields, which is a safer walking route, but was unknown to us until later. Laundry service was not provided, we were told to walk to town with our luggage to wash our clothes from our cruise. Frustrated, we requested a refund on the remainder of our stay in favor of another villa next to the town. We were declined saying it’s against policy. I called 8 different places, but no rental cars were available for us to get around, so we were trapped.
These are a rough set of circumstances, and I’m not holding the villa responsible for most of it, but there were a lot of ways that we could have been helped, and a solid 5/5 earned, but we weren’t. Instead it was painful, and it felt like we were on our own to figure everything out for ourselves.
Recommendations:
Needless to say, a car is a MUST have for this location especially with children. And dare I say that the most of the island is not exactly child-friendly. I recommend pre-booking everything yourself well in advance as there was limited availability, help, and English communication barriers when trying to do so when there. Expect to pay a lot for everything, as this is the most expensive island I’ve encountered.