Herethiana holiday villa: Kissamos

The description of this beautiful villa is absolutely accurate; if anything it does not prepare you fully for the tremendous stay you are about to have. It is like living in the comfort of your own home-spotlessly clean, plenty of towels and linen, a well equipped kitchen, two good bathrooms, air conditioning, a music centre with CDs, games, candles, a BBQ, you need to take nothing! This is outdoor living at its best. With two teenagers we had a wonderful week. Plenty of room for us all to have our own space, long lazy days sunbathing and reading by the pool( it was actually very difficult to drag ourselves off anywhere!) magical sunsets over the sea and sitting out at night looking at millions of stars in total isolation.You do need a car to get around as the villa is set at the top of the hill (which gives a welcome breeze) surrounded by its own private well tended garden with a green lawn, shrubs, roses and geraniums and across the lane nothing but olive trees on the slopes downwards. The local town of Kissamos (10 mins drive) is not at all touristy in a brash sense but there are plenty of supermarkets with fresh local produce and good, reasonably priced places to eat along the sea front-the atmosphere at night is lively but not loud. Chania,about 30 mins eastwards on the national road (take care,it's a fast, dangerous road with poor lane markings) is well worth some visits, especially the harbour and the old town. Falasarna beach is like paradise, sand and blue water with fantastic sunsets from the little bars(again,off the beaten track so amazingly uncrowded even in August), the south coast is within easy reach and walking the Samaria Gorge is a must! Start early to avoid the midday sun, took us 5 hours with 2 stops en route. Very popular, lots of springs to wash your feet and get water and towering awe inspiring limestone scenery. A great achievement but the dip in the sea at the end is much needed! Check out your return route carefully, boats and taxis are not that frequent.To sum up, this villa is ideal if you don't like crowds, if you want to experience life in the hills of Crete with no-one around but like to be close enough to have things to do and places to eat out. We were made to feel very welcome- a bottle of wine,some olive oil and a video of Chania were presents on arrival and we have never stayed anywhere quite so dreamlike. Arriving back to the grey skies of Britain it was hard to believe it had ever happened.We will definitely return.