Yiannis Apartments

There isn't a pool, but the beach is only a two-minute walk away, and the apartments have a patio and garden. A family-run bakery and cafe is across the road, with a beach bar and restaurant behind. These are well-kept self-catering apartments, plain and simple, and very good all round. Bed linen and towels are clean and available daily on request, otherwise every two days.

The beach is about 50 metres away, with Scirocco beach bar right there. Two sunbeds and an umbrella cost 5 euros a day, and the bamboo umbrellas are nice. Drinks and food are reasonably priced, the Club sandwich is really good, and there's a fresh-water shower. The sandy shore has small pebbles at the water's edge, then either pebbles or smooth rock in the sea. The water is quite clean and gets cleaned regularly, though in such a popular spot you may sometimes see a bit of plastic. At the end of June it wasn't too crowded. There's a communal BBQ area on the ground floor, nicely furnished. The sea-view rooms, which are most of them, have a very large shared terrace facing the sea, as well as small street-side balconies. Rooms are very clean and spacious enough, and all have working A/C, which is a blessing. The owners are on site, respond quickly to calls or emails, and the lady was very helpful. No reception desk as such, but nothing was a problem. The kitchens are sparse, with just basic utensils, two pots, some plates and glasses, an electric kettle, fridge and small stove. No big knives, boards or colanders, so plan ahead. When we asked, they did bring us a larger bread knife and a cutting board. Nearby are lots of taverns, cafes and supermarkets, plus places to book trips like Samaria gorge or rent cars and bikes. Local bus number 20 runs to Rethymno every couple of minutes. We loved our stay and highly recommend it.

We stayed nine nights and were made to feel very welcome. The owners care about what you think, and we'll definitely return. Our apartment had a sea view and a shared balcony, though private balconies are available too. We wouldn't have chosen differently, as we enjoyed the social side of sharing. The garden has a lovely outdoor area with a barbecue for guests, and there's direct access to the sea. Everything we needed was within walking distance. The apartments were lovely, clean and well cared for.

The location made everything easy, with a bakery, bus stop, supermarket and more right outside. Our apartment was spacious, spotlessly clean and had a private balcony. The staff were very friendly. The lady even stayed up to welcome us at half past midnight, and was flexible and helpful. We were able to add an extra night too. We had an amazing week.