Skouros Villa 2

A big terrace looks out over a pretty bay, with a superb view from the apartments. Set on Crete’s authentic south coast, it’s ideal in the off-season. Greece as it was meant to be!

Nice place.

In November, with the season over, we had the place to ourselves. The view was stunning, parking was convenient, and the silence was wonderful. The small beach is only a few steps down a path, with rocks separating it from the next beach. Nobody disturbed the absolute peace there. Lots of kittens came by for tastier food, even though they have bowls of kibble on the property. A few minutes on foot or by car gets you to the small harbor and its restaurants, with more further along. The big drawback for us was how far everything else is. To get anywhere, you have to deal with mountain roads and small villages with two-way streets. Reaching a larger, cheaper supermarket takes at least an hour and a half, as do other points of interest. We found that a drag.

Elena was easy to communicate with. She contacted me before we arrived, we worked out the details and exchanged numbers, and we’ve stayed in touch. When we couldn’t find a kitchen knife on arrival, I messaged her on Viber and she brought one the next day. The apartment is comfortable and clearly thought through with care. It was clean, and the furniture and dishes were new. The bed was comfortable, and there’s a long sofa by the window where you can read or work on a laptop. The kitchen is very well equipped, with plenty of dishes, pans, pots and plates, plus a large fridge with a freezer, waffle iron, coffee maker and kettle. There’s spare bedding and towels, and everything needed for cleaning. The shower and toilet are excellent, the AC works great, and there’s a satellite TV with Russian channels for anyone who still misses home. We had almost no water issues. There was just one day out of 14 when there wasn’t enough, but that’s a small thing given the island’s water problems. You can eat on a comfortable terrace with views of the sea, sky and nature. It takes five minutes to walk down to the sea and ten to come back up along a fairly wild trail. It’s worth it, the beach feels practically private and you can sunbathe with your feet in the water. The village is 1.6 km away, about 25 minutes on foot. The views will win you over, it’s pretty much perfect! Two small wishes that wouldn’t affect my excellent rating: the low ceiling at the front door made me hit my head a couple of times, though that was my own carelessness. Maybe a red ribbon could help as a reminder. Also, a shelf in the shower would be useful for shampoo and soap. Otherwise, the apartment is perfect.