Villa Mavrikia in Sfakera

Maintenance was absent, and the owner came by every day, even going into rooms to close the windows. In Italy, we would have reported that as trespassing. The house was filthy when we arrived, including greasy kitchen surfaces and furniture. The pool had sand and was dirty, with loads of insects in the water. We had ants because of the dirt, and every day at 6 PM the water stopped for about three hours, which caused a lot of trouble. I reported this several times to AGNI TRAVEL and EXPEDIA, but they didn’t care. I won’t book through the AGNITRAVEL platform again. It was a holiday to forget, and we paid €1,600 for a week in low season.

The worst part was finding out the owner had come into the house several times while we were away. The place was in terrible shape and seemed as if it had never been cleaned. Dirt and food residue were everywhere, with eggshells in the pots and pans, greasy fingerprints on every surface, shameful bathrooms and ants in the rooms. The pool had no maintenance either. The property itself was neglected: the mosquito nets wouldn’t lock, some light fixtures made contact, some lights were missing, and the shower heads were blocked with limescale. The pool shower was closed. Outdoor areas were poorly cared for, with insects everywhere. The taps often had little water or none at all, a real hassle with seven people trying to shower. I strongly advise against renting it. I’d have given zero stars if I could.

There are some useful things here, including mosquito nets, a drying rack, a washing machine with detergent, clean towels, hand soap and an outdoor net for removing insects from the pool. But I absolutely wouldn’t recommend staying here, especially if anyone in your group is allergic to mold or dust mites. We were seven people from September 21st to 28th, 2024, and the house was large but poorly kept and unattractive. White paint marks were all over the outdoor chairs, handles, doors and drying rack. The big kitchen smelled terrible, and every drawer and cupboard was dirty. There were no kitchen cloths, so we bought some, and no way to dry dishes except with shower towels. There was only a broom for cleaning bathroom fixtures and floors. Ornaments and the sofa were dusty, and the rooms smelled moldy, especially downstairs. One of my travel companions, who has allergies, had a very unpleasant stay. Some lights didn’t work, including the upstairs room on the right and sometimes the stair light. Some handles were broken, and a chair was unsafe because one leg was crooked. We had to buy toilet paper because there was no spare. The pool area could have been a nice place to relax, but the plants, porches, lounge chairs, chairs and table were dirty and unmaintained. The outdoor floor hadn’t been swept, and the chairs and cushions hadn’t been cleaned; they were extremely dirty from the five cats roaming around. A sign at the entrance warned we might have no hot water for a few hours each day, something not mentioned when booking. There was also a camera on the outside awning pointing at the gate, as the owner confirmed.

The house was supposed to be ready for our 11:00 AM check-in, but the owner told us to wait until at least 2:00 PM while cleaning was finished. When we finally got inside, the bedrooms were filthy, the pool was full of leaves and insects, and there were food scraps in the kitchen and living room, plus cobwebs in the corners of every room. We raised it with the owner, who said to wait until Monday for cleaning, even though we’d been handed the house on Thursday afternoon. The dishwasher and taps in every bathroom and the kitchen leaked. In the afternoon there was so little water that washing up was almost impossible. The owner also came to inspect the house without telling us. He had another set of keys and could come in without us noticing. My room had ants, so I had to sleep on the couch because six other people were using the other rooms. The pots, pans and cutlery were all covered in fingerprints and stains, another sign they hadn’t been cleaned.