Helena's Aparthotel

The hosts are lovely and always available for questions or help. The rooms are spacious, clean, and all have A/C, and the kitchen is fully equipped. The pool is cleaned every day. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the beach, or around 5 minutes by car. Supermarkets, restaurants, a pharmacy, and a coffee bar are all within a 10 minute drive.

The area is quiet, which made it a good place for families looking to relax. Skaleta is a small village, not a party spot. Rethymno is about a 15 minute drive away, and there are small shops within walking distance for everyday things. We found two tavernas right on the beach that had great food and were still open after the COVID years. Helena could also help arrange a rental car and offered us airport transfer. We had a tidy, very spacious room with direct access from our balcony to the pool area. This is an apartment stay for self-catering rather than a hotel, though Helena also offers breakfast from a local coffee shop menu, delivered right on time. That was another great thing about the place. Helena, her family, and team were superhosts and available 24/7 when we needed them, dealing with potential problems straight away. We had a fantastic summer 2022 holiday and highly recommend the place. Thanks, guys, and hope to see you again someday.

Getting there was disappointing, and the host was slow to answer my questions. The property is about an hour’s drive from either Heraklion or Chania airport. They said to take a bus from the airport, but that was extremely difficult. Their airport pickup cost 120 euro, so I had to hire a car at the airport just to reach the place. The location and lack of support were a letdown.

Helena’s aparthotel has six apartments, two on each floor. The spacious pool was great for swimming all day, with a larger section about 130 cm deep and a smaller one around 50-60 cm. It was clean, quiet, and had lots of sunbeds and umbrellas. There’s also a roomy barbecue area with coal and fire starters. From the terrace or balcony, you can watch the sunset, and street parking in front was easy, with very little local traffic. Our apartment was huge, with two large sofas, three tables, and 10 chairs. It had air conditioning with separate controls in each room, two big terraces with tables, armchairs, and chairs, plus a balcony off each bedroom. The spacious kitchen was fully equipped and had a dishwasher and large refrigerator. The rooms were soundproofed, so we shouldn’t have heard other guests. There was also a children’s chair and a baby cot. The hosts gave us service I’d rate 11/10. They welcomed us with small gifts and a fridge full of grapes, watermelon, melon, and peaches, plus raki. One day the owners brought a huge pan of delicious homemade moussaka. We mentioned in the evening that the oven wasn’t working, and by the next morning a new cooker was at the door. They replaced it while we were resting at the beach. It’s important to know that the apartment isn’t next to the sea, and you definitely need a car to visit other places. Balos and Elafonisi take a long time to reach, about 2.5h one way. The bakery in Stavromenos, 3km away, has great fresh bread from 7am. I definitely recommend this apartment to people with a rental car who want a comfortable place to relax by a pool. In my opinion, the best sandy beach is Livadi Beach in Bali, 20 minutes by car.