TRADITIONAL IOANNIS COTTAGE...Luxurious & Rustic with HEATED Pool !!!

Exceptional is the word that comes to mind!!!

The most impressive thing was the hospitality of the hosts.

A hire car was very kindly arranged by the hosts. We followed Sifis (the owner) who led us all the way to the property. We were met there by his mother who, to our utter and pleasant surprise had prepared dinner for us. The fridge had all the essentials. We were then given a tour of the property which is in immaculate condition. The kids could not be happier!

The cottage is located in the village called Nerochori and the white mountains can be seen from the terrace/verandah. The swimming pool is of decent size, very clean and well maintained.

In the middle of the week the house was cleaned and Khara (mother of Sifis) brought us some more food. They also came to meet us with traditional gifts just before we left.

During our stay we managed to do quite a bit of sightseeing as well.

All in all a very good property, would recommend it to any family. We were deeply touched by the hospitality.

Es war ein toller Urlaub in einem wunderschönen, sauberen und ruhigen Ferienhaus. Wir waren schon öfter in Ferienhäusern aber so etwas wie hier haben wir noch nicht erlebt. Wir kamen spät abends an und der Kühlschrank war voll und im Ofen stand Essen für uns. Zweimal die Woche wurde geputzt und auch da gab es jedes mal leckeres griechisches Essen für uns. Das Haus ist toll und ist genauso wie es beschrieben wurde. Für uns war es ein toller Urlaub und wir werden sicher mal wieder kommen!😀

We had a wonderful week at this lovely house - family of 4 with 2 kids. It lived up to all previous reviews - it is in a beautiful and peaceful setting in the mountains but still very easy to get to Chania and some wonderful beaches.

Iannis and his family really make the stay extra special - they are very kind and helpful - Iannis helped us from the airport with our hire car and took us to the house. When we arrived his mother had cooked an amazing meal - and left a full fridge which was very much appreciated after a long trip. The house itself was spotless.She cleaned again midweek -and left more delicious food - and then arrived on the last night with gifts which was a wonderful surprise.

We would highly recommend the house/location for exploring Western Crete - the owners offer an outstanding experience and it certainly ranks as one of our best holiday rentals! We hope to return!

Crete is a lovely place to go on holiday. It is a beautiful island with friendly people, warm sunny weather and plenty to see and do. There is an easy pace of life which also makes it enjoyable to do not very much at all. There are lots of places to eat out and the Cretans are very welcoming to visitors.

We stayed 2 weeks in this lovely house and had a fantastic time. The Galanakis family went out of their way to provide us with everything we could have wanted. We received information about the house and car well in advance. Yiannis and his son kindly met us at Heraklion airport, and had pre-arranged our car hire so that there was no waiting around. We followed him to the house where there was raki and a delicious meal waiting, and also enough food in the fridge to keep us going over the weekend.

The view of the mountains and village on the neighbouring hill were spectacular from the bedroom and balcony the next morning. The house is spacious, comfortable and very well equipped, with a beautiful garden. The pool is bigger than appears in the photographs and we used it well, as the temperature was 29-42 degrees while we were there. Despite the heat we were able to keep comfortable as there is plenty of shade in the garden throughout the day and the air conditioning is very effective - we mainly used it only at night.

The situation on the edge of the village means that the house and garden are very private, but the mini market, local pharmacy and main road are only a short drive (1km) away, and there are larger supermarkets not too far away in Chania, which is just over 30 minutes away. We visited several of the places and tavernas recommended by Yiannis but spent much of the time enjoying the pool and garden. It was a real luxury having the house cleaned twice a week and we looked forward to the excellent meals and other tasty gifts given to us by Hariklia, who is a fantastic cook.

We would strongly recommend this as a good place to go on holiday, and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves here. Thank you to the family for making it such an easy place to get away from it all.

My husband and I stayed here six nights, and it was easily our favorite part of our two-week honeymoon in Crete! Yiannis and Eva were readily available before our arrival, answered all our questions promptly and set up a rental car to be brought to the house for us to use for the rest of our trip. When our plans changed due to weather, they fixed up the house a day early and let us stay an extra night at a discounted rate. There was an incredible home-cooked dinner waiting for us when we arrived, as well as olive oil, wine and raki that our hosts made. It was such a warm welcome after several days of backpacking across Hania!

The house itself was beautiful and very clean, and the views from the upstairs patio were STUNNING. I found myself out there every morning and evening watching the clouds roll over the mountains that wrap around half the horizon. Minus a few houses and the small town on the hillside, the cottage feels very remote, although it's easily accessible off the E75- the main highway that cuts across Crete. Just down the street, there's a nice little grocery shop that sells the local cheeses (graviera and myzithra).

My husband and I stayed in a couple of the days because it was so entirely relaxing there, but it was also very easy to go on day trips around the area. The Samaria Gorge doesn't open til May- we were a week too early- so we drove an hour south to Imbros Gorge, which was a 3-4 hour hike. Frangokastello is right next to Komitades at the south end of the gorge, so we had a nice evening on the beach next to the old fortress there. We also made a day trip to Elafonissi- the beach everyone said was the most wondrous in all of Crete. It was about a two-hour drive, and the scenery along the way was worth the switchbacks down the mountain sides. We stopped in a small fishing town, Sfanari, on the way back and enjoyed a delicious fresh seafood dinner on a private beach.

In short, the the cottage is located very centrally if your goal is to explore the Hania region (which ended up being our favorite part of Crete!). The area offers white/pink beaches, snow-tipped mountains, lush gorges and rolling fields of olive trees- all within a two-hour drive. I highly recommend this home for an extended stay. We will most certainly come back here when our paths lead us back to Crete. Thank you Yiannis and Eva!