From the moment we arrived, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in this stunning villa set in the small village of Prines. The owner, Poly, was waiting to greet us and we received a very warm welcome with bottles of iced water and chilled wine. She showed us around the villa, and informed us about the local area.The villa was absolutely beautiful, spotlessly clean and very well appointed. It has been very tastefully designed, is modern, light, airy and spacious. The bedrooms were very comfortable with crisp white linen. Poly changed the sheets and towels for us halfway through our week stay. We were a party of 6, parents, grandparents and 2 children, aged 12 and 16. The pool was such a bonus and we cooled off in it during the heat of the day, before and after returning from a day trip. Poly came early in the morning each day to clean the pool.
During our stay we visited Rethymno a few times (10-15 mins drive from the villa). We learnt quickly to either set off early or head out much later in the early evening to avoid the intense heat of the day. Rethymno is a lovely historic old town with lots of little cobbled streets with small shops, tavernas/restaurants, pretty churches and old buildings. The place really comes to life in the evening. We would recommend 'Raki Ba Raki' to eat, delicious food and set in a pretty little street shaded by beautiful vines and flowers. Poly also recommended a local family restaurant in the next village 'Gonia'. She kindly rang ahead and reserved a table for us. The restaurant 'Androulidakis' served traditional Cretan cuisine and we received a very warm welcome. Family run, Marianna the owner was really lovely and offered advice on how to get the most out of the menu between us. The food was delicious with very generous portions! We took some of our food home and ate it the next day! In fact everywhere we ate, the portions were very generous and very good value for money.
We also visited the historic old town of Hania which was about an hours drive away. It was beautiful and the venetian harbour was stunning. A real treat was heading to a very secluded little cove on the south coast where greek families go to swim. The scenery was breathtaking.
Overall, we had a wonderful stay and could have easily stayed longer. Poly's warm and generous hospitality really made our holiday; with fresh figs from her garden and a home made cake for our children. Valia at Think Villa was also extremely helpful. Wholeheartedly recommended!