Beautiful house in quiet location with shared pool, minutes from the beach..

We stayed in the villa with our 5 and (nearly) 7 year old daughters in the middle of June and had an amazing holiday! The villa was everything we had hoped for and we were lucky enough to have the pool to ourselves all week as the other villas weren’t occupied. The outside area is lovely and private and the pool is a great size. We could touch the bottom in every part of it and the kids shallow bit on one side was perfect for our girls to be able to play in when they weren’t swimming with us in the big part. We enjoyed using the BBQ and sitting out for meals. The villa itself was well equipped and the air con in the rooms was lovely as it was very hot while we were there. The views of the mountains from the poolside and the front of the villa were breathtaking - they almost don’t look real!

We ate out in Georgioupoli (which was about a 5 minute drive) there are lots of lovely restaurants to choose from here, we’d highly recommend Vasilikos, Mythos and Efthimis (excellent pizza in a wood fired pizza oven.) We also visited Rethymno (about 25 minute drive). The old town was lovely to wander around - we loved the narrow streets and all the little shops.

We drove to Episkopi beach a couple of times (about 10 minutes away) which was a gorgeous sandy beach with 3 restaurants, all of which have swings, slides and little ride-on vehicles for the kids to play with. Our favourite was Chrysos Asterias (the middle one). They were very welcoming here and the kids loved playing whilst we finished our drinks and sat enjoying the views of the sea.

One final thing to mention was Kournas Lake - wow! We would come back just to go here, it was absolutely stunning! The lake was crystal clear. We hired a pedalo for an hour for 12 euros. We swam in the lake and let the fish nibble at our feet (much better than paying to put them in a tank!) we were told there were turtles too but unfortunately didn’t manage to see any - a good reason to go back I think!

All in all, we absolutely loved staying here and would highly recommend it for a relaxing but fun holiday. The villa is in a great location - there is so much to do, we barely scratched the surface and will definitely be back one day!

A really nice small villa in a quiet location. It has very good facilities, clean and well maintained. Well placed for local sightseeing and visiting the nearby beaches, or enjoying the sun in the garden or around the pool.

Would recommend for couples or friends wanting to explore Western Crete.

This was a second visit to this area but the first time we have stayed in this Villa, we would recommend it to anyone that likes to get away from the husstle and bustle, the villa is well equipped and geared for outdoor eating with a lovely webber barbecue. The rooms are spacious and the balcony upstairs is super and we enjoyed having a late night drink and watching the sunset. The pool is a very good size and you can always have the use of the other pools which are all highly maintained.

A washing machine would have been ideal and some outdoor plastic plates for the kids would have been good in case of any accidents. The owner was very good with his communication and got back to us straight away. We also ate at Valentinos restaurant which was always busy and great food and service.

K Hackett Eastbourne

We stayed in Villa Equus for a week in August this year. Everything about the property was as expected. It was clean, well maintained and although we didn't need to use it help was at hand for any problems that may has arisen. The kitchen was adequately stocked for home cooking which was a dream on the webber bbq. The outdoor furniture was very comfortable, especially on the upstairs terrace where is was so easy to go and get a nice 40 winks!

What stands this villa out from the rest i think is the lovely garden. Not only is it very pleasant to look at, it provides privacy. Having said that whilst we were there only one of the 5 other properties in this block was occupied so it wasn't an issue anyway. The pool is fantastic and maintained to an exceptionally high standard. I couldn't get my kids out of it and such a bonus that you can sit in the garden or on the patio and be able to see what they're up to. The upstairs bedroom provided fantastic sunset views over the mountains every day - a very important factor for my husband who loves to have a view wherever we go.

The local area provides many opportunities for eating, shopping, sightseeing, etc and the local beach which stretches for miles and miles is brilliant. I can't imagine this beach every feeling crowded and parking is very easy. One of the beachside taverna's (which is recommended in the property information file) caters well for children in that it has a grassed play area with a trampoline, a mini swimming pool, swings etc which are all free of charge.

Local Kournas lake is well worth a visit as is Kournas village, especially the ceramics shop for your souvenirs and eating at the roadside Kali Kardia Taverna. I had the best meal of my holiday here and having the smoked pork as recommended in the Lonely Planet book didn't dissapoint! I would also recommend visits to Chania, Rethymnon and the local village of Argroupoli (upper and lower villages) with it's freshwater springs. Our other favourite place to eat was Valentino's in Georgioupolis. They were always busy, great food every time and they catered well for children.

I would consider having a car essential for a stay at Villa Equus.

The only way this property could have been better in my opinion is if it had a washing machine. Having said that though the other benefits outway this and when i stay again (and i will!) and will use the launderette in Georgioupolis.

This was my first visit to Crete and i loved it!