We just came back from a two week stay in wonderful Villa Ariadni on the west coast of Crete, and what can I say - we already miss it.
If you want to “get away from it all” Villa Ariadni is the place. Do not let the current political discussion worry you – we haven’t experienced any problems, everything works, the people are very friendly, the sea and the sky are still blue - in short: Greece is still there.
After landing in Heraklion and a 3,5 h drive along the coast we arrived in Keramoti where we were greeted by Niko, the friendly manager. (Suggestion: Have his phone number ready) He showed us the property, explained everything and then we were treated to a traditional Cretan dinner delivered by a taverna nearby. A bottle of white wine was already in the fridge; we also found some groceries for our first breakfast (coffee, butter, eggs, bread, juice, marmalade, ham, cheese and olive oil)
Everything was just as described, only better. The house and the grounds are relatively new, spacious well maintained and very clean. All the necessary appliances including WiFi are there and up to date. There is a 16 m pool (finally one where you can swim) great view and its quiet. One doesn’t see or hear the neighbours, no disco in the vicinity, very little traffic on a road sufficiently far away – it’s just the wind and the cicadas.
If there is something missing, Niko will organize it for the next day. Just give him the shopping list - it saves you a 50-minute-drive to Kissamos. He even managed to get fresh fish for our grill from the daily catch of the local fisherman.
Activities:
We drove around the west coast a lot and hit some of the major beaches for a swim in the sea.
If you want sand, then Elafonsi beach and Falasarna beach are the places. Elafonisi is quite popular, there are regular bus shuttles. We prefered the pebble beach of Sfinari - not as crowded, no sand in the wind and two nice fish restaurants directly on the coast.
The coastline close to Villa Keramoti is mostly rock and pebbles, but there are some nice spots; for example at the little harbor down the road. You can even reach it on foot (great hiking in the vicinity) – bring swimming shoes.
The “house” restaurant of Villa Ariadni is the Taverna “Gialitis”. The owner, Yannis, maintains a delivery service. So, if you don’t want to cook but prefer to eat on your “own” terrace - moussaka and everything els