サモナス トラディショナル ヴィラズ

If you want to step away from the tourist areas and into the real rural life of Crete, then this is the place to stay. It’s rustic luxury in a tiny village high up above the main touristic areas and with views that leave you breathless. The accommodation is a stunning converted group of houses, turned into 5-6 beautiful villas with balconies and rooftop terraces that give amazing views across the mountains and towards the coast. The villas are Cretan farmhouse traditional, extremely comfortable with everything you need. Breakfast is set up in your private courtyard and is a luxurious feast, changing every day. The village is just a scattering of houses, surrounded by olive groves with lots of hens, goats and sheep and there is a small Taverna which serves the locals. Don’t expect a big menu, it is whatever is being cooked that day! With only a few villas, it is very quiet and peaceful, no traffic, no noise other than cicadas, clucking hens and owls at night. There is a lovely pool, fitness room and a little shop. The road up and down is a bit of an adventure, virtually no other traffic so easy to take slow. We stayed in the Purple villa which has a courtyard, a covered balcony off the bedroom and the highest roof terrace. Special mention to the wonderful host who has spent 20 years building and converting this fabulous place. Very welcoming, helpful and kind. Thank you for a memorable stay.

This is the perfect place for relaxation without any stress. Amazing host that makes you feel welcome and happily answers any question you might have. Me, my wife and daughter stayed in the purple house and we had a lot of space and quickly felt at home. I highly recommend trying the breakfast, the best we ever had. You will need a vehicle since the nearest minimarket and regularly open taverna is 12 minutes downhill by car. A lot of nice walks nearby with great views. This is not the place if you prefer a lot of different restaurants, nightlife, bars and shopping. But if you are like us, and prefer stillness and relaxation this is absolute paradise! The beach is only 20 minutes away by car.

The villa is a quaint medieval villa built originally in the 1800s . This is definitely NOT a place to stay if you do not have a car or other mode of transport. We arrived at 9.30pm and there was no one to meet us. Finally we were able to contact the owner and he told us which villa we were allocated . The fridge and Power points were not working in the kitchen. The switch had tripped in the electrical switchboard, which we finally located. There are no shops . We were isolated in the mountains. After reading the Information booklet, we learnt that there is a mini mart on site where we could get some ingredients to snack, as we had not eaten. Next day, we learnt that there is a tavern run by an elderly lady that does not speak English. We stayed for 5 days and the last two days, there was no hot water to our villa , so we could not shower. The owner , Kon could not fix this! On a positive note, the owner Kon was very pleasant and the villa was very clean. The breakfast was delicious but not suitable if you had a special dietary requirements