Our stay at Villa Orangia, Conte Marino Villas, was first class. The villa and gardens/ pool are beautiful and practical. The space works, and the villa is beautifully airconditioned throughout so we slept well every night on lovely bedding/ pillows/ mattresses.
The location is great - there is a supermarket 2-3 minutes drive, Platanias is less than 10 min drive with a lovely beach and restaurants for lunch, and you can access the beautiful West and South coast beaches with a car. We had brilliant days at Elafonisi, Balos beach (via a private boat trip from Fallasarna) and Sfiniri, which is on the wild, rocky west coast but worth it for the fresh fish at Captain Fidaes's restaurant.
We also drove into Chania 6 or 7 times for dinner and we enjoyed it every time. Chania is a gorgeous, old, historical port with beautiful architecture and lots of fabulous restaurants. We ate outside and it was still warm at 11pm at night.
The Cretan style breakfast at the villa was a real treat - like staying in a hotel for the breakfast element, but having a private villa and pool the rest of the time. Wonderful fresh food, varied every day, with eggs, fresh fruit, freshly baked pastries, honey with thyme, mediterranean vegetables etc. All delicious! i am gluten and lactose free and alternatives for everything were provided.
Despina, the owner, could not have been more helpful. She took time to tell us of various things we could do to really discover Crete, and she was super helpful with all the covid requirements and printed forms needed. Nothing was too much trouble!
After a very tough year, this holiday was more needed than ever, and it delivered on every level. Great weather, beautiful accommodation, delicious food and beautiful beaches. We were sad to leave and would highly recommend it!