"Stunning restored Village house, with Pool & Sea Views" 200 year old village house, now a cool and mellow holiday Villa bursting with original features, along with beautiful pool and glorious gardens. Villa Vigla, Samonas, Crete The restoration of this delightful village house has successfully metamorphosed a 200 year old village house into a cool and mellow holiday Villa bursting with original features whilst more than adequately meeting the needs of today's holidaymaker. The owners, Stamatis & Despina, have meticulously preserved many original features whilst giving them a fresh contemporary twist. Thus thick stone walls are left unadorned; original decorative floor tiles see a second life as wall tiles in the kitchen; heavy beamed ceilings are painted white, basking the space below in light, whilst modern understated classic furnishings and fittings reinforce the Villa's status in the present day and proffer up to date comfort. Location The village itself, a peaceful backwater on the beautiful lower slopes of the White Mountains, attracts the occasional tourist to its taverna serving traditional home cooking and to those, ‘in the know’, who come to admire the stunning Byzantine Church of Agia Nikolaos nestling at the bottom of a neighbouring valley. Kept locked, it's Roussa and Kosta, Despina's parents who are the key holders and will be very happy to take guests at Villa Vigla on a guided tour of its beautiful 13th century frescoes. The Church’s location and artwork is widely considered to be amongst the most beautiful on the island. From this rural idyll it is a mere 15 mins drive to the sandy beaches of Kalives via the slightly larger neighbouring village of Stylos which offers more by way of shopping and tavernas and if you take your water bottles you can fill them up at the source of the bottled water of the same name - for gratis. Outside Villa Vigla Swimming Pool - 6.5m x 3.4m free form pool, depth 0.6m - 1.4m. Roman step entry, gated pool area. Poolside Sun Terrace - Sun beds and parasols, table and chairs with sea view. BBQ - Self standing BBQ in the garden Covered Dining terrace - Table with bench seating and chairs. Garden - Olive and citrus trees First floor, sea view, terrace - with table and chairs. Inside Villa Vigla Ground floor Kitchen area - Well equipped kitchen with ceramic hob and oven, fridge freezer, microwave and breakfast table and chairs. Double bedroom, ensuite shower room - 1 double bed, French doors to covered terrace, ensuite shower, wash basin, W.C. Stairs to small gallery with single bed. Air Con.unit Twin bedroom - 2 single beds, side view window, Air Con. unit Family bathroom - Bath with shower over, wash basin, W.C. Laundry - Washing machine First Floor Living room - Vaulted ceiling, L shaped sofa, flat screen TV, stairs to gallery with day bed. French doors to first floor (sea view) terrace. Parking - Beside the Villa Essential Information: Sleeps (Max) 4 Bedrooms 2 Shower Rooms 1 Maid Service Included Pool Private 7.1m x 3.8m A/C Included Floor Area m² 90 Booking Information: Check-In Any day (after 16:00) Check-Out Any day (before 10:00) Minimum stay 5 nights Local Facilities: Beach 4,5 km Tavernas 500m Mini Market 500m Distances: Chania Airport 37 km Heraklion Airport 132 km Villa Equipment: DVD CD Local TV Satellite TV Washing Machine Hair Dryer Toaster Kettle Sun Lounger WiFi Connection Safe BBQ Filter Coffee Machine Iron & Board Fridge Freezer Hob Cooking Utensils The villa and pool is for your private use only as well as the garden. Bed linen & towels are provided as well as pool towels. The cleaner will come in during your stay & change them, depending on how many days you are staying. All of this is included in the price. We, at Freelance Holidays, manage the properties on behalf of the owners. We will provide you the details of our 24/7 contact person, Diane, who lives on Crete and is there to ensure everything goes smoothly, before & during your stay with us. She will send you a message just before your holiday starts so you will have her details. Should you need anything during your stay, please contact her as she has had nearly 30 years of experience in the hospitality field & knows Crete very well. We provide very good directions which you need to download from the Airbnb Itinerary once you have booked. On these directions it explains where the keys will be & step by step on how to get to the accommodation. Once you arrive, you just let yourself in & start to enjoy your holiday. Freelance Holidays provides a Property Manual inside the accommodation which tells you all about the important things ie. wifi codes, hot water systems, where to take your rubbish & how things generally work in the villa. Plus, there is a very good Freelance Holidays information booklet about Crete in the accommodation for you to use throughout your stay It it you will find further details about places to go, beach maps plus a taverna guide. You may meet the owners when they come to change the linen with the cleaner or when they look after the pool. They are a lovely couple & you will probably get the feel of Cretan hospitality after meeting them. They are there to ensure that you are enjoying yourselves too. Samonas & Stylos There is undoubtedly something special about this village and its locals, living simply off the land high above the bustling coast that re-balances the spirit and may be the most valuable souvenir you’ll return with when you re-join the faster paced world. Samonas is a place almost forgotten by time, where the villagers still tend their own vegetable patches, olive grove or vineyards and keep their own herd of goats. They still find the time to continue in ‘the old ways’, making their own bread, soft mizithra cheese and Glyka tou koutalou – fruit preserved in thick syrup eaten with a dollop of home-made yogurt in the afternoon from a small plate with a tiny long handled spoon, washed down by a small glass of fiery local raki. (The equivalent in Crete of a 'Cream tea’ perhaps?) Just a couple of kilometers inland, and the reason for most tourists visiting the village (apart from the Taverna), the Byzantine Church of Agios Nikolaos sits in a beautiful location at the bottom of a deep wooded valley. Inside are precious frescoes dating back to the 13th Century. You need to collect the key from Roussa or Kosta who live in Samonas and happen to be the parents of the owners of Villa Vigla. You won’t need to go far to find either one of them; the village is only small, so it’s just a matter of asking anyone you see and they’ll whistle or call out for them, everyone will understand what you want. Locking doors isn’t normally considered necessary round these parts, unless your house, like the church, contains quantities of precious frescoes and gold. Just below the taverna is the local school, abandoned in 1976 and whose door has remained unlocked ever since. To this day the chairs still stand neatly behind the desks, the chalk sits by the blackboard (no graffiti), the register is still on the desk, undefiled, a graphic illustration of the enviable lifestyle of the villagers There is just one taverna in the village, run by Katina with the occasional help of her sons. After she has welcomed you, seen you settled at your table with a jug of chilled spring water and a basket of her home-made bread she’ll tell you what she has available and what she has baked fresh (besides her bread). Then just sit back and enjoy the spectacular views of the White Mountains all the way down to the sea and understand why it’s called ‘The Eagles Nest’ Just below Samonas and down the winding hillside 5 kms, Stylos village is where the famous Samaria brand water is bottled from nearby springs. Take your own bottles and you can fill them up at the spring too. There are a few more cafeneon/tavernas in the village and a couple of minimarkets where you’ll be shopping with the locals all exchanging the latest gossip. To the west of Stylos is the start of the Diktynna Gorge. Just 10 mins drive further, Kalives has a lovely sandy beach, seeming almost cosmopolitan in contrast, with lots more tavernas and shops. And here on the coastline, it’s all a little busier…. and it’s back to reality. Chania Airport 37 km Heraklion Airport 132 km Housekeeping Your Villa will be prepared for you on arrival with fresh bath and hand towels and all beds made up. For stays of 7 nights or more - house towels will be changed every 3 - 4 days. For stays of 14 nights or more - bed linen will be changed every 7 days. Pool/beach towels - one per person for the duration of your stay. If you need a baby cot or high chair, please request when booking so we can have it in the villa for you ready. Note that this is a professionally run rental villa which as been licensed by the Greek National Tourist Organization, EOT, which is required by the Greek law. This license allows the property owners to legally rent their accommodation to holiday makers, so that they comply to a set of standards and specific conditions for the safety & comfort of it's paying customers .