About this property
Magical mountain views await you when you vacation in Villa Kezia, snuggled in the countryside, near the south coast of Crete, in the Greek Aegean Sea. This modern villa has four double bedrooms, and can comfortably accommodate up to eight guests, perfect for a family or friends sharing a holiday. Set in its own fenced-in grounds, this two-storey, detached villa is built out of local stone, and classic Mediterranean whitewashed walls.
The property comes with plenty of parking space and complimentary air conditioning and Wi-Fi throughout. The garden is well maintained with manicured green lawns and a centrepiece private swimming pool. The interiors are light and airy, furnished with contemporary pieces, and decorated in a neutral palette of shades of beige and soft hues of blue. The Sitia Mountains provide a stunning backdrop and vista for the villa and are a hiker’s heaven for a holiday. Whilst for the beach bunnies, the nearest sandy shore is fewer than five kilometres away.
Enter the villa at the ground floor level to discover a bright and breezy, charming open-plan, holiday home from home. The seating area has floor-to-ceiling doors that lead onto the pool terrace, and is furnished with a large comfy duck egg blue sofa, and matching armchair, coffee and side tables, a smart flat-screen television, and an enclosed fire for those cooler months and evenings. There is an adjacent office area with a computer desk and chairs, great for booking any trip. The fully equipped kitchen has everything you will need to cater for your holiday, including a family-size fridge freezer, a built-in oven and hob, a dishwasher, and those must-have tea and coffee makers. An indoor dining set is ideal for some informal entertaining.
The open staircase takes you to the first floor, where there are four spacious bedrooms, one with a double bed, and three with twin beds. The bedrooms have furnished balconies, where you can absorb some rays, and enjoy the magnificent mountain views. There are three bathrooms, two have bathtubs, one has a walk-in shower, and one has a handy washing machine. One of the twin rooms has a small self-contained kitchenette, where you can make morning coffee and sit and watch the sunrise. The villa also benefits from a fabulous huge roof terrace, which is furnished with an L-shaped soft seating area and low tables, perfect for a meeting at sunset for a sundowner and catch-up.
The garden and pool terrace can be accessed from the floor-to-ceiling sliding doors of the living space. The swimming pool takes centre stage and is surrounded by comfortable cushioned sun loungers, lush green lawns, and a shaded seating area. A traditional barbeque is ideally situated to rustle up a poolside feast of local delicacies.
Villa Kezia can be found nestled in the countryside situated near the village of Plakias, on the south coast of the Greek island of Crete. The nearest international airport is at Heraklion is a scenic seventy-three kilometres away, and airport transfers can be arranged for you. Alternatively, you can fly into Sitia from Athens, or island hop and take a ferry. The villa is five kilometres from the village of Plakias, where you can find local shops for your holiday provisions, family-run cafes, bars and restaurants for some refreshments, and sandy beaches for sunbathing.
The immediate area is renowned for its ancient olive groves, and lush soils for growing fruit and veg. The backdrop Sitia Mountains are a hiker’s heaven, perfect for those who like to take long walks in nature and discover the local flora and fauna. Kotsifou Gorge is nearby, discover this high mountain range that runs along the south coast, trek the trails, and marvel at the wonderful waterfalls along the way. The famous Preveli beach is a five-minute drive away, and within a five-kilometre radius, you will find the sandy shores of Skinos, Foteinari, and Souda, all well worth a visit. Further afield is Votsalaki beach, set in a beautiful bay, with small pebbles, and crystal clear water, which takes on hues of blues, greens, and reds from the soil, and where you may even meet a naturist or two. Vai beach is set in a horseshoe bay, surrounded by a backdrop of Europe’s largest protected pine forest, and offering golden sands and calm seas. For the beach babies this area of Crete is pure paradise, take a romantic walk on the long sandy beach of Voulisma or Golden Beach, get active in the wind-sheltered Ammoudara Beach, famous for its water sports, or sit in a taverna sipping retsina on the thick sand of Pacheia Ammos, a protected bay with a small harbour.
The area is soaked in history, particularly Minoan and Dorian, in the fifteenth century the island was conquered by the Venetians, who built fortresses to keep the Ottoman pirates at bay, then finally gained independence in the nineteenth century and became part of Greece. Get active and explore the three hundred caves the island hides, hike over hillsides, streams, and rocky ravines to discover watermills and ruins, and stop off along the way at a local winery and taste the fruits of the many vineyards. Explore Psychro Cave, reputedly the birthplace of Zeus, and rock climb Mount Ida to find the Ideon Cave. Sitia Geopark is three hundred and fifty square kilometres of the island’s diverse ecosystem, where you can trek through gorges, bathe on beaches, walk the wetlands, become a bird-watcher, and be at one with nature. Keep fit with a hike across the Richtis Gorge, and stroll through streams to reach the twenty-metre waterfall, where you can cool off in the inviting pool. If you prefer the sea to dry land, all aboard a boat trip where you can scuba or snorkel underwater ruins, and strap on your jet skis or paraglide with one of the many water sports clubs.
Take a scenic drive through the Cretan countryside to find peace and solitude in the fifteenth-century Toplou Monastery, with its beautiful Byzantine icons. Go north to exclusive Elounda, shop in luxury designer boutiques and dine on local delicacies. Then take a boat across the sea to the intriguing island of Spinalonga, a former leper colony until as recently as the 1950s, once home to a Venetian fortress, and now an open-air museum. No visit to Crete is complete without a trip to Agios Nikolaos. Agios Nikolaos is a harbour town that uniquely houses a lake in its centre, it is home to the Archaeological Museum full of Minoan treasures, and full of tavernas, shops, bars, and restaurants in which to sit and sip an ouzo and watch the local life go by.
Accommodation
The Villa
Villa Kezia is a 4 bedroom villa sleeping up to 8 guests, with a private pool
Interior:
- Double bedroom
- 3x Twin bedrooms
- 3x Bathrooms
- Fully equipped kitchen
- Living room
Outdoors:
- Swimming pool
- BBQ
- Dining area
- Roof terrace
Additional Facilities
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Free toiletries
- Mountain views
- Babysitting at an additional charge
- Airport shuttle by arrangement