About Us
We are a small privately owned limited company registered in England and Wales. Our company registration number is 5207604.
The company was started in 2002 by the current managing director, Janet Stimson when she began renting her own house in Kokkino Chorio, near Chania. The company has grown gradually since then as other owners approached us to rent out their properties for them. We aim for very high standards and therefore we check out every villa we feature to make sure that we would be happy to stay there ourselves.
A personal message from our managing director:
Our ethos has always been to offer a high quality personal service and to provide you with a well equipped, well maintained holiday villa. We know all of the villas that we feature on this website and we are in regular contact with the owners, many of whom use their villa as their own holiday home. You can therefore expect a house or villa that is furnished and equipped to a much higher standard than you might expect in a “standard” rental property. You can normally expect to find a full cooker, fridge/freezer, washing machine, iron, ironing board and hairdryer in all of our properties. If we say that the villa is in the luxury category this may be due to its location, magnificent views and/or additional facilities offered eg dishwasher or entertainment features.
December 2011 - We have recently introduced full on-line booking with secure on-line payment facilities to help those clients who prefer to book and pay on-line. This does not change our attitude to providing a personal service for our clients who prefer to communicate with us directly, whether by email or telephone (0844 324 6393). You will find that we are still here!
Reasons to Book with Crete Escapes :-
Peace of Mind – In Greece it is illegal to rent out an apartment or villa to holidaymakers without first obtaining a licence (EOT) from the tourist authorities. All of the properties we feature are fully licensed or going through the process of obtaining the licence. The licence is important. Properties that are licensed will have been inspected and approved by the fire department and the health authorities. It is impossible to obtain a full EOT licence without first getting fire and health certificates. Many owners who rent their properties directly are not licensed. Renting unlicensed holiday accommodation from an unlicensed owner puts you at risk with health and safety issues and, because it is forbidden to rent holiday accommodation which is not licensed,they can be closed down at a moment's notice. Obtaining and maintaining the licence is costly which is why many owners do not want to "join the club". Our prices may be a little more expensive than renting direct with an owner but that is down to the very high standards we insist on. If you want to be sure of your villa in Greece you should always ask for the MHTE number. This is the licence number which we show on our web pages. The EOT symbol and a statement saying that the villa is approved by EOT is not enough.
We personally make sure that all the necessary arrangements are made for your arrival. Your booking is entirely safe with us. We are a fully insured, UK registered company working directly with our property owners. As a small company, our managing director is responsible for selecting the villas featured on the website. Most of our owners have been with us for years and you can be assured that your holiday villa will be booked for you and will be available for you on arrival.
Specialists
– we are specialists, only renting villas that we know in the area around Chania in North West Crete; you can talk to us about the specific property you want to book.Quality – we have high standards for our own property and ensure that these standards are reflected in all the houses and villas we feature
Inclusive Prices - prices on our web pages are inclusive and are free from hidden extras – the price includes all local taxes including VAT, use of the air conditioning, all linen except for beach and pool towels * , a welcome pack of at least basic items to get you started and end of let cleaning* .
* In some of our larger/luxury properties the owners have thoughtfully provided beach and pool towels and regular maid service is offered – full details are given with the villa description.
Emergency Help if you need it – even though you are “independent” and won’t be hassled by a holiday rep trying to sell you excursions, all owners have to provide details of an English speaking contact in case of emergencies. Most of the villas will contain our villa information folder which includes a comprehensive list of useful / emergency telephone numbers
Friendly, Informal but informed Service – we hope that you are able to find answers to your questions on this website but if you need more information please do ask, we will be pleased to help - e mail us at info@crete-escapes.com or call us on 0844 324 6393.