Villa Kournedes

Promotional Discounts currently apply to this villa, see latest villa offers here - https://www.crete-escapes.com/special-offers

General Description

Villa Kournedes makes for a perfect holiday, a superb villa with fantastic sea, mountain and forest views, away from the crowds yet with easy access to all the amenities that make Crete such a special place for a relaxing holiday.

This beautiful villa stands in its own, large, private plot with fantastic sea views across Souda Bay to the north, mountain and valley views to the west and forest views to the east and south. The plot is very privately situated, where you can be sure of not being overlooked, set inside a designated area of natural beauty with lush cypress and pine trees. The villa is double gated for privacy; one secure gate with coded access to the plot and the second for access to the garden and villa itself. Unusually, despite its privacy, it has private access through to the road which leads to local villages only a short distance away. Turning left from the villa is the Byzantine village of Gavalochori  (10 minutes’ walk away) where there is a good selection of grocery shops, tavernas and kafenion as well as a museum.  To the right (also about 10 mins walk) is Xirosterni, a Cretan small hamlet with a well-equipped mini market and a Kafenion that serves traditional fresh BBQ all night as well as salads and drinks in relaxed Cretan style. A walk back at night is recommended because the stars in the sky are simply breathtaking.

The owners have improved the villa each year adding extra facilities. For the 2024 season all the bedrooms will be re-configured benefitting from comfortable pocket sprung mattresses and the kitchen will have a new full cooker/oven/grill and induction hob. 

The villa is comfortably furnished so you can be totally relaxed in the villa or in the well established garden and around the large private pool confident that you will only be disturbed by the sound of distant goat bells. The owners have taken steps to protect your stay against disruption from any local building works by also owning the land immediately adjacent to the villa (see the map ). This is an area where local fauna has flourished and occasionally you may see sheep grazing there. Together with the designated status of the surrounding areas you can be assured of beautiful and unrestricted views.

Ground Floor

The open plan ground floor is fitted with an immaculate luxury kitchen (see amenities list) at one end with large glass doors opening up to the BBQ terrace and fabulous views of the mountains. Large double size glass doors at the far end of the lounge /diner open up to the pool terrace with sea views. The kitchen is linked to the lounge/diner by an entrance hall with the stairs to the first floor leading off. There is a ground floor cloakroom equipped with a wc, wash basin and washing machine. The lounge/diner is very spacious with a wood burning stove and a good sized marble topped dining table and 6 chairs. The villa benefits from an integrated TV with Bluetooth connectivity. This provides free to air satellite channels (not SKY sports) as well as many Greek channels often broadcasting films in English. The media system can also play music directly from Bluetooth enabled smartphones and tablets without the need for a wired connection. In addition to a large range of pre provided DVD's, you may wish to take advantage of the ability to play your own selection of videos which you can download and bring with you on your own smartphone or tablet. The TV has built in wifi and can connect to tablets wirelessly to mirror the screen and sound which you can then experience on the large screen. The owners have encouraged guests to share / swap books from the small library which caters for young and old alike.

The sofa converts to make a sofa bed suitable for one person at the rate of £10 gbp per person, per night. There is also the option of a child using a Z bed which is available on request only, also charged at the rate of £10 gbp per person, per night.

First Floor

All of the 3, en-suite bedrooms are on the first floor and each has superb views of the mountains or the sea. The two bedrooms at the front of the villa have views right across Souda Bay; views that can even be enjoyed without getting out of bed. Both of these rooms have sliding glass doors on to a spacious, furnished balcony that enjoys the same views as the bedrooms. There is one twin bedded room with single beds that can be locked together to form one super king size bed or separated as required - please let us know your preference on booking. All rooms have wardrobe and drawer storage space and 100% cotton bed linen. Plump micro-fibre, anti-allergy pillows and pocket sprung mattresses are supplied on all the beds for your comfort. 

Roof Terrace and External Areas

The roof top terrace is a favourite spot which the owners enjoy using when at the villa. A secluded place for private and personal sun bathing with fantastic 360 degree views and, with the added height, a wonderful perspective of freedom and "getting away from it all". A lovely vantage point to watch the stars and the twinkling lights of the Akrotiri peninsula across the bay. Guests particularly like this area for their yoga practice and night time drinks soaking in the atmosphere and sparkling distant lights.

There is plenty of space for everybody to spread out in comfort, be that on one of the numerous terraces or balconies around the villa which extend to some 100m2, or around the pool. There are 2 outdoor tables with 12 dining chairs for dining al fresco, 12 sun loungers and 6 comfortable chairs for reading or lounging. The BBQ area with table and dining chairs is conveniently situated on the terrace leading directly off the kitchen. 2 covered pergolas are situated at the front of the villa near the pool area and to the side of the villa providing plenty of shade on those hot, sunny days. 

The large mature garden (10 year plus) extends around the house on three sides, with a large gravelled car parking area on the fourth. The owners are happy for guests to use fresh herbs from the kitchen garden for their cooking.

The villa has been completed and furnished in a very modern relaxed style making it very easy to unwind and leave your stresses behind.

Internet Access

The villa has free unlimited internet at a download speed up to 2Mbps provided over secure wifi which can be accessed from most laptops, PDAs and other wifi enabled devices. Details on how to use the system are contained in the owner's manual at the villa. A fair use policy applies to safeguard against inappropriate content and its distribution as well as unusually high data volumes.

The owners have their own website and a video of the villa and surroundings that you may like to view – www.kournedes.com and  https://photos.app.goo.gl/yLEifUJxN3CyLrau9  

More Information

Use the different tabs to view the villa's features and amenities, actual location and distances to the nearest beach, shop and taverna. The prices tab contains details of the weekly rate together with discount information and additional charges where applicable. You can check "LIVE" up to date, availability using the availability tab which will also confirm the price for your selected dates ***. If you want to book you can then follow the online prompts. Also see https://www.crete-escapes.com/booking

*** In some cases relating to the low occupancy discount, the price may need adjusting by us. Please see the note on this page for more details https://www.crete-escapes.com/about-our-discounts

Holiday Rental Licence

Villa Kournedes is licensed for holiday rentals with the Greek Tourist Authorities (EOT). Licence number 1042K91002955101.

 

 

General

Chania airport­ - 45 mins drive. Heraklion airport  - 1 hr 44 mins drive.

Nearest Beaches -­ Almyrida - 7 mins drive, Kalives - 17 min drive or Georgioupolis - 23 min drive.

Nearest Tavernas and Shops - Xirosterni - 15 min walk / 3 min drive or Gavalochori - 20 mins walk / 4 min drive.

NB; all times are approximate and based on average driving and walking speeds. Some walking and/or driving may be on unlit and unmade track roads. Please refer to the map tab to view satellite images of the area.

Booking Information

Change-over days are totally flexible but are subject to existing bookings taken either side. If a booking means that the owner would be left with too many "void" days we might not be able to accept it. If this is the case we will contact you without delay to discuss alternatives.

Payment can be made by bank transfer to our sterling account or by debit or credit card (Mastercard or Visa) only.

Our travel information provides details of how to get to Crete including flights to both Chania and Heraklion airports.

If you want to book, please use the availability chart above to check your dates, you can then either book on-line, email or call us on 0330 111 0061.

Please note: although the calendars show live availability and you can book on-line, please note that your booking is not confirmed until we have issued a confirmation of booking. You may prefer not to book your flights until we have confirmed the booking.

Low Occupancy Discounts - unfortunately the online booking system automatically calculates the single couple or small party discount based on the number of people entered onto the booking form and the start day of your rental. There are 2 problems with this:-

a) If you are 2 people but not a single couple, or 3 or 4 people but not 2 + 1 or 2 + 2, the system will have automatically calculated a discount when it is not due. Please make use of the "additional notes" box on the booking form to tell us and we will adjust the price accordingly before we confirm your booking.

b) If your rental overlaps from a discounted period to a non-discounted one (or vice versa), the discount calculated will be wrong. In these cases we have to make the adjustment manually. You can still book on-line but we will need to change the price on receipt of your booking request. If the price increases we will contact you to confirm the new price before we confirm your booking and take your deposit.

Please don't let either of these issues put you off making a booking. The discounts are genuine and our villa owners welcome couples and smaller parties out of high season. We just can't fine tune the booking system to account for these 2 circumstances - sorry.

 

 

 

Fabulous villa, pool and gardens. Our first visit but probably not our last. Weather good mostly apart from a couple of dull, wet days. Visited lots of the local areas including the House of Stone Creations which is quite near and amazing - September 2023. 

What a beautiful peaceful villa! First few days a little cloudy but we were able to pretend to enjoy the sunshine!! Love Gavalochori, Monica's taverna - September 2023. 

What a fantastic villa, location, views, pool, just everything! Not too far from whatever you need and the perfect place to relax - August 2023. 

We have had an amazing time at this villa. Particularly enjoyed the outdoor sofa and the amazing selection of DVD's. We enjoyed swimming in the wonderful pool and cooking in the amazing kitchen. Everything we could have wanted, thank you - August 2023.  

We have really enjoyed our week at this fantastic villa - one of the best we have ever stayed at. We foolishly attempted the walk to Gavalochori but 'cardiac hill' was more challenging than we were expecting in 35c heat. Can highly recommend Monica's taverna and the local museum. A great week in beautiful Crete - July 2023. 

We have all had a lovely and very comfortable week. Needed to be longer!! We have stayed in many villas both here and Spain and this is top notch! Thanks for the villa - July 2023. 

Another fantastic stay. The villa is beautifully maintained and the gardens are wonderful. We'll be back - June 2023. 

A beautiful villa and a lovely break. Thank you so much for allowing us to holiday in your peaceful home - June 2023. 

Our third visit and as lovely and relaxing as the first. We enjoyed plenty of pool time and lazy days on the patio. We recommend the pizzeria in Litsarda and Mia ice creams in Almyrida - May 2023.   </