Villa Damythsi
Crete
Perfect holiday ​ "Great villa with fantastic views A very well equipped villa you will need a car. We spent 2 weeks in June and it was perfect. A great place to stay soooo peaceful and a very beautiful part of the island. Lovely pool which We used daily some very good restaurants in the area we just had a great time. We would definitely return."
And relax....
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"Normally going on holiday it can take a couple of days to unwind. Not at Villa Damythsi...step inside and leave your stresses outside the front door. The only downside (if there was one) was arriving at night so we had to wait until the morning for THAT view. Some people may find the drive to the villa daunting- to us just another holiday adventure especially when the local village cats formed a guard of honour one day. Kevin & Janice have thought of everything. The pick & mix ice cream at the local supermarket are a must!"
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"Our 1st holiday in 3 years as a family with our registered disabled child. We couldn’t rate this highly enough. Kevin's help and assistance were second to none. The villa and its facilities were amazing and the downstairs bedroom and large bathroom perfect for those with disabilities along with same level pool with lovely outlooks onto the mountains. Close to pharmacies shops and restaurants and everything a young family could want. Have to have car hire as it is rural but we would love to go again one day. Thank you so so much for a much needed bit of R&R xxx"
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Great place, great villa, great holiday!
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"The view from the villa was to die for, the pool kept the children happy and the beach at nearby Almyrida is very safe. The villa and its amenities made it feel just like home."
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"Just back from 2 weeks at this wonderful villa. Great location, unbelievable views from the villa across to the White mountains and Souda Bay. Lovely local tavernas in Plaka village and nearby Almyrida. Fantastic base to explore this wonderful island. I would recommend the villa highly."
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"We had a lovely stay in this Villa. The views are absolutely amazing from sunrise to sunset and even when it's dark watching all the lights from surrounding villages was lovely. Very clean on arrival. Kevin was very good at communicating with us and provided excellent instructions on how to find it. Tavernas in the area very good and reasonably priced. Easy to walk to but a long climb back up. There are some lovely walks in the area to experience the local countryside. A lovely relaxing break."
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A wonderful villa in a beautiful scenery
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"The villa is situated in Kampia, close to Plaka. All you need for a great stay is available. A nice pool, wich is cleaned during the week. And a fireplace to BBQ some gamba’s or souflaki. Close by you find some restaurants in Plaka (20min walk or 3 min by car) and make sure to visit To Yaladiko at 1,2km for a great dinner at this cosy family restaurant. Above all, enjoy the tranquil surroundings and great views on the mountains and the bay. All you Will hear are the birds and sheep."
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"We've just returned from a fantastic week staying at Villa Damythsi which is situated overlooking the mountains with a breathtaking view, the sunset was simply beautiful. The villa is well equipped with everything you need and perfect for a relaxing and peaceful family holiday. We used taxis to get into the nearest villages but to make the most of the holiday and be able to explore more, we'd definitely hire a car next time and would recommend this. The nearest villages and tavernas are very authentically Cretan which is exactly what we'd hoped. From our first inquiry, Kevin has been absolutely brilliant, always responding to any questions we had quickly and most helpfully, nothing was too much trouble and we can't thank him enough for his care and friendly ways, even helping sort out a surprise meal and birthday cake, a genuinely nice man. 5 stars for our stay at lovely Villa Damythsi."
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Fabulous peaceful villa with splendid views
"We had a fabulous holiday at Villa Damythsi in July. The owner, Kevin, is exceedingly helpful and quick to answer questions (even when he’s trying to have a holiday himself – sorry Kev!!). Really easy to book and pay and the information provided prior to our arrival was great, including the really useful directions with pictures on how to get to the villa. We hired a car from the local car rental company in Almyrida, it was a small Hyundai i30 which managed the bumpy road/track down to the villa with no problems. Just be careful going through the tiny local village nearby as it is a single-track road between the houses and there is a man who has 12 cats and they all like to lie on the road – the cats that is, not the man!
The driveway of the villa is quite steep but my husband managed to reverse down the drive easily enough and park in front of the garage doors. If you prefer you can park at the top of the drive though as there is a flat area.
The villa is lovely and clean, light, airy and spacious. There are 3 good sized bedrooms - a twin bedded room downstairs with large French doors leading out to the rear; the other 2 bedrooms, which are doubles, are upstairs, both of which have sliding patio doors that lead out to the upstairs terrace which faces West so you can get excellent views of the beautiful sunsets every evening. The upstairs ‘red’ bedroom also has the added benefit of another set of patio doors which lead out to a huge upstairs terrace which is lovely. All 3 bedrooms are spotlessly clean and have large wardrobes with built-in drawers, plenty of coat hangers, plus there are bedside drawers so plenty of storage.
There are 2 good-sized shower/wet rooms with toilets and hand basins (1 up and 1 down) which is great if you have teenage daughters. The towels which Kev provides are good quality, each person getting a hand towel and a bath towel. The towels and sheets are replaced weekly.
The kitchen is quite large compared to some of the villas we’ve stayed in previously and really well equipped. There is a fridge freezer, the freezer section’s not massive but it was plenty big enough for what we needed for our 2-week stay and we only ate out a couple of times. The cooker, hob and microwave were lovely and clean and there were plenty of utensils, cups, glasses, crockery, cutlery etc all of which again were spotless. The only tiny downside (for my husband and daughter that is, haha) is that there isn’t a dishwasher, Kev does provide a drawer full of tea towels though lol !!
There’s a fairly good-sized tv, we didn’t bother watching any of the satellite channels but did watch a couple of the DVDs which are provided. The villa has free WIFI, it’s not the fastest (compared to the average UK connection) but perfectly ok for our needs - my husband worked most days and had no problems connecting through to his office. By the way there is aircon throughout, we didn’t use it at all during the day as we opened all the doors - the through breeze was heavenly.
There is a small table with 4 chairs between the kitchen and the lounge area which is great but there is also a large dining table with 6 more chairs outside on the downstairs terrace. The views when dining outside at sunset are spectacular as the sun sets right in front of you, it was breath-taking.
The pool is brilliant; it’s not huge but was just perfect for us, we still managed to have races on Wilma the inflatable killer whale and a pink lilo (mmm does that make us sound chavvy lol??). It has built-in seating in the shallow end and also a pre-formed sunbed. Thankfully there’s no hot metal ladder to access the pool, just use the preformed steps down into the water. I’m only 5’5” and could kneel down in the shallow end and could almost touch the bottom on my tiptoes at the deep end. The pool is unheated but you wouldn’t know it – the average temperature in the shade when we stayed was about 32c and as the pool is in full sunshine from 8am until sunset the pool water was a lovely temperature, it wasn’t quite “as warm as bathwater” but not “you’ll get used to it in a minute”! The pool also has a “jacuzzi style” jet system which is great, it keeps the water moving and as the jets are in the shallow end where the seating area is, it’s lovely and relaxing sitting in the pool reading a kindle when the jets are on. There are 4 wicker-style poolside beds and 2 large umbrellas.
Villa Damythsi is set in quite a remote rural area so you don’t have many other villas to spoil the view, there is a villa immediately next door but other than talking to the lovely couple who live there when we got out of the car, we never heard a peep from them. It was lovely and tranquil, the only noises being the cicadas and the sheep’s bells. You can see for miles, you get magnificent views of the White Mountains and the surprisingly green lush landscape in between, plus there is a bit of a sea view.
We had such a lovely time at Villa Damythsi that we really didn’t venture out much. We ate out at Takis in Plaka a couple of times, I can highly recommend this restaurant, the food was scrumptious and their draught beer comes in glasses shaped like Santa boots! Plaka is only small but it has a couple of little supermarkets, shops, bakeries etc. We also went down into Almyrida which is bigger, it’s on the seafront and has more shops and restaurants and is only a 5-10 mins drive away. It also has an amazing ice cream parlour.
If you’re meat-eaters, then I would recommend a trip up to Vamos when you arrive to see Jon the English Butcher. He and his wife Sheila have a shop which is just as you drive into Vamos, it’s really easy to find. He sells an amazing range of meats and makes his own sausages. Their bacon is just like it used to be when I was little.
Anyway, I hope I’ve not bored you to death with my review. I can’t recommend Villa Damythsi highly enough. We had a wonderful time and will certainly be booking again."
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"What a great villa, quiet and remote with stunning views of the mountains and the sea in the distance. The villa was lovely and clean and had everything you needed. Great pool and sun terrace. Thank kev for letting us use your villa. Hope to come back in the near future."
Mark & Michelle
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Lovely Villa with Amazing Views
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"We spent a week at The Damythsi Villa the week before Easter. We had a lovely time at Kevin’s Villa, it was so relaxing. The views of the white mountains and sea were amazing. We are glad we hired a 4 x 4 vehicle as the road to the villa was uneven. Although we didn’t do any cooking at the villa, all the facilities were available. The Villa itself was clean. It was a beautiful time to visit as all the spring flowers were out. We were very lucky with the weather, the sun was shining all week, although it was cool in the evenings. Chania is worth a visit around the Venetian Harbour and so too is Vamos which is a pretty place. Georgiopolis is a pretty town with a beach – the food at Mythos restaurant was lovely. We ate out most nights at Harokoos, Fortenay's restaurant in Plaka, she was very welcoming – her home cooked food was delicious. It would be lovely to visit again."
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"Villa Damithsi was a fantastic base for a relaxed memorable holiday. It was easy to book and Kevin Preston the owner was extremely helpful prior to going with useful information and excellent directions. The villa lived up to and beyond all our expectations ,it was spotlessly clean ,well equipped and maintained during our stay by a helpful English couple. We loved its location slightly off the beaten track with breathtaking mountain and sea views.There were resorts ,supermarkets ,and tavernas within in an easy 5- 10 minute drive,I would recommended hiring a car if you stay here. There is good parking both within the grounds and at the top of the drive . We went with extended family and found the villa ideal ,spacious, the 2 shower rooms with toilets a real bonus.The highlight of this villa for our group was the outside terrace and pool area with the view of mountains sea and Cretan villages tucked away in the hills.
Perfect Villa, beautiful views, beautiful area
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"We had a wonderful week in this villa in mid June. The photos do not show properly just how lovely the view is from the villa. The beautiful white mountains and the distant sea, wow.
I felt completely safe here - there are other villas nearby but not too close for privacy and the one right next door was empty ( I think it is mostly empty).There is good planting around the villa for privacy.
The welcome pack was very welcome as we arrived late. The villa is very comfortable with all the pots and pans you need, nice sunbeds, beautiful pool. The great thing is you don't need to go far for your evening meal. We didn't walk down to Plaka, the nearby village we drove,, it's a five minute drive to 4 or 5 nice restaurants and a couple of supermarkets. We also walked on the flat to a restaurant in the next village.
For the beach Kalives and Almrydia are 10 minutes away, the sunbeds are free in some places, sometimes the cost of a drink in the bar,the most we paid was 6 euros. Driving around here you will see the most beautiful little Greek villages. I would say that this are east of Chania is prettier than the area west of Chania where we went for our 2nd week.
We also took trips to Kournas lake where you can swim and Georgeopolis where there is a massive beach, but you really don't have to go far.
There are 2 double bedrooms upstairs and a twin downstairs and 2 nice bathrooms.We loved to sit on the upstairs balcony with our coffee in the morning listening to the goats nearby. The last bit of road to the villa is a bit bumpy as others have said but it is absolutely nothing to worry about. We had a Micra and it was fine, 35 minutes from the airport.
We have stayed in many many villas all over Europe and we rarely return to any for one reason or another but this is one that we intend to keep returning to .Kevin, the owner in the UK is genuinely concerned that his guests have a great holiday and nothing is too much trouble.He introduced my husband to some local british cyclists so he had some great bike rides and quite a few stops for coffee and cake! We are booking again for next year."
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The perfect hide away on Crete
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"We just spend a relaxing week at Villa Damythsi in Almyrida/ Kampia on the western part of the Greek island Crete. The villa provides everything a family or group of 4 to 6 persons can possibly wish for. We started our day with a breakfast in the morning sun on the roof terrace, only surrounded by the sound of birds and goats. In the evenings we enjoyed BBQ and the sunset over the beautiful views from the pool terrace. Chania (airport) and Rethymno are about 45 minutes by car and western Crete offers lots of beautiful beaches and natural areas you can visit when you choose not to spend a lazy day at the pool. Shops, banks etc. can be found in the nearby villages Almyrida and Kalyves"
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"We (2 adults and 2 young teenage children) stayed in this amazing villa during Easter holidays and had everything you need from a holiday - comfortable accommodation, great food nearby and excellent beaches. The owner Kevin and caretaker Chris make every effort to ensure everything is in order fr you. The villa has killer views, I have never stayed anywhere like it. The village of Plaka has at least 3 good restaurants, Takis probably being the best for our liking. Our favourite sandy beach was in Almyrida only 7 minutes drive away. Sand is very good, and it's great for kids because it starts quite shallow, but if you are Ian Thorpe or Rebecca Adlington then only about 70 metres away it becomes quite deep, we saw people swimming across the harbour. The beach in Kalyves is bigger but is stony in places and the sand is a bit coarser.
You definitely need a car to get about, we went to a lovely botanic garden about an hour drive away, ancient Aptera with remains of Roman theatre and glass-blowing works in Kokkino Horio. There are lots of activities in Vamos but it's strongly recommended to phone the tourist information office in advance and book - just turning up may not work if they don't have enough people in the group. Oh, and don't ask for pudding/dessert in restaurants - they always bring it to you anyway when you ask for the bill! :o)"
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