Review of Villa Nafsika
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100 reviews
30 hotel reviews
212 helpful votes
Villa Nafsika (known as Villa Litsarda if you book through thehotel.gr)) is one of the best villas we've rented in our many visits to Crete over the last 23 years. Its position, in hills above Almerida with no close neighbours except sheep, suited us well as we come here for peace & quiet after a busy season at home. The bells the sheep wear became the pleasant background sound to our stay.
The villa is very well equipped and everything, including the free WiFi, functioned perfectly. The eco design is interesting and the decor pleasant. Everywhere there is a feeling of spaciousness and having a large bathroom to each bedroom is useful.
The jewel in Villa Nafiska's crown for us was the beautiful garden and large swimming pool. The planting of lantana right next to the terrace is a bonus that we hadn't come across before; it attracted many sorts of butterflies, moths and bees right up to the terrace. Also good to see that the 3 Cretan palms in the garden are thriving and haven't fallen prey to beetles. Many of the shrubs and flowers attracted bees and butterflies and there was a constant happy buzz whenever the sun shone. The range of the Lefka Ori in the distance completes a wonderful picture. The gardeners/pool maintainers are to be congratulated. The garden has been beautifully planted and is well looked after. The pool is an absolute delight; large, deep and cool and one of the cleanest we’ve ever seen.
One thing we did notice is that at the time of year that we stayed – late September to early October - you do get more sun and warmth on the coast than in the hills above. For many days during our visit the clouds over the mountains spread low enough to exclude sun from the villa and garden, whereas we could see from our balcony that the coastline was in full sun. I don’t think this would be a problem at all during the summer months in fact the slightly lower temperature that comes with the higher altitude would be welcome.
A small thing to point out is that no pools towels are provided, so do bring your own.
Although we were just a couple staying at the villa, there is certainly plenty of room for 8 people as the proportions of both internal and external spaces are generous.
There are plenty of good beaches within a 15-minute drive. Almyrida and Georgeopoulis are probably the best known but our favourite was a long quiet stretch of sand west of Kalives. Turn down the little road to the sea opposite INKA supermarket, then left when you reach the beach. There are a couple of places to have coffee and eat but mostly it’s just sand, sea and views to Acrotiiri.
We had a lovely time at Villa Nafsika and hope to return one day.
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28 reviews
4 hotel reviews
8 helpful votes
How lovely and peaceful, no neighbour's for some distance yet right within walking distance of the village of Litsardi. Villa superb with two downstairs bedrooms which is hard to come by. WiFi only worked when taking the device outside. We loved watching the birds swoop down to the pool for the occasional drink. The gardens are very pretty.
I found wheelchair access good in and around the villa as there were no steps however the crazy paving was uneven in places so my wheels got caught every now and again. The bathrooms are a reasonable size and can accommodate a wheelchair. Shower over bath arrangement with large, high sinks with cupboards under. There was a sink in the upstairs bathroom that you can get sit under which would have been more suited to the ground floor bathroom, however I managed.
The large pool was great for swimming and I made use of the small pool as as a therapy area. Great for toddlers too!
All in all, this villa is superb and I managed to get around fine in a small wheelchair and would like to come back.
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3 reviews
2 helpful votes
We spent an enjoyable 9 Nights at Villa Nafsika in the beautiful region of Western Crete.The Villa is conveniently situated close to all of the local villages of Georgioupoli ,Kalives and Almirda. Our favourite local beach was just 15 minutes away. Each morning we enjoyed having breakfast outside on the terrace admiring the lovely countryside. The Pool was beautiful and is a good size for swimming. It is very private and set in lovely gardens. We would recommend the Restaurants in Georgioupoli on the water front that serve good traditional Greek food with a lovely variety of choice and good service. Authentic Crete were very helpful prior to booking the holiday and we found Sandra the local contact in Crete very useful giving advice about the surrounding area and always to hand if we needed her assistance. We had a wonderful holiday and would certainly return.
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| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
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| Older travelers |
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17 reviews
14 hotel reviews
5 helpful votes
Beautiful garden and pool, and the villa has excellent accommodation. The area is very unspoiled with good access to Chania - very interesting old town - and the beaches at Almyrida and Georgopolis. We were a large family party from babies to grandparents, and it was ideal, our two year old adored the paddling pool.
We had difficulties with the airconditioning which only seemed to work occasionally, and in July the bedrooms got terribly hot when it wasn't on.
Overall, a great holiday, and a perfect villa for the spring and autumn.
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| Friends getaway | Families with young children |
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1 review We had a fantastic time at Villa Nafsika. The mountain views are simply breathtaking. We travelled with 2 young children and 2 Grandparents and the layout and size of the bedrooms all with en suite and spacious downstairs area meant that we had plenty of space for everyone. Everything lived up to our expectations. There were just a couple of snags but nothing major but worth noting. The sliding doors in the living area were impossible to lock properly (not ideal!) and there was no wifi even though it said on the website that there would be plus the aircon didn't seem to work whilst we were there. It wasn't too hot but if it had been August it would have been pretty uncomfortable. Overall though, these snags didn't affect our overall enjoyment and we would definitely go back again and recommend it to others. A really special place in a very unique location and we would also recommend the pizza restaurant in the village! Oh and the beds are very comfortable!
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
| Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
| Service |
| Friends getaway | Older travelers |
| Families with young children | Large groups |
- Was the property as advertised?
- Would you recommend the location of this property?
- Was it a good value for the price paid?
Thank you for your comments! The sliding doors just needed an adjustment and they are fine now, I wish this was mentioned dutring your stay of one week, so we would have sent the maintenance!
Air conditioning in villa Nafsika, is undrfloor cooling, and each room/area has its own temperature control, so guests can adjust to their required indoors temperature. It is adjusted notto operate if the interior temperature is 18C or lower, as one would only need to cool the villa if the interior temperature is above 18C. I can assure you that it works perfectly in the whole year, as well as in July and August, as we have repeat guests (they have already booked some weeks for 2015!).
The internet: there were promises that there would be a telephone line in the villa area, but this has not yet happened unfortunately. The Vodafone shop in Kalives, sell sim cards for internet (for Ipad, or smart phones) and the cost is 1 euro per day for this, as our travel advisor mentioned during her visit. So until the telephone wiring is installed by our phone company, the mobile internet solution is offered.
Thank you once again for choosing Nafsika for your week in May!
With warm regards
Ariadne
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