We have just returned from two weeks in the fantastic Villa Bourganvillea in Elounda, Crete.
The villa is spotlessly clean, tastefully furnished and very well equipped.
Sharron (the owner) was brilliant throughout the booking process and very responsive to our questions. The villa is about 45 minutes from Heraklion airport and Sharron arranged for a private taxi transfer to pick us up so that we could sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery. We were met at the villa by the housekeeper who explained how a few things worked and also dropped off a few provisions that we had requested (via Sharron) to get us through the first day or two.
The villa is located on top of a hill with stunning views over the bay. There are plenty of places to sit and enjoy the views from the pool terrace, including sun loungers, an outdoor dining table, a rattan suite and there are further chairs on the two balconies that are accessed from the bedrooms (for even more spectacular views over the bay). All of the furniture in the villa (both indoors and outdoors) is modern, clean and stylish and we enjoyed sitting in different locations at different times.
The pool, whilst not huge, is big enough to splash about or cool off in but the views more than make up for it anyway.
The hill up to the villa is fairly steep and a little narrow towards the top but we walked up and down it most days (mainly to walk off some of the huge dinners we ate!). If you are hiring a car, you will want to make sure it is not too big but otherwise, it’s perfectly accessible.
Elounda itself is a charming place, absolutely full of restaurants, tavernas, cafes and bars. There are a number of shops too, selling everything from the usual tourist stuff to some quite interesting boutiques, jewellery shops and local produce. There are also a few supermarkets which are really stocked (with lots of familiar brands if you want them).
Whilst the village has a great atmosphere in the evening, it is not loud or rowdy at all. It really did feel very safe at all hours.
I must mention the local people too. We travel quite a lot but I don’t think I have ever been anywhere where everybody was so nice. It really was noticeable!
There are literally dozens and dozens of places to eat and it would take far too long to name all the great restaurants...To be honest, I don’t think there is a bad one.
We had a brilliant time at the villa and would not hesitate to return (in fact, 8 am sure we will).