Metoche Family House

Metoche Botonakis Family House

B category - Sleeps 2/6

Within five minutes drive of the secluded Blue Beach and offering panoramic views across Souda Bay is the Metoche Botonakis Family House.

The private terrace behind the house, accessed beside the house from the living room, has a table and chairs to enable eating 'al fresco' whilst admiring the beautiful view. Sun loungers are provided to relax and soak up the sun.

The large living room and dining area on the ground floor has marble floors and beamed ceilings and a traditional corner fireplace. This leads through a Cretan archway to a fully equipped kitchen with electric cooker, fridge, microwave etc.

Upstairs there is a spacious lounge with cool marble floors and panoramic views over the bay from the balcony. The double bedroom with celing fan and twin bedroom are supplemented with a sofa bed in the lounge. The family bathroom has a shower and bath.

The Family House is one of three romantic dwellings each of unique charm and character. Each has its own separate patio for private sunbathing and sea views. The three individual properties - the Family House, Farmhouse and Penthouse (below centre)- are in the Eastern Metoche part of the village, towards the Aptera ruins. The original large eighteenth century farmhouse has thick stone walls which ensure it is cool throughout the long summer months. Each enjoys its own privacy and separate entrance from the pretty courtyard. Aptera village is 1/2 mile with a choice of tavernas and village store with nearest sandy beach about 4 miles away at Kalives (below left).

REVIEWS

There is nothing joyous about being woken up by a screeching cockerel at the crack of dawn. But in rural Crete you come to accept it, like the sea of bleating goats which block the mountain tracks every morning. The rustic charm of the island is epitomised in the village of Megala Chorafia near the Venetian port of Chania. With its cinematic backdrop of the White Mountains, the hamlet has a thriving community who farm the olive groves and vineyards.

We stayed above a farmhouse, complete with donkey and goats, owned by the local Botonakis family; its balcony overlooking the deep blue bay of Souda was a haven of calm – despite the cockerel. The holiday was organised by Pure Crete Ltd.

THE INDEPENDENT

We ate every night at the tiny Taverna Aptera where the food was the best I have ever had in Greece. Not a sign of moussaka or souvlaki. Instead there was lamb with lettuce in an egg and lemon sause, black-eyed beans with fennel, salt codfish in filo pastry.

The taverna made all the difference to our stay. It meant minimal shopping (bread, yogurt, oranges - all local - for breakfast) and no need to use the car at night. It was a full moon while we were there and the walk back up the track to the house, if occassionally unsteady, was always a pleasure. Anna Pavord

Classic FM

The village has settled down for the night and I have climbed onto the roof to find a warm breeze with a slight scent of the sea and wonderful, magic views in four directions. The fifth direction is upwards to a sky with more stars than I would have believed possible. The temptation to lie down here and count constellations and to gaze beyond the Milky Way into eternity is almost irresistible... Robert Booth

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Call 0845 070 1571 (local rate) or 01444 881402 for further information.

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