Aghios Nikolaos holiday villa rental, Istron with private pool, walking, beach/lake nearby, balcony/terrace, air con, TV, DVD

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Villa Khami (villa)

Home description

Villa Khami is a modern villa built and equipped to a high standard in 2004. Set on a hill overlooking the Mirabello gulf in north east Crete, Khami is 12km towards Sitia from Aghios Nikolaos between the village of Kalo Horio and the resort of Istron. This part of Crete is renowned for its majestic and dramatic mountain scenery. Khami is ideal for large family parties, sleeping up to ten in five double/twin bedrooms with three bathrooms and its own freshwater pool. Khami is owned by a family who have been coming here for twenty years, attracted not only by the beautiful weather, scenery and beaches, but also by the friendliness of the local people who have always made our visits so enjoyable. It is the sort of place that draws you back time and again.

Villa Khami from pool	early morning sun on the pool
view from the terrace	pool at night

To see more photos please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/9813

The Crete region

Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands, locals consider themselves Cretans first and Greeks second. There are many remanants of the early Minoan settlement of the island. The most famous of these is Knossos near Heraklion, but the ruins of Gournia are only ten minutes drive from the villa and Faestos is a long day trip.
Crete enjoys a lovely climate with pleasant winter temperatures and hot sunny days with warm seas. A jumper may be needed in the evening for al fresco dining at either end of the season and occasionally on breezy summer evenings.

Aghios Nikolaos / Istron area

The hill on which Khami sits is between the traditional Cretan village of Kalo Horio and the resort of Istron, which has grown up along the coast road. The resort has been developed with sensitivity. There is no high rise overdevelopment, but visitors are well catered for with plenty of tavernas (getting on for 20 altogether) and mini markets. There are also a couple of bars and an internet café. Istron has three different beaches, ranging from pebbles to beautiful sand. Some of them are blue flag beaches, which mean they also have showers, loungers and café facilities. Tracks up into the mountains and around the coastal headlands give plenty of opportunities to walk off any over indulgence in the tavernas!

Khami is at the Aghios end of Istron, the furthest beach at the other end of the resort is about 5 minutes by car, but probably 40 minutes walk in the heat. As such we think a car is essential for your stay. The tavernas at our end of the resort are about ten minutes walk, so it is possible to walk down for the evening, but the hill can seem quite steep when full of Moussaka, and a torch is also advisable for night time excursions.

There are plenty of other blue flag beaches along the coast if you tire of the local offering. For more lively night life, Aghios Nikolaos has plenty of bars and clubs and is easily accessible by bus or taxi. Aghios offers the best shopping for visitors and locals alike, where there is also a market every Wednesday, selling everything from a wide variety of fresh produce to clothes and fabrics.

A drive up to the Lassithi plateau, a large flat arable plain in the mountains once irrigated by windmills, is a must. Some of the windmills have been restored, though few pump water, and there are many craft shops selling rugs and pottery as well as honey from the mountains. The village of Kritsa is close by in the hills behind Aghios and is famous for its lace and linen.

How to get there

Fly to Heraklion, Villa Khami is an easy 1.5 hour drive towards Sitia

Crete is four hours from the UK by air. In season there are plenty of direct charter flights to Heraklion airport from Gatwick, Manchester, Hull, Bristol and other regional airports. Look for flights with Easyjet, Thomson, Olympic, Monarch, Airtours, XL.com, British Airways or via the cheap flight portals such as charterflights.co.uk and you should be able to find return flights for under £250. Out of season you can get flights from Manchester and London, but you will need to go via Athens. Easyjet also fly to Athens from Luton.

Car hire at the airport from all the major providers, but we use Citycars, www.citycar.gr/ mention Horn family to George when booking on line.

Activities near Aghios Nikolaos

Facilities

Further details indoors:
The five bedrooms are on two floors: first floor has a double, two twin bedded rooms (one with en suite bathroom) and the main bathroom. All bedrooms on this floor have their own balconies. The top floor has a double and twin room with another bathroom and a covered balcony terrace. All bedrooms have air conditioning.

Ground floor has a fully equipped kitchen and open plan lounge dining area and a wc.

Please bring your own towels for pool and beach.

Further details outdoors:
The terrace set above the pool has another dining table for 10. It is in the sun at breakfast and perfectly shaded in the heat of the day. There are plenty of pool loungers and umbrellas provided. There is also a poolside shower.

Rental rates

Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
Winter closure	1 Nov 07	1 Apr 08	0£  0	0-	0-	3 Months
Low season	1 Apr 08	16 May 08	1100£  1,100	0-	0-	4 Nights
Mid season	26 May 08	28 Jun 08	1600£  1,600	229229	229229	4 Nights
High season	28 Jun 08	30 Aug 08	1950£  1,950	279279	279279	4 Nights
Mid season	30 Aug 08	27 Sep 08	1600£  1,600	229229	229229	4 Nights
Low season	27 Sep 08	1 Nov 08	1100£  1,100	157157	157157	4 Nights
Winter closure	1 Nov 08	1 Apr 09	1£  1	0-	0-	3 Months
Low season	1 Apr 09	16 May 09	1100£  1,100	157157	157157	4 Nights
Mid season	16 May 09	27 Jun 09	1600£  1,600	229229	229229	4 Nights
High season	27 Jun 09	29 Aug 09	1950£  1,950	279279	279279	4 Nights
Mid season	29 Aug 09	3 Oct 09	1600£  1,600	229229	229229	4 Nights
Low season	3 Oct 09	31 Oct 09	1100£  1,100	157157	157157	4 Nights
Winter closure	31 Oct 09	2 Apr 10	1£  1	0-	0-	3 Months

The owner's weekend rates apply to: Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights

NB: Prices may be subject to change at the owner's discretion.
** 25% off these prices for all remaining holidays taken in 2008**

The price quoted is the cost to hire the villa per week. Holidays that straddle price breaks are calculated pro rata. Prices include maid service, electricity, and air conditioning (bedrooms only), as well as linen and house towels (please bring your own for the beach and pool).

A 25% non-refundable deposit for each week will be required, with the balance payable eight weeks before departure.

Payment by cheque or bank transfer.

Guestbook

Dave & Tina: We had a wonderful holiday in your lovely villa. It was extremely well appointed - probably the best we have had in recent years. The information you provided was very useful, the view was superb, weather fab! (May 2008)

Rachel & Nick: We all enjoyed a lovely holiday in your beautiful villa (August 2007)

Tim: Just to say we had a wonderful holiday. The villa was everything we could have hoped for in terms of space, comfort, amenity etc - so much so that even with 9 of us it never seemed crowded. It was of course very hot but a combination of the breeze, the airconditioning the pool and the shade made the temperature not just bearable, but pleasurable. Folk in the tavernas recognised where we were from-it must have been George's cars and made us very welcome. Altogether a great experience. Thanks once again. The arrangements were perfect. (August 2007)

Paula: What a beautiful villa you have, we feel honoured to have stayed there. We all had such a wonderful time and the views are amazing. We ate at all your recommended Tavernas (twice with Dimitris at Zygos) and Rose was fantastic. On the subject of Rose, we have holidayed at many villas now and yours is exceptional, the level of extra little touches around - the handsoap, loo rolls etc make all the difference. We didn't have time to try all the gadgets like the juicer etc and have never seen such a well stocked kitchen and your towels are all so lovely and fluffy and the DVDs - inspired. We will obviously be telling all our friends about Villa Khami and will write a review for the lettings website. Thank you once again and we wish you all the best with Villa Khami and hope that everyone who has the good fortune of staying there appreciates it and shows the respect it deserves. (July 2006).

Gill: We have had two lovely weeks here in the sun. We all think the villa is fantastic with great facilities for everyone. Istron has great tavernas – we all recommend El Greco for a great meal. Almiros Beach is great for children – we had many happy days out there. Thanks again for a great holiday. (June 2006)

Emma: Thanks for allowing us to be your first non family occupants, we had a great time, the villa is amazing and the views stunning. Everyone was so helpful, especially Rose (maid) who was an absolute star. Thanks for the welcome pack, it was certainly a godsend after our 4 hour delayed flight, so by the time we got there the shops we found were shut. (June 2005)

Availability notes

To see availability please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/9813

Contact owner

To contact this owner please visit: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/9813

Contact details for home 9813 Please mention Holiday Lettings
Name:	Andrew Horn
Mobile:	+44 (0)7841 959025
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Advertiser joined: 27 Feb 2006 This property added: 27 Feb 2006

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