Villa Cara

We chose this villa for the location as we wanted to be in Metaxata - this is a quiet spot overlooking olive groves, there are views from the pool terrace of the mountains and spectacular sea views from the upstairs balconies. It is walking distance from the wonderful Olive Grove Taverna (Elaionas). The best thing about this villa is the number of terraces. You can get sun or shade at all times of day by choosing a different terrace. The upstairs balconies have canopies for shade. Air conditioning was effective and the villa was clean with two full cleans during an 11 night stay. The layout consists of two bedrooms (both doubles) upstairs and then a third bedroom in the basement which can be a double or twin, which has its own separate kitchen and living area. This can be a plus or a minus depending on whether you want to be two floors apart. Very friendly and attentive service from Clio the villa rep who met us on arrival and checked in with us via Whatsapp during the holiday.

Our biggest disappointment was the pool. It was very cloudy and dirty looking on arrival. We questioned it and were told it was safe and was just suffering from a lot of sun cream from previous users and that it should clear. It never did. The pool cleaner was very apologetic and tried his best but it appeared that the filter system just wasn't up to dealing with the hot weather and high usage from the previous guests. We were near the end of the season but we would still expect a clear and inviting pool to swim in, this did take the shine off the holiday and I would think twice about booking the villa again for this reason. Other things to note, the villa has minimal kitchen equipment (e.g. only a few small glasses and mugs for 6 people) although it does have lots of saucepans! Clio did say to let her know if we needed anything but when you start cooking, you can't stop to call the rep and just have to make do with what you can find. There is no welcome pack on arrival, not even water, and you are told not to drink the water in the villa. I think it would be good if a couple of bottles of water at least is provided. We were a party of two adults and two teenage children, boy and girl and the third bedroom was not made up for us on arrival, we were told we should have specified this and they had expected our two children to share a double bed. As far as we were concerned, we had paid for a three bedroom villa and we should have had access to all three rooms, in fact the basement was locked and we were unable to access it. This was remedied by the end of the first evening as the cleaners came back and sorted it out but when you are tired after your flight, it's not ideal to have to wait until later in the evening for your room to be available. Therefore, make sure you specify if you want access to all three bedrooms and the extra bathroom and kitchen downstairs.

The size of the Villa was excellent. The main bedroom was large and had a great pull out bed, which was perfect for our 5 year old granddaughter. The views from the bedroom balcony was amazing, with a great view of the sea and a lovely view of the mountains. There was a 300 degree view from this balcony. Also one of the bedrooms was on the lower ground floor and this had a separate suite of rooms and its own outdoor terrace, great for early morning sun. This was also good to provide some quiet when some of the family wanted to stay up for late nights, as on a few occasions we could then go to bed and not hear a sound. The management team, fronted by Clio for us, were very responsive and even booked us a taxi to go to the airport when the vehicle we hired (not through them) developed a puncture as we left to drop one of our family back to the airport for an early return. Without this we would have missed the flight.

Some of the lower ground bathroom units require refreshing/updating. Also it would be very useful to have a set of instructions about things, such as WiFi passwords, fridge freezer settings in a booklet inside the Villa. This is then available without having to contact the host management team.