Athina 3 · Sunset Sea-View Villa in Kounali
Villa Athina 3
Sunset and silence · for couples and small families who want the view, not the scene
Three hundred metres above the sea, Athina 3 is a two-bedroom villa arranged around one thing: the view. Days start with mountain silence and coffee on a shaded terrace, and end with the sun going down over the bay towards Dia island. There is a saltwater infinity pool, a 300 m² walled garden, and a family taverna 200 m down the lane. Milatos harbour, Sissi and the beaches are 10–15 minutes away.
Kounali, Lasithi, Crete, Greece
At a glance
- Villa name
- Athina 3
- Property type
- Entire villa · Kounali Mountain Resort
- Location
- Kounali, Lasithi, Crete, Greece
- Guests
- 4 · two double bedrooms · two en-suite bathrooms
- Size
- 110 m² interior · 300 m² private walled garden
- Views
- Sea and mountain · west-facing sunset over Malia bay
- Pool
- Shared saltwater infinity pool, May–October
- Resort facilities
- Gym · tennis · basketball · playground · snack bar
- Comforts
- Air conditioning · Wi-Fi · washing machine · BBQ · parking for 2 cars
- Check-in / out
- 15:00 / 11:00 · self check-in with resort staff
- Best for
- Couples, small families, sunset chasers
Documented amenities
- Shared saltwater infinity pool, May–October
- Air conditioning
- Wi-Fi
- Desk
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- BBQ
- Parking for 2 cars
- Gym
- Tennis
- Basketball
- Playground
- Snack bar
THE SPACE
Athina 3 is one of the Athina villas at Kounali Mountain Resort — a small hillside settlement of private houses above the village of Kounali, close enough to the coast for a beach morning and far enough to forget the coast exists.
Inside, 110 m² on one easy level: an open-plan living and dining room, a fully equipped kitchen, and two double bedrooms that each have their own bathroom. That last detail matters more than it sounds — two couples can share this house for a fortnight without ever waiting for a shower.
But the terrace is the room you will remember. A pergola takes the edge off the midday sun, there is a table for long lunches, a barbecue for the evenings, and a low wall that leaves the view completely alone: mountains at your back, the whole bay of Malia in front, and the sunset arriving dead ahead.
The garden is walled, gated and 300 m² — enough room for children to run in circles while you finish a glass of something cold. Behind the gate: air conditioning in every room, reliable Wi-Fi, a desk for the laptop you promised not to open, a washing machine, a dishwasher, and parking for two cars.
What the villa does not have is a crowd. No traffic, no bar strip, no queue for a sunbed. Guests tend to describe this place the same way, and always with relief: quiet.
GUEST ACCESS
Your keys open the villa and its private walled garden. Everything below is included in the booking.
Saltwater infinity pool with sunbeds and umbrellas — shared with villa guests only, open May to October
Small gym, tennis court and basketball court
Children's playground and snack bar within the resort
Free parking for two cars inside the gate
Check-in from 15:00 at reception, self check-in with resort staff; check-out by 11:00
Bed linen, bath towels and pool towels provided
INTERACTION WITH GUESTS
We are a family who have hosted here for ten years, and we answer messages quickly — usually within the hour, whatever the time difference. The resort is staffed on site during the day, so a problem with the air conditioning or a missing corkscrew is a same-day matter, not a holiday one. Beyond that we stay out of your week entirely.
NEIGHBORHOOD OVERVIEW
Kounali is a mountain village of a hundred or so houses gathered around a church and one very good taverna, on the old road between Milatos and Neapoli. Life here is measured in coffees and church bells.
Two hundred metres from the villas, Kounali Family Taverna has been run by the same family since 1921. The menu is whatever is in season and in the pot, the welcome is out of all proportion to the bill, and guests tend to go back three nights out of seven.
The coast is a ten to fifteen minute drive downhill: the harbour tavernas and long beach at Milatos, the waterfront restaurants and small coves of Sissi, and the bigger beaches, bakeries and supermarkets of Malia a few minutes further. Agios Nikolaos, with its lake and marina, is about half an hour. Heraklion airport is fifty minutes.
GETTING AROUND
A car is genuinely useful here, and most guests collect one at the airport. The last six kilometres climb through switchbacks — beautiful in daylight, character-building at midnight — but you only drive them twice a day at most.
Milatos beach and village 6 km · Sissi 10 km · Malia 17 km · Agios Nikolaos 23 km · Heraklion airport 49 km. Parking for two cars is inside the gate.
OTHER THINGS TO NOTE
The road up is winding. Drive it once in daylight and it stops being a subject.
The pool is shared with the other villas and open seasonally, May to October.
Two double beds, two en-suite bathrooms, four guests. The villa is on one level.
Quiet hours after 23:00, please — the neighbours live here all year.
Pets are welcome with prior agreement.