Villa Hera 2

Hera 2 is one of the Hera villas at Kounali Mountain Resort: 130 m², three bedrooms and a private pool on a terrace that holds the sun from late morning until it drops behind the ridge.

The house is arranged for people with different bedtimes. Three bedrooms and three bathrooms mean nobody waits, and the living room is large enough for two conversations at once — the kind of room where a grandparent can read at one end while a card game happens at the other. The kitchen is a proper one: full-size fridge, oven, hob, dishwasher, and a table that seats six without borrowing chairs.

Outside, the private pool sits beside a shaded terrace with a barbecue and a long table. There are sunbeds, a garden wall that keeps small children in, and a view that gives the older generation something to look at while the younger one swims.

Practical: air conditioning throughout, Wi-Fi, a washing machine, a guest WC downstairs and parking for two cars behind the gate. There are stairs between the floors, which is worth planning for if knees are a consideration.

Holidays with three generations work when the house absorbs the differences: early risers and late sleepers, swimmers and readers, the ones who want a taverna every night and the ones who would rather grill on the terrace.

It also helps that this is a real village rather than a resort. Grandparents can walk 200 m to the taverna for a coffee and a conversation in broken Greek; parents can take a car to a beach; children can be in the pool before anyone has finished breakfast. Everyone meets again at seven.

The villa, its private pool, the barbecue and two parking spaces are yours alone.

Included in the resort: the shared saltwater infinity pool and sunbeds (May to October), padel tennis, basketball, a small gym, the children's playground and the snack bar.

Check-in from 15:00 with resort staff; check-out by 11:00. Linen and towels are provided.

We are a family who have rented these villas for ten years, and a lot of our guests are families doing the same thing. Tell us who is coming and we will tell you honestly which bedroom suits whom, which beach has the easiest access, and where to eat on the night nobody wants to cook. We answer quickly; managers are on site daily.

Kounali is a mountain village of a hundred houses, a church and one taverna, on the road above Milatos. It is quiet in the way that places are quiet when people live there all year rather than visit.

The taverna is a three-minute walk and has been run by the same family since 1921 — Cretan cooking, a table outside, and no urgency about anything.

The coast is ten to fifteen minutes by car: the harbour and long beach at Milatos, the small coves and waterfront tables at Sissi, the bigger beaches and supermarkets at Malia twenty minutes on. Agios Nikolaos, half an hour away, makes a good day out for the whole party. Heraklion airport is fifty minutes.

One car covers most days; two make it easier when half the party wants the beach and half wants to stay put. Both fit behind the gate.

Milatos 6 km · Sissi 10 km · Malia 17 km · Agios Nikolaos 23 km · Heraklion airport 49 km.

Sleeps six in three bedrooms, with three bathrooms; stairs between the floors.

The private pool is not fenced — small children need an adult in sight, as at any private house.

Your pool is available throughout your stay; the resort's shared pool is seasonal (May–October).

Quiet after 23:00. Sound carries up here, especially from the terrace.