Zeus 5 · Pool Villa, Ten Minutes to the Coast
Villa Zeus 5
A base camp with a pool · see east Crete, come home to silence
Sleep above the coast, swim in your own pool, and be on a beach in ten to fifteen minutes. Zeus 5 is a two-suite villa at Kounali with a private pool and a long view to the sea — a base for seeing east Crete without staying in the middle of it. The village taverna is 200 m away; Spinalonga, the Lasithi plateau and Agios Nikolaos are day trips from the door.
Kounali, Lasithi, Crete, Greece
At a glance
- Property type
- Entire villa with private pool · Kounali Mountain Resort
- Location
- Kounali, Lasithi, Crete, Greece
- Guests
- 4 · two queen bedrooms, both en-suite · plus guest WC
- Size
- 120 m² over two floors · terrace with private pool
- Pool
- Private pool at the villa · shared saltwater pool May–October
- Nearest beach
- Milatos, 6 km / about 10 minutes
- Resort facilities
- Gym · padel tennis · basketball · playground · snack bar
- Comforts
- Air conditioning · Wi-Fi · desk · kitchen · washing machine · BBQ · parking
- Check-in / out
- 15:00 / 11:00 · self check-in with resort staff
- Best for
- Explorers, day-trippers, families with older children
Documented amenities
- Private pool
- Shared saltwater pool May–October
- Air conditioning
- Wi-Fi
- desk
- kitchen
- washing machine
- BBQ
- parking
- Gym
- padel tennis
- basketball
- playground
- snack bar
THE SPACE
Zeus 5 is one of the Zeus villas at Kounali Mountain Resort, and it works like a small house rather than a hotel room: 120 m² over two floors, two queen bedrooms each with a bathroom, a third WC downstairs, and an open living room that leads onto the pool terrace.
The point of the place is its position. You are high enough for cool evenings and a view that runs to the sea, and close enough to the coast that a beach morning does not eat the day. The private pool handles the hours in between — the ones after a long drive, before dinner, at the end of an afternoon that turned out hotter than expected.
Kitchen with full-size fridge, oven and hob; washing machine; air conditioning; Wi-Fi and a desk if a little work insists; barbecue on the terrace; parking for two cars behind the gate. Everything you need to come back to, and nothing that gets in the way.
There are stairs between the floors, in case anyone is packing heavy.
DAY TRIPS FROM THE DOOR
- Milatos cave — 5 minutes by car and a short climb; a vast chamber with a hard history
- Milatos beach and harbour tavernas — 10 minutes
- Sissi for a swim and a long lunch — 15 minutes
- Malia, its supermarkets and the Minoan palace — 20 to 25 minutes
- Agios Nikolaos: the lake, the marina, the shops — 25 to 30 minutes
- Elounda, and the boat across to Spinalonga — about 35 minutes
- The Lasithi plateau and its windmills — 45 minutes
- Heraklion airport — 50 minutes, with Knossos and the museum just beyond
GUEST ACCESS
The villa, its private pool and a parking space behind the gate are yours alone.
Included in the resort: the saltwater infinity pool and sunbeds (May to October), the gym, padel tennis, basketball, the playground and the snack bar.
Check-in from 15:00 with resort staff; check-out by 11:00. Linen and towels are provided.
INTERACTION WITH GUESTS
We have been renting these villas for ten years and we have driven most of the roads on this side of the island. Ask us where to swim when the wind is up, which taverna to book on a Sunday, or how long the Lasithi plateau really takes — we would rather tell you than have you find out the hard way. Resort managers are on site daily.
NEIGHBORHOOD OVERVIEW
Kounali sits on the mountain road above Milatos, which means you are not choosing between mountains and sea. You get both, with ten to fifteen minutes of good road between them.
The village has one taverna, one church and no traffic lights. That taverna, 200 m from the villa, has been in the same family since 1921 and is the right place to end a day of driving.
Below you, the coast runs from Milatos to Sissi and on towards Malia: beaches, harbour tables, a few beach bars and enough choice that a fortnight of lunches never repeats. Agios Nikolaos is half an hour east; Heraklion and its airport fifty minutes west.
GETTING AROUND
A car is essential and the island rewards it. Fill up in Malia or Neapoli rather than on the hill, and drive the last six kilometres once in daylight before you attempt them at midnight.
Milatos 6 km · Sissi 10 km · Malia 17 km · Agios Nikolaos 23 km · Heraklion airport 49 km. Two parking spaces behind the gate.
OTHER THINGS TO NOTE
Sleeps four: two en-suite queen bedrooms plus a guest WC; stairs between floors.
Private pool yours throughout the stay; the shared saltwater pool is seasonal (May–October).
A car is essential — there is no evening bus up the hill.
Quiet after 23:00; the village is home to people all year.