The hammam jacuzzi room retreat in Myrtle/Myrthios

Superhost

Entire villa hosted by VanGos

6 guests
3 bedrooms
5 beds
3 baths

Dedicated workspace

A private room with wifi that’s well-suited for working.

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A 1942 stonebuilt fully renovated antique furnished contemporary house with an outdoor pool and an indoor jacuzzi room. It's situated in the edge of a small and quiet village with breathtaking distant seaview over the hill tops. It has 3 bedrooms all with en suite bathrooms and many outdoor sitting and dining areas in its local fruit trees garden, terraces and courtyards. The fully equipped kitchen and its dining area preserves the functional wood oven and the barbecue fireplace of the old house

The space
This house is hymn to the joy of life. It's a great example of how people can overcome even the most hard difficulties in their lives.
It was 1942, right in the middle of WWII when a young villager decided to leave his parental house and build a home of his own to marry his beloved lady. He carefully chose the terrain to build it, uphill at the edge of the village, in a piece of land that had a nice distant view to the sea over the nearby hills at the north but at the same time it remained open to the warm south sunlight in the winter.
The land that was sloped from the north to the south, facilitated the construction of a two storey house without needing to excavate it much to make a ground floor for his cattle and another ground/first floor on top of it for his future family. He planed to built it at the north part of his land in order to leave free space at the south for his fruit trees that would grow protected by the house from the cold north winds during the winter, blocking at the same time the hot sun in the summer. But in the winter, when those trees loose their leaves they would let the precious sun rays to reach and warm up the house.
During WWII all resources were requisited for the needs of the forces. So, he had no other option to fulfill his dream in the era of brick and concrete constructions than applying the traditional building techniques, using local stone and clay from his land that none could take away of him.
He "hired" a skilled Cypriot stone builder who came to Crete to help the resistance of the locals to the occupation forces giving him a refuge and a good excuse for his presence on Crete and he started realizing his project. The whole village worked in turns to help him in the construction following the orders of the Cypriot (both for the construction and the resistance) and soon, in just one summer time, the house was almost finished.
He was so proud of his achievement that he even had the Cypriot stone builder engrave his initials and the date they finished the building of the walls (15 September 1942) on the lintel of the main door.
But just as they started constructing the roof a traitor told the occupation forces of Crete the real reason why the Cypriot stone builder was on the island and the occupation troops came to arrest him. He managed to leave the building site on time, leaving even his precious only pare of shoes back and none heard of him ever since.
The house remained partially finished but it was just fine for those hard times to house the family he created with his beloved wife.
After the end of the war and the he covered the unfinished part of the house with a concrete roof.
But when life seems to go on in a better way things might change dramatically. The owner of the house died young leaving his wife alone to struggle to bring up their three young children. When they grew up a bit they all emigrated to Athens searching for a better life and the house was left to ruin.

A few years ago a local architect saw the ruin and he fell in love with it, with its location and its unique views. He foresaw its potential to become something special so he bought it and he renovated it turning it to a contemporary holiday home trying to preserve reverently its unique traditional and historic character.

Now the house has on the first floor a living room with both sitting and dining areas and direct access to two nice terraces for sitting outside to enjoy the breathtaking views of the house but also to the secluded kitchen courtyard to enjoy the sunshine or the shade, depending if thy sit under the pergola designed on purpose or not and the privacy this house can offer you. Next to the living room there's the fully equipped contemporary kitchen with a traditional wood oven and with a dining area in its opposite corner big enough for at least 6 people. It also has direct access to its secluded courtyard for those who prefer dining outdoors.
On the first floor there's also one of the three bedrooms of the house with its en suite glass bathroom and next to the bedroom a staircase that leads to the ground floor.
There one can find the entrance hallway that has a direct access to the north courtyard
with the outdoor pool and the garden, the indoor jacuzzi room and both the two more bedrooms which are on that floor: the master bedroom and the second one both with their own en suite bathroom.

The house needs no air conditioning as it has openings on all possible directions Cretan winds can blow from allowing the drifts created to cool the house which is anyway protected by the outside temperatures by its traditional thick stone walls and its roofs that have contemporary thermal insulating materials.
In addition to those passive protection means there's a heat pump that heats the floors of the house during the winter and cools them during the summer time.

The guests of the house have access to its gardens from both the ground and the first floor and they can walk in it all around the house using the paths and the staircases that are between the house and the area where the local herbs and fruit trees grow in order to choose in which of the various sitting spaces either shaded or sunny during different times of the day they'll relax to enjoy the surrounding nature.

Where you'll sleep

1 of 2 pages

What this place offers

Mountain view

Valley view

Kitchen

Wifi

Dedicated workspace

Free driveway parking on premises – 2 spaces

Private pool

Private hot tub

Unavailable: Carbon monoxide alarm

Unavailable: Smoke alarm

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Guests

1 guest

4.91 out of 5 stars from 32 reviews

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Where you’ll be

Mirthios, Crete Region, Greece

The area where GrottoHomes hydro is situated is very close to Rethymnon (17km away), half way between both more touristic north and the more secluded south beaches of the island. Inspite being so close to all the main touristic spots it is 8km off the main road leading from Rethymnon to the south beaches, so it is unspoiled by the "development" the tourist mass brings along. The area is very green full of olive, cypress, oak and carob trees and it has breathtaking mountain views. The house, being built almost on the top of the village hill has a unique view to its surrounding hilly area and a distant sea view over the hill tops. There are also some very good taverns in a few km distance from the house. The village where the house is situated is very small, therefor very peaceful and quiet. The only "noise" you might listen to is some distant sheep bah and bells, rooster cock-a-doodle-doos, the church bell and the priest psalms on Sundays, or some traveling sellers that pass by the village every now and then to sell bread, grocery or even clothing. But if you prefer to buy your supplies from a supermarket there is one 10km away in the main village of the area (Armeni), on your way to Rethymnon that stays open 7:00-23:00 daily. There you can also find an ATM and a pharmacy shop.

Hosted by VanGos

Joined in May 2013

172 Reviews
Identity verified
Superhost

I love nature and living close to it but at the same time I often travel to big cities to enjoy the cultural events and spaces one can find there. I love food of good quality and I enjoy cooking it. I love seeing but also creating art.

One of my listings was awarded with the Unique Listing award (one of the two globally) in the first Airbnb Open in San Francisco US, in 2014. I was a Host Educator in the second Airbnb Open in Paris, France, in 2015 and I've been an Airbnb super host for almost eight years now.

I love nature and living close to it but at the same time I often travel to big cities to enjoy the cultural events and spaces one can find there. I love food of good quality and I…

During your stay

The owner of the house will meet his guests upon arrival, to welcome them, show them around the house and hand them the keys. He will also visit the house every second day, at a time convenient to both parties, to water the plants and clean the pool and the jacuzzi. The owner will be reachable at any time on his cell phone or through his Airbnb profile for any questions / tips / advice / help the guests might need.

The owner of the house will meet his guests upon arrival, to welcome them, show them around the house and hand them the keys. He will also visit the house every second day, at a ti…