Venetian mill villa wth grotto & outdoor pools

Entire villa in Goulediana, Greece

  1. 9 guests
  2. 4 bedrooms
  3. 8 beds
  4. 3.5 baths
Hosted by VanGos
  1. Superhost
  2. 13 years hosting

Listing highlights

Enjoy the pool and hot tub

Swim or soak at this home.

Exceptional check-in experience

Recent guests gave the check-in process a 5-star rating.

Mountain and valley views

Soak up the views during your stay.
A fully renovated, stonebuilt compound built on top of three ancient greek grottos. It used to be a Venetian olive press factory. Now it's a contemporary holiday home with two pools (indoor and outdoor) and an organic vegetable and local fruit garden

The space
UNIQUE LISTING AWARD WINNER
FIRST AIRBNB OPEN 2014.

GrottoHomes is a traditional stonebuilt compound constructed in several phases, starting around 1500, on top of three ancient greek hellenistic grottos. It used to be an olive press factory, originally built by the Venetians, who occupied Crete at that time, with later additions for housing both the miller and his elder son. It has been restored with patience, respect and knowledge by its current owner who, being an architect, turned it to a contemporary holiday home, maintaining reverently every architectural detail of the past. It is furnished with many unique, antique pieces and it's decorated with a lot of traditional, rural cretan household equipment. This villa is ideal for writers, artists or nature lovers who like walking, hiking or swimming in a pool carved in an ancient grotto or just relaxing in an unbelivably quiet place. The organic vegetable, local fruit tree and aromatic plants gardens can provide them with the freshest ingredients for cooking their meals. Since March 2014 has been added a new openair pool to the compound, built by the citrus trees garden, which is opperating in addition to the indoor one, giving the guests one more area of relaxation.
The villa is situated 800m away of the ruins of a Hellenistic city, in a small and peaceful village called Goulediana, famouse for its restaurand specialized in Cretan cousine. It's a 1h drive away from both international airports of Crete, Chania and Heraklion, a 5 min drive from Armeni, the main village of the area, where one can find supermarkets a pharmacy shop and an ATM and 20 min drive from the town of Rethymno famous for its lively night life, full of restaurants, bars, clubs etc Both crowded north coast and quiet south coast beaches are just a 20min drive away.
When staying in GrottoHomes you can relax completely, surrounded by the unique cretan nature and feel part of its centuries long history using, at the same time, any modern facility and equipment one might need. At least that's what I do when the villa has no guests...

Guest access
The visitors have access either to the entire compound or only to the main house (the rest will be empty) depending on the size of their party and in any case to the whole garden, and both the indoor and the outdoor pools. Access to the office of the owner will be given only uppon request.

Other things to note
I am not a professional of the tourist industry disguised as a friendly host. I stay true to what Airbnb was all about in the first place-providing a unique accommodation to travelers who long to to stay at a local's residence and escape from the usual tourist traps and the comfy but overpriced and faceless hotel rooms. By choosing to stay at my place not only you have guaranteed the personality of the space but also you help me maintain my holiday home in an as good condition as possible despite the each year growing costs.

Registration Details
1041K10003065301

Where you’ll sleep

1 of 2 pages

What this place offers

Valley view
Garden view
Kitchen
Fast wifi – 187 Mbps
Dedicated workspace
Unavailable: Carbon monoxide alarm

Select check-in date

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Rated 4.96 out of 5 from 162 reviews.

Guest favorite
This home is a guest favorite based on ratings, reviews, and reliability

Overall rating

  1. 5 stars, 96% of reviews
  2. 4 stars, 4% of reviews
  3. 3 stars, 0% of reviews
  4. 2 stars, 0% of reviews
  5. 1 stars, 0% of reviews

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for cleanliness

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for accuracy

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for check-in

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for communication

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for location

Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars for value

Guest reviews mention

Where you’ll be

Goulediana, Crete, Greece
This listing's location is verified and the exact location will be provided after booking.

Neighborhood highlights

The area where GrottoHomes is situated is very close to Rethymnon, half way between both north and south beaches of the island. Inspite being so close to all the main turistic spots it is 5km off the main road leading from Rethymnon to the south beaches, so it is unspoiled by the "development" the turist mass brings along. The area is very green full of olive, cypress and oak trees and it has breathtaking mountain views. There are also some very good taverns in a few meters to a few km dictance from the house. The village where the house is situated is very small, therefor very piecfull and quiet. The only "noice" you might listen to is some distant sheep bah and bells, rooster cock-a-doodle-doos, the church bell and the priest singing 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 5km away in the main village of the area, on your way to Rethymno. There you can also find an ATM and a pharmacy shop.

Meet your host

Superhost
265 reviews
4.96 out of 5 average rating
13 years of hosting
My work: Business engineer in the administration of a hotel chain, architect
Fun fact: Often mistaken for an adult bc of my age
I love nature and living close to it but I also love traveling to big cities for enjoying 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 1st Airbnb Open in San Fran, in 2014. Host educator in the 3d AirbnbOpen I’ve been Airbnb SuperHost for the last 11 years.

VanGos is a Superhost

Superhosts are experienced, highly rated hosts who are committed to providing great stays for guests.

Host details

Response rate: 100%
Responds within an hour
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Things to know

Cancellation policy
House rules
9 guests maximum
No pets
Commercial photography allowed
Safety & property
Carbon monoxide alarm not reported
Pool/hot tub without a gate or lock
Smoke alarm