We found this listing 3 years before our 'Girls' Week' trip. I looked long & hard across all of Crete, but always came back to The Manor. We made the right decision! This lovingly & beautifully restored apartment in the quiet residential section of Old Town Rethymno is everything you want in a vacation rental: modern, clean, spacious, with plenty of room for everyone to spread out & have quiet space or gather as a group for meals in the garden, games at the table, or curled up for a movie in the upstairs lounge. The owner/hostess is one of the best I have dealt with in my 15+ years of booking vacation rentals. She is knowledgeable, responsive, and her generosity is amazing and gracious. We arrived to a warm fire in the woodstove, lovely lighting in all the wall niches, creating the perfect ambiance for our Cretan vacation. The welcome plate of local cheeses, fruit & nuts, the bread, condiments, spices, & breakfast items, lasted our group of four the entire 10 days, despite eating in most of the time!
The details you may wish to know:
-Parking: the Old Town is a pedestrian zone, but parking is plentiful just a 5 minute walk away.
-Endless shops, restaurants, bakeries, market (Thursday & Saturday), ocean, beach, Fortezza, museum, lighthouse, etc, within easy strolling distance.
-The beds, bedding, & linens were of the highest quality! Even the twin beds were plush & comfy with down comforters. Plenty of throw blankets as well (we were here in early spring and it was cool enough to enjoy the fireplace! Firewood & starter were also provided. On that note, I recommend slippers as the floors can be chilly).
-Top quality fixtures and appliances throughout the house. We mostly cooked in and had everything we needed.
-The garden is AMAZING! Pool, enormous solid wood table, outdoor kitchen with wood grilling area, fruit trees, fresh herbs, lots of lounge places.
-Internet was good for the most part, a little spotty in some locations or when the weather was especially wet/windy (old buildings can be finicky). It met our casual needs.
-Heating/Air Conditioning were perfect with split units in each room for individual control when needed. The fireplaces were an especially nice touch for this time of year.
We loved The Manor! It was truly the centerpiece and crowning jewel of our trip to Crete. Being located in Rethymno allowed us to visit places east and west with equal ease, but in a cozier and less hectic atmosphere than the big cities. Look no further!
