Villa Lagada, Makrigialos, Crete

great weather friendly local village, fantastic villa” 5 of 5 stars Reviewed June 25, 2014 for a stay in June 2014 11 days at the villa in Makrigiapoulos with my family was just about right. The layout of the villa and the pool and garden was excellent. The walk to the village was half an hour but by way of a great beachside bar. The ocean was clear and cool and our day charter to the island with Michaelis a great experience Traveling group: Extended Family Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes.

Fantastic Villa” 5 of 5 stars Reviewed July 29, 2014 for a stay in June 2014 1 person found this review helpful We stayed for a week at Villa Lagada in June 14 & it is a big, well furnished and beautiful villa. It has 5 bedroom, 2 in door reception rooms, 5 outdoor seating areas & a big pool. The resort is small but lovely, suitable for families and young children. Its about 2 miles away, one of which is a dirt track, but no problem in a car. There are supermarkets in the next village. The managers are at the end of the lane overseeing the apartment complex and were extremely friendly & helpful.

A well equipped, spacious and comfortable villa” 5 of 5 stars Reviewed August 4, 2014 for a stay in July 2014 The villa is well equipped with all you need for a comfortable stay, especially in the kitchen. The barbeque at the side of the house was a great success, as was the swimming pool and the pleasant outside seating areas. We had some strong winds during our stay which blew debris into the pool and knocked out the satellite TV, but the agents at the nearby Bay View Hotel were extremely helpful and obliging in getting it all put right as quickly as they could. The local town, Makrigialos, has some very agreeable restaurants and a good beach for toddlers. For those who want something more remote and rugged, that is available too. There are some excellent walks for those who are energetic

“gorgeos view, indulging villa” 5 of 5 stars Reviewed August 5, 2014 for a stay in July 2014 The villa has everything you need. The rooms are very comfortable. The pool and the furniture outside are great. And the view is absolutly stunning. more

This new villa is out of this world. Set on a hill a few minutes drive from a great family freindly town and beach it has everything a 5 star villa should. The view is fantastic the peace and quite is ideal for a relaxing holiday with friends and family and with everything you need within a few minutes drive (did not walk as was too relaxed and the little one was only 6 months old - buty you could walk if you wanted too) The owners cant do enough for you prior to you going out there and then the mangement company are the same - helpful, friendly and wishing you a great holiday. The villa has everything you need and all at a high standard - the pool is brilliant and a really good size. The drive from the airport is slightly longer than other resorts but well worth it to get away from the crowds. If you have a family the beach is great and the sea is shallow for a a good 50m so very safe. We will be back i am sure.

“Wonderful Villa in an idyllic spot.” Reviewed July 4, 2011 We stayed at lagada for one week and found the villa perfect. The house itself is modern, spacious and beautifully put together. The pool area is so nice, it is difficult to drag yourself away. The surrounding area is Greece as it used to be, great tavernas, friendly people, reasonable prices and uncrowded beaches. Makriaglos itself is quiet but the combination of the villa and the surrounding countryside is spellbinding. We will be going back

Perfection” Reviewed August 8, 2011 I came out to the Villa for the first time last august but simply forgot to write a review! Last year i travelled with 10 others (including my friend, my family and another family) the youngest person was around 14 and the villa had everything we needed to provide us with a comfortable, relaxing, enjoyable stay! I was younger than most of the adults (by a long way, not that they will admit it) and even i was impressed with the sheer volume of space and equipment that the villa had. Including a Wii and a play station the boys were content while all the girls soaked up the rays. The wide variety of DVDs to play on the fab telly resulted in some cosy nights in watching Bridget Jones! We were so impressed with the villa we returned back to the villa this July for two weeks, this time travelling with a completely different group of people. My family were of course still there but this time my auntie and uncle accompanied us there for the second week. The transformation was outstanding: the first week there was just four of us in the villa allowing us to sprawl out in all the space provided and basque in the complete tranquility of the silent villa, with the only noise being the gentle breeze. We used the BBQ a few times that week but mainly ventured out into the tavernas which are just a 5 minute drive away, i must recommend the fish restaurant at the end of the main street ( i cant quite remember the name of it. But if you get to Gustos [another fab place to eat] or coukos bar- just keep walking), it has shells on hanging down and the guy is a small chubby man called Mimis. He is a great host who will sit and talk to you for hours over several rakis! The second week could not have been more different! With cousins aged 8 and 3 the atmosphere was less tranquil and more fun. I had several portions of "soup" served to me (water in a frisbee) and was cooled down numerous times a day, as the 8 year old drizzled cool water on me. We had many more BBQs that week as the atmosphere was perfect for it, we sat round the comfy chairs and played hundreds of games of monopoly deal [which you must play, the cards are provided in the villa] The villa is able to cope with whatever holiday you are plannning... whether it be a holiday amongst friends, family, or with little children serving soup, the villa has all that you could possibly want, and much more than you would expect from your standard villa. I am definitely planning to return for my third year running!

“Staying at Villa Lagada” Reviewed May 28, 2011 Summary A superb new-built luxury villa with great facilities, very confortable stunning outlook and views and plenty of space for large family or groups of friends and owners interested in feedback and keen to ensure everything is perfect for their guests. In more detail.. The villa is built on the hills above the coast about 15 minute’s walk from the nearest beach and 10 minutes drive from the town. It is in a secluded spot with a large area of land around it and other villas dotted around the hill. When you relax round the pool all you can hear are birds and the rustle of shrubs and splashing from the pool- its a lovely spot. There is a nice private pool with water temperature just right for cooling off. Its lit at night giving a really nice feel to the patio area. There is plenty of seating on the patio in two or three areas and one space for 6-8 people to sit and chat or play cards right next to the pool. There are plenty of good quality sun loungers too if you want to roast yourself. The patio is enclosed by a shallow wall and bordered with a lovely collection of plants and shrubs making it very colourful. You can walk right around the villa taking in the views and flowers. Outside of the patio wall is raw Greece - stony red ground with infant olive trees and native vegetation. You can explore the grounds but need a good pair of shoes – leave you flip-flops by the pool! A wall around the outskirts of the property is planned which will be a good finishing touch and will children roam safely within bounds. While we were there the drive way was just being finished and it was interesting to watch this develop. At the foot of the drive you are back in wild Greece so dont expect a tarmac road until you reach the coast road. Round the corner near the pool there is a large stone table which will seat 10-12 and a great barbeque area with rotisserie and we have fun spit roasting chickens and a whole side of lamb. I understand a pergola is being added to this area too. Inside the villa - and we only went inside to sleep and eat one night - there is a good amount space. The kitchen is well equipped with toaster, microwave, dishwasher, cooker, hob, large fridge freezer and washing machine. There is a large table for eating inside. In the lounge there is a large flat screen TV and PlayStation type things so the kids can get out of the heat and do their thing if necessary. We did not once turn the TV on. There is also a useful desk and plenty of power points around so if you need to do some work you can set-up a laptop etc. and have a mini-office - see the note about Internet later. Being Greece however, its Euro wall outlets so take your adapters, but there are some spare ones provided too. We took a four way block so everyone could plug there iPods etc. in and charge on the desk area. There is a good double bedroom with en-suite and monsoon showerhead downstairs with reasonable cupboard space. Upstairs there are four more bedrooms, all four with balconies with fantastic views. The master bedroom in huge with great en suite facilities and from memory one other bedroom has en suite. There is a shared bathroom for the other two rooms. The property sleeps 11 with one room have a bunk bed which is fun for the kids. The local town has good shops - supermarkets, butcher and fabulous cake shop and countless bars and restaurants. I am not sure you will find wild discos everywhere if you want that but you will find very friendly restaurateurs and inn keepers. Check out Gusto’s and look up Demitri at the Olympio bar. There is a nice beach with shallow waters about 20m from a line of bars. In May the resort is beginning to wake up. We took three or four longer trips to the East and North of the island and, unless you want to simply laze around the villa pool, a car is essential. The drive from the main airport is an hour and half to two hours which is a bit long, but the scenery is good and the quieter, less developed south side of Crete was for us much nicer than the “Rave Central” and crowded beaches of Malia! We drove to Mochlos for lunch, ended up staying for dinner and the bouzouki band and checking into a 35Euro a night hotel and leaving the next day - its such a lovely place, food was spectacular and the Greek music night compelling. Yannis at the ancient Winery on the way to Xerokampos will look after you and you can spend a good couple of hours tasting local wine and olive oil with him. Finally we found the owners interested in our ideas and comments and very willing to try to make improvements to ensure the holiday and the villa is second to none in Crete. Other thoughts: Families with young children who have not learned to swim should note the pool is not fenced off and supervision is required. Makrygialos is not a wild swinging town so if you want 24/7 partying you are probably better going Malia etc. When we stayed the telephone had not yet been connected to there was not Internet. There is limited 3G and Phone service but we understand from the owners the telephone will be installed at some point.

“Wonderful Villa in an idyllic spot.” Reviewed July 4, 2011 We stayed at lagada for one week and found the villa perfect. The house itself is modern, spacious and beautifully put together. The pool area is so nice, it is difficult to drag yourself away. The surrounding area is Greece as it used to be, great tavernas, friendly people, reasonable prices and uncrowded beaches. Makriaglos itself is quiet but the combination of the villa and the surrounding countryside is spellbinding. We will be going back.

“A stunning villa with spectacular views” Reviewed July 6, 2011 We spent a three generation family holiday at the villa and found that we all had ample space and privicy, but plenty of communal areas. The facilities both inside and out were first class and the evening bbqs around the outside dining table were unforgettable. The villa has been furnished to a very high standard and much thought has been given to the outside seating areas providing both sun and shade. The local tavernas are friendly and provide excellent food at a very reasonable price. There are plenty of local supermarkets where you can find all you need for a most relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

“Relaxation in tranquility, with stunning views and all the comfort in a splendid villa.” Reviewed July 17, 2011 Its our second time in Crete. The first time, almost 10 years ago we chose for a simple room in Sfakia since we had no children that time. Now with three little children we were looking for tranquility in a luxury villa with all the necessary comfort. The trip from Heraklion by car took us 2.5 hours quite a long time but Crete is so nice that you never get bored it was just our first trip! Arriving at Bay View we were welcomed by Anja Yzerman, a kind and helpful woman that handed us the key and gave us the necessary information. When we arrived at the villa, we really had a "wow"-feeling : it just met our expectations, inside and outside. The view was even better than we expected : while laying on the pool you have a splendid view on the magnificent villa, the Cretan mountains and... the sea of course ! You just can sit there for hours while gazing at the surroundings... Makrygialos (and its neighbourhood) is a nice, typically Cretan place, not too crowded but still with enough shops, restaurants, bakeries etc. in the neighbourhood. Since the villa has his own large BBQ, we often went to the (amasing high quality!) butchery to buy our stuff there. You just need Cretan olive oil, salt & pepper and... oregano of course (you can pick it everywhere on the island, delicious!). And dont forget to buy the typical Cretan "Raki" (buy the home-made : its sold in plastic bottles at approx. € 6 for 1.5 liters!). Of course we didnt use the BBQ every day : there are a few good and cosy restaurants where you can eat at reasonable prices. If you want to go to a larger town you can go to Siteia, its about 30 minutes by car (you get a nice trip trough the mountains for free as well!). Siteia is small and charming and has all the facilities and shops you need. We stayed there for 2 weeks, time passed too quickly... it was definitely not our last trip to Crete!