The owner is very welcoming, but not intrusive. You're privacy is very well respected and feel immediatly at home. If you're looking for a peaceful holiday, though good facilities, a very nice and not overcrowded swimming pool, this is certainly a good choice. The price for this stay is very reasonable for what you'll have here.

From the moment we arrived at Filoxenia Villa we were struck by the obvious care and consideration towards the guests and the pride that the owners have in their accommodation. For a start there was a colourful handwritten note on the door addressed to us personally; a touch I have never experienced before! Koutsounari is a small quiet typically Greek village near the main town of Ierapetra on the south coast of Crete. It is situated high up on a hill overlooking the Libyan Sea. There is a small shop directly opposite the villas and various tavernas serving Cretan food and offering an impressively multilingual warm welcome. Every single one of the villas has an uninterrupted, panoramic sea view with a beautiful mountainous landscape as the backdrop. The entrance to the (only!) ten villa complex is unassuming and the villas themselves are built in Cretan style and therefore blend in unobtrusively with the surrounding area. They are a perfect mix of a traditional feel with modern facilities. Each has a generous sized verandah separated from the neighbouring villa by a low wall. This achieves a sense of privacy but equally enables a friendly communal feel. The outside area has a table with chairs, a low stone table with a bench and an adjustable screen to shield against the powerful morning sun. There is also a six-rung drier with much needed pegs; the Ierapetra area is renowned for its strong winds! The front door opens onto an open-plan lounge, dining area and kitchen. The whole villa was spotlessly clean but there was a bucket, mop and brush for unforeseen eventualities! The lounge has a bed which doubles as a sofa with a TV mounted on a swivel bracket ensuring viewing from both inside and outside. There is a coat rack behind the door. The dining area has a table with four chairs and the kitchen is separated from it by a waist-height wall and is incredibly well-equipped.