Cottage House

The Alkistis Cottage House sits in the village of Stavros, on the Akrotiri Peninsula outside Chania, in a style that feels like a proper Greek family home rather than a rental. Two spacious master bedrooms and a sofa bed in the living area give it room for a full household, and the bathroom's bathtub is a welcome detail after a day at the beach. The kitchen is stocked for real cooking, not just breakfasts, and the shared pool is just a few feet away.

Outdoors is where the house comes alive: a large terrace with a built-in barbecue and its own outdoor kitchen makes for long lunches under the awning, with private parking close at hand. Stavros beach itself, with its shallow turquoise water and sheltered bay below the camel-shaped Vardies mountain, is a short walk away and remains familiar to film fans as the setting for the dancing scene in Zorba the Greek. Almyriki, right on the sand, serves fish and local dishes for evenings when nobody wants to cook.