Real guest feedback

Just a short note to thank you for a wonderful stay in Crete. The Villa provided everything we needed and was very comfortable and clean. We enjoyed the friendly people that we met in Pendamodi, the surrounding villages and the Tavernas we frequented.

Our drive from the village every morning provided some breathtakingly spectacular vistas that will forever be etched in our memory.

Your personal hospitality and the special meal that was prepared for us was greatly appreciated.

We will recommend Zakros Tours to others.

The amenities and the equipment of the villa were really good: like home! Fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher, microwave, toster, large fridge, etc. The villa had parking, private pool and garden, as also fireplace and air conditioning. Finally it had even Playstation!!! For our great convenience, as we were travelling with two babies, it had also baby cot and baby chair + washing machine.

Pendamodi is a traditional village, close enough to Heraklion (15 minutes by car which we rented), where one can relax while being close to the capital Heraklion. At the taverna close to the villa, we have had the best meetballs in Crete!

The staff were friendly and was willing to help. The most impressive was the private chef of the villa, who showed us two cretan recipes!

Concluding, the price was very good considering the quality and the amenities of the villa.

Kalispera Adonis!

I'm just writing to say that we had a great time in Pentamodi, and really enjoyed meeting you.  Thanks for your help with getting to the airport and to Heraklion - we weren't expecting this.

We were very happy with our stay.  Do let us know if you and your wife to be ever decide to come to London.

Well equipped spacious villa with a private pool and parking in very small village. Excellent Service from all Zakros tours staff - really helpful people who go out of their way to make you welcome. The village is tiny so don't stay here if you want lots of night life. We had really relaxing stay with easy access to main roads for touring and sightseeing.

Adonis and Zakros Tours made sure our Cretan adventure was authentic and comfortable, from start to finish.

We fitted well into Christina II with our 2 adult children, into 2 bedrooms, each with aircon. The upstairs bathroom had a small laundry, and the downstairs bathroom was fully fitted out. The village is in the hinterland, and you definitely need to have a car (which we also hired through Zakros), and there are several larger villages within a few minutes drive. I had the best rabbit stifado of our entire Greek holiday in one of the villages, wish I could remember its name! Lissiandros, a Cretan chef, cooked for us one night, and that was a highlight too.

We stayed for a week at Villa Christina II in the village of Pendamodi. Pendamodi is a small village a short drive away from Heraklion, and it was a wonderful base for exploring the island of Crete.

We always travel with our son, and we look to stay at places that are affordable, clean, include a kitchen, and room to relax and play. Villa Christina was a perfect fit for us! We also like to get off the well traveled tourist path so that our son can experience the culture of the places we visit, and the location of the Villa in the village of Pendamodi gave us this opportunity.

We were well taken care of by Adonis and Zakros Tours. You will need to rent a car, and they offer special rates to visitors who are staying at the Villa. We were met at the airport with our rental car and followed Adonis to the Villa. (He helped us to the port at the end of our stay as well.) Upon arrival at the villa, Adonis sat down with us to talk about what we wanted to do on Crete and gave excellent advice on where to go, how long it takes, and good places to eat. There is an informative guide to the area provided in the Villa as well. Most nights we took advantage of the wonderful hospitality of the local Taverna. The food was excellent, the atmosphere welcoming, and my son made fast friends with the owner. We also had the experience of a local Cretan chef cooking for us at the Villa. It was a delicious experience and highly recommended!

Do be advised that your GPS may lead you on interesting, but possibly unwanted, adventures around the island that include tiny roads that are not paved or well marked. We easily avoided traveling these roads by purchasing a map and familiarizing ourselves with the main roads.

We could not have been happier with our experience and highly recommend Villa Christina!

We stayed in Christina 3, one of the three villas in Pendamodi, offered by Zakros Tours. I can not say enough good things about the villa and the staff of Zakros Tours. The Villa is a very nice three bedroom free standing home. The main floor has a large kitchen eating area, fireplace, living room, a 3/4 bath, and a wash machine. Upstairs are three large bedrooms, a full bath, and a separate W/C. There is a very nice size pool in a private garden area. The village of Pendamodi is 20 minutes away from Heraklion, and you will need a car. We were there for seven days and used the villa as a base, traveling to different parts of the island each day, and returning each evening. The villa is clean, modern, looks brand new.

As good as the villa is, the extra special feature is the staff of Zakros Tours. It is a family owned and operated company that really cares about making your stay special. They go out of their way to meet your needs. Adonis, the son of the owner, was too good to be true. He offered to include a car as part of the package, at a very reasonable rate, and I was very glad he did. He picked us up at the airport, on the way to the villa, he took us to a supermarket so we could get some provisions, when we got to Pendamodi, he took us to his nephews Taverna (George's) for a welcome toast of Raki (a local beverage made from the pulp of the grape after the wine has been extracted, just a little stronger than gasoline) It was a fantastic glimpse into the real local life of Crete.

On night Adonis brought a chef to the villa and cooked us a traditional Greek meal, a wonderful salad, Dakos (twice baked bread similar to bruschetta topped with tomato and feta), a stew of lamb, vegetables, potatoes, in a very tasty lemon sauce, with toasted bread and Tzatziki sauce, for desert, a yogurt parfait. He prepared it from scratch in our kitchen while we talked about everything from marriage to politics. It was a fantastic meal, and a wonderful opportunity for cultural exchange.

The villa is a wonderful place to stay, just be aware, it is a secluded retreat. Pendamodi is a sleepy little village with not much to offer in the way of entertainment or night life. You will need a car so you can experience the charms of the island, and then return to recharge at the villa.

Dear Adonis,
Thank you very much for your attention . The Villa is very pleasant. Crete is a beautiful country. We have seen plenty of nice places: Matala, Chania, Rethymnon, Lassith... People are welcoming! If one day, you will come to France, it is with a great pleasure that we will invite you!

Endroit calme et bien situ? pour ceux qui veulent, comme nous, visiter le pays.

Excellent accueil avec m?me un panier pour le premier petit d?jeuner, m?nage fait tous les 3 jours en m?me temps que les draps et linge de maison sont chang?s.

La location de voiture a ?t? parfaite, une personne nous attendait ? l'a?roport D'H?raklion et nous a m?me amen?e jusqu'a la maison. Des conseils de visites int?ressants nous ont ?t? prodigu?s par le loueur.

La "taverna" du village est excellente, lΆ?pici?re, ouverte quasiment en permanence, offre le minimum n?cessaire.

I just thought I'd drop you this short email to thank you and Giorgios so much for the wonderful welcome you and your family extended to me and my family. We had a wonderful time at Christina 1 and enjoyed some lovely trips out. Pentamodi is a lovely village and we felt very much at home there.

This was my first time to Crete, and because you are such a good ambassador, I am sure that I will be back in the future.

Please extend my warmest and most sincere regards to the rest of the Zakros Tours team.

Warmest regards

My family and I visited Christina Villa's last August and enjoyed a great, relaxing holiday in the traditional village of Pendamodi.

The villa was to a high standard with good facilities, plenty of space and privacy. The property had a lovely garden incorporating a swimming pool, BBQ area and good sitting areas to accomodate those who enjoy the sun or those who prefer a shaded area.

Pool and Villa cleaning was carried out on a regular basis by friendly, and helpful staff to a good standard.

On arrival we received a warm welcome from Adonis and his family and they remained helpful and available throughout our stay.

We enjoyed good local cuisine in Pendmodi as well as great restaurants in the surrounding villages, all to a high standard at affordable prices.

For those who are looking for a quiet realxing break in a traditional village not too far from the capital Iraklion( Heraklion) and the major attractions we would highly recommend Christina Villa's.

We have visited the beautiful Island of Crete many times but usually stayed in a coastal resort. When we saw Christina Villa we decided to give it a try.

The villa is fantastic, very private and the villages were marvelous.

The people were very friendly, and the food at the taverna was really scrumptious.

We would definately go back and recommend it for a truely relaxing holiday.

Manolis is the owner and couldn't do enough for us, he is a truely lovely, genuine person.

The facilities were great and the owners were brilliant. The villa is owned by a local family who take real pride in their work and hospitality - they went to great trouble to ensure we had a good stay - advising us on local beaches, site seeing, restaurants etc. We even got a competitive car hire deal through Zakros Tours.

We really enjoyed chatting to both Georgious (?) & Adonis about life in Crete, which gave us further insight into the culture.

The local taverna (also owned by the same family) cooked up some delish dishes. This (coming from a fussy eater) is not to be snuffed at!!

I really couldn't fault the team or the villa - If you're going to Crete, this is the place to stay.

If you want to experience *real* Crete, this is the place for you. Situated in the hills south of Heraklion, there are lots of places to explore nearby & excellent tavernas and cafes. The owners & managers of the villa were extraordinarily generous with their time & very thoughtful--so much so that I felt badly about the amount of time of theirs we consumed. And what's more, they can help you rent a car, which you'll need.

In the village is a lovely cafe/taverna with *excellent* food, and the owners were very thorough to point us to lots of other great places to eat & visit. Strongly recommended.

Christina was a great place for us... Surrounded by a beautiful scenery with trees and flowers. I loved the outdoor pool where I used to spend many hours with a book or music. My little sister also got excited with the video-games and the DVD player. The rooms were big and clean. My mom used to cook in the full equipped kitchen it was very useful to have everything you need in the place you stay. From kitchen, micro, boiler even dishwasher and washing machine in a small room in the house. It was twenty minutes from the main city of the island Iraclio and also close to Knossos one of the most famous ancient palace in Greece. The beaches of Crete were amazing and the owner was very helpful and provide us with all the necessary information to get the best of our trip... Best thing was that they also rent cars so you could actually combine everything and get a very good deal, cause without a car it's not that easy to do a lot of things since the island is huge...!! It is amazing how many thing were there to see and do... Ten days were nothing at the end we wanted more...!

We stayed at Christina III last October (2010) for a week. The experience was absolutely great. The villa is large (good for 3 couples) & comfortable with all you need to eat in & with a nice swimming pool. We went out almost every night to Heraklion and during the day we had great traditional dishes and drinks at the local charming CAFE (best Raki in Greece!).

The village is inspiring and the people are warm and welcoming.

Adonis, Manolis & George who ran the place are super & will assist with what ever is needed. If you plan to go on a vacation with kids or with a few friends - this is definitely a great spot!

We all had a lovely time at your lovely villa. Everyone was so kind and welcoming. Pendamodi is a lovely place. Thank you to everyone who helped make our holiday so good. Goodbye and we may meet again . Love from all the family.

Dear Adonis
Thank you to you and George for all your help. Also to Mia (The maid) for keeping the villa so lovely.

We particularly liked George's taverna in the village and George helped with our Greek and the food was good too.

As for villa it was great and we all really liked it.

These are only suggestions and we thought the Villa and village were great and we had a brilliant holiday.

We would like to return sometime and would recommend the villa to friends.

Thank you to all your family for the help.

Dear Mr Adonis,
It was our first vacation in Crete and honestly much better than we could expect. Especial we like staying in your villa, which is perfectly adapted for family like our or bigger. Villa we could recommend for all holidaymakers who like travelling, comfort, privacy and excellent location.

Thank you very much for nice staying, best wishes for you and George.

Adonis,
Many thanks for your message - we enjoyed our holiday in Crete very much and your villa is excellent. Thank you for your help.

For future visitors we would recommend the beach at Ligaria - it is fairly quiet and is a lovely bay for swimming.

One other place which we found and which has a spectacular view is at the small chapel at Rhizenia - on the hill by the ancient cemetary site - just before Prinias.

Once again, many thanks.

We wanted to thank you and Giorgos for your kind attention and the hospitality during our vacation. We enjoyed our stay in Villa Christina and in Pendamodi in general very much and hope to return to Crete soon.

We wish you all the best.

Thank you for all your help. We have had a great holiday.

I want to thank you for your disponibility, to make for our holiday.

Our holiday was great and Creta is a wonderful island.

Christina villa 2 was very beautiful and comfortable even for the six of us. The description of the villa on the website is was as really as the reality.

We wait you and Marina for a little tour in our country!