Villa Elli - A magical garden retreat with private pools and curated spaces

We enjoyed our stay in Villa Elli in Prines, the villa was lovely, the village was a short 20 minute drive from a few beaches. There were 3 very good tavernas within 10-15 minutes walk and a small supermarket that had pretty much all we needed. The villa is charming and quirky and very clean, it has 3 private verandas where you could sit in the sun or shade, 2 sitting areas indoors large dining table and a smaller one outside. Miss Elli and her family live next door and are available to help if needed but do not intrude, also Etouri customer support were a text or phonecall away if needed and they kept in touch with offers and advice.The kitchen had everything we needed whether making a cuppa to a 3 course meal.The pool was perfect size for us not too deep and plenty room for sunbeds.There are several cats who are regular visitors and very friendly and quite polite too!Overall a very nice holiday I would happily return to and recommend.

We booked this villa for a trip with our three teenagers. The house is lovely and very clean. We loved the pool and the lounge chairs. The air conditioning worked extremely well and we only had to run it for a few hours in the evening for it to be cool all day and night. The location is great. You are within a 10 minute drive for numerous fantastic beaches and restaurants. You can also walk to restaurants in the village if you don’t want to drive. The host was very responsive and sent a number of recommendations to us.

The location is okay, a little noisy with baking dogs and perhaps not the prettiest drive past the scrapyard. We had a few issues with dead flies/mosquitos across the floor of the apartment on the first few days as I believe a door or window has been left open before we arrived. That all being said the exterior of the property is gorgeous and the garden is lovely.

Very good stay in this house. Matches the description perfectly

Villa was as expected, great location ( must have a car) with a great garden space and everything we needed. Elli lives nearby and was wonderful! She left us in private yet regularly left us some of her fruit and veg, as well as some great stuffed peppers :) Thanks Elli! Cleaners came every three days which was much appreciated too. Pool was small but fabulous, especially since we had a 5 year old with us. It wasn’t too deep which meant he learned to swim there too. Luckily, we love cats as there are lots of them :) It was also useful having an Etouri rep on the other end of the phone- quite useful when one of our party broke their ankle and we needed doctors. Etouri also booked us into the Baja beach club on our last day and we didn’t have to pay a penny so thank you guys! Two lovely tavernas and two small supermarkets within 10mn walk from villa too which meant we could have a nice meal without worrying about driving. Fab villa,people and holiday!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Villa Elli. We were welcomed by Elli, the pleasant lady who lived next door. The house was comfortable and very well provisioned and the garden was exceptional, always a delight to relax in before and after our various trips out. We are very happy to recommend this villa.

We had a lovely holiday at Villa Elli. We are a family of 5 (2 adults, 11 year old, 8 year old & 3 year old) and the Villa was perfect for us. When we arrived Elli’s daughter was there to greet us and show us around the villa. The villa is just as described. It was clean (they cleaned the villa for us 3 times during our 2 week stay), and had everything we needed. There are 3 tavernas which are a 10 minute walk away (which are all excellent), and a small supermarket to get basic bits. Elli the villa owner lives behind the villa and was a lovely lady. She brought us fresh vegetables from her garden and cooked us a lovely lunch. She even bought the kids some animal toys to play with. If there was a problem with the villa then she sorted it very quickly. You do need to hire a car to get around (or get a taxi). The main town of Rethymno is a 10 minute drive away, which has the beaches and a wide selection of shops and restaurants. The management company were also very good and WhatsApp’ed me most days to check if we were ok or needed anything. They booked us into the Baja Beach a club one day which was a great day out with complementary drinks. They provided us with recommended medical centres to get our Covid tests we needed to get home. We will definitely come to stay at Villa Elli again. It was a very relaxing holiday for us and provided everything we needed.

We have spent a wonderful week in Villa Eli. The house is very well maintained and looks exactly as in the pictures. we also had the feeling, they take the COVID-19 measures very serious. Everything was perfectly clean, disinfection spray, masks and gloves are provided in the house! Cleaning service once a week was really nice to have included. It is perfect to spend some time with the family or with friends. Great porch and terrace to spend your evenings on... The kitchen is fully equipped and even if something is not working correctly, it is replaced within 24 hours. We were really amazed by the level of service offered, contact with Stella was very easy going, we received a lot of good tips and things to do and for every question we always got a quick answer. The location near Prines close to Rethymno is something we really enjoyed. There are enough really nice restaurants nearby and if you want to visit the city you are there in under 15 minutes. You definitely need a car if you are staying at Villa Eli, and it is better if you like cats as there are quite a few of them around. We would 100% recommend staying here. For us it was the first time in Greece, but thanks to this wonderful stay it will not be the last.

Villa Elli is the prettiest villa we have ever seen. The garden is full of flowers, palm trees, cacti and shrubs. The veranda is so welcoming and the villa is well equipped and comfortable. A quick walk to the village centre and there are 3 tavernas, all good, a shop and pharmacy along with a snack bar. A great base to explore Crete or just laze by the pool.

Very well equipped home, nice neighborhood, very attendant property manager and owner. No negatives.