Villa Zara

Our extended family stays in villa Zara every year and it is our ‘happy place’ where we always feel relaxed and distant from the pressures of the U.K. There are excellent restaurants in nearby Plaka (especially the incredible Elpis) and it is a short drive to great beaches at Almerida and Kalives. The villa itself has a great pool and good facilities.

I have been visiting Crete with Freelance for about 20 years and have stayed in many of their excellent villas, but I think Villa Zara must top the list! The house itself is fine, with 3 en-suite bedrooms. The kitchen and living area is small but perfectly adequate and the outside area is huge. There is a large swimming pool, large barbecue area and large grassed area. The view sweeps around from the beautiful Lefki Ora mountains to Souda Bay and the Akrotiri Peninsular. The arrival instructions!! I'll write an email to you

Great house with a very nice pool with a fabulous view in the sea.

This villa was perfection.. location, view, pool, shady area to eat and cleanliness.. we loved walking to Plaka. We loved Almyrida to eat. We loved the beach at Kalyves.. it was just a perfect holiday for our family! We met some friends at Bali Beach one day as this was a good half way point to where they were staying and this was really fun. There wasn’t a thing we would change - we had the best holiday and with the English summer weather being so bad, what a year to choose our first family Crete holiday!

The location is perfect, with only a short (10 minute) walk to the Plaka village for the tavernas and local supermarkets. The stunning views from the terrace and poolside, especially the sunsets make this a fantastic location for a holiday. The air conditioning in the bedrooms was essential, and the pool a blessing for cooling off in the hot Cretan sun. Access to t Poolside shower wasn’t working which was a pity. Plenty outside taps though to rinse off suncream before cooling off in the pool.

Villa Zara was perfect for our family holiday. The set up around the pool was brilliant - so many different spots to take in the beautiful views, read in the shade and soak up the sun. Easy walk to Plaka for some lovely tavernas. Great support from Diane and the team. We loved it!

Lovely location, super pool, spacious bedrooms, lovely outdoor and bbq area. Helpful and welcoming owners. Fantastic views. My husband and his friends have commented that it would be much better if the toaster had 4 slots rather than 2 because it takes too long to make toast for everyone in the morning! ? I am almost embarrassed to give this feedback as everything else was perfect.

Everything was perfect and we will be back

Our family of 6 stay at the beautiful Villa Zara every year and we always regard it as our ‘happily place’ where we can all relax and enjoy the pool and the amazing view. We have got to know the local restaurants and shop in Plaka and look forward to seeing them each year.

We were all overwhelmed by our stay at this wonderful villa in Almirida. It is large, spacious and airy, with many different outside areas in which to relax and enjoy the incredible views. The photos really don't do justice to the amazing sea views you get of the bay - and the fabulous sunsets. We only had a week here this year and very happily spent 3 days just chilling out at the villa. We had all we needed there! The pool is fantastic. The local supermarket in Plaka, has everything you could need - with the restaurants in the village providing a variety of atmospheres and menus. This is our third time in the area, and the best villa we have stayed in. Diana at Freelance Villas was really helpful and on hand at any time to help with any queries we had. We loved it! David , Date of arrival - 14 August 2021