Retaining traditional Cretan architecture, stone-built Villa Agrielia near Heraklion, offers spacious bedrooms with a spa bath and views of the Cretan countryside, 8.7 miles from the archaeological site of Knossos. Villa Agrielia is housed in a restored 2-floor house with fully equipped kitchen and dining room, large living room with traditional furnishings and a fireplace. The air-conditioned bedrooms have satellite TVs and balconies. In Villa Agrielia’s flower-filled courtmeters, guests can have barbecues, dine under the wooden pergola and enjoy the view. The swimming pool is purified with a modern eco-system that also provides ozone therapy.Just 1,350 meters from the village, Agrielia’s guests have the chance to take long walks in Karteros’s Canyon and admire the ancient settlement of Myrtia and other places of archaeological importance. Sgourokefali village is 11.2 miles away from the city, port and airport of Heraklion and 6.2 miles from Amnissos beach. One km away, in Episkopivillage, there are shops and a medical centre.

Crete. As well as the magnificent beaches and warm seas, the size and physical variety of the island of Crete invites exploration, and Agrielia Villa, located at Sgourokefali, Episkopi, Heraklion, 70008, Greece, is the ideal staring point. Uniquely among Greek islands, Crete’s mountainous spine creates a sense of spaciousness, a life distinct from sea and sand. Fly-drive holidays to Crete – or simply the hire of a car for some days during your stay in Agrielia Villa, – will enable you to seek out the rugged formations of the interior, the fertile countryside and tiny chapels filled with frescoes, the mountain villages where time has stood still. Always, the authentic spirit of the islanders, their fierce independence and pride – as well as the best cooking and most delicious meals that constitute the famed “Cretan Diet” – will more likely be found where few others are looking. With so much to see, with dolphins to watch, shaded squares to paint, olive trees and wild orchids, Minoan remains and sweeping beaches, no wonder Crete holidays and Agrielia Villa are revisited so often.