Villa Georgokastello, Stalos, Crete

Featured in Guardian & The Observer " Have you seen the view...."   

Once upon a time, on a hot summer's day some 30 years ago, young Georgos had a dream. He had purchased a large piece of land on the highest hilltop in Upper Stalos, 4km from the sea and 2km from the village and with no road or even a decent footpath! However the panoramic views of the sea and Crete's White Mountains were absolutely incredible, so he decided that one day he would build a sensational villa right at the very top of the hill. At the time, the surrounding hills were covered in valuable but rather drably coloured Olive trees, but in his mind's eye he saw that his hill and his villa should have Pine trees. So he planted the Pine trees...

30 years on, the Pine trees have grown tall and stately, Georgos is grey and distinguished and the villa is no longer a dream.

Constructed on different levels using the contours of the hillside, the villa has been built in a classical style. All the windows are set in creamy surrounds of local stone, whilst graceful wide stone archways, fluted marble columns and beautiful moulded balustrades delineate the various parts of the split-level living area, with its beautiful Italian floor tiles.

The villa can comfortably sleep 8 and top of the list, is the spacious master bedroom with twin beds matrimonial style and a superb adjoining full bathroom with hydro massage bath! This bedroom also has patio doors to a lovely-secluded rear terrace, partially covered with grapevines, with a pathway that leads around the villa directly to the pool. There are a further two small bedrooms with double beds, one of which has a full en-suite bathroom and patio doors to its own private terrace, whilst the other has a beautifully tiled en-suite shower room. For larger families there's also an elegant sleeping gallery with wooden balustrade and curtains, situated above the entrance vestibule, to one side of the living area. The gallery has two sofa beds as well as the benefit of its own air conditioning unit and makes a comfortable extra sitting room during the day.

The main entrance is to the front towards the sea, with 8 steps leading up to a door into the vestibule and the split-level, open plan living area. To the right is an immaculate kitchen, with fitted cupboards, pine ceiling and rich sand coloured floor tiles. There's a large fridge-freezer, full electric cooker and a dishwasher plus a small breakfast table for impromptu meals and gorgeous sea views.

Beyond the kitchen, steps lead up to the spacious living room where superb sea views dominate the two beautiful picture windows. There's a striking dining table and chairs to the rear, whilst to the front is a stylish lounge area with sofas and easy chairs grouped around an impressive stone fire-place with further fitted seating bracketing the chimney breast.

From the living room, a door opens onto a large sun terrace, overlooking the pool, with further fantastic sea and mountain views. Here you will find a large table for dining alfresco plus to the rear, a small bar, complete with fridge, sink and tiled work surfaces. Just below the bar and reached by a small staircase, you will find a convenient purpose built barbecue. To the front of the sun terrace, 4 steps lead down to further terraces around the 8m x 5m swimming pool, with ample sun beds and adjoining children's pool. Beyond here, the lovely pine trees provide a green and shady retreat from the sun and the perfect spot to relax with a good book or just enjoy the amazing views and utter tranquillity. 

Parents note: Due to its terraced hillside location, the property has a number of external staircases and fairly steep drops and we believe it is probably not suitable for children under 5 years of age.

"Have you seen the view from my room?

Georgokastello, Stalos, Crete

This villa sits so high on a hilltop that you can look down on the flights of one of Europe's largest bird of prey, the Lammergeier or cast your gaze instead over rolling olive- and pine-tree-clad hills, which give on to Crete's White Mountains in one direction and the uninhabited nearby island of Theodoro in the other. The whitewashed castellated property, whose name means George's Castle in English, is built on several levels. It has adult and children's pools and three bedrooms as well as a balustraded gallery which can be used as an extra bedroom. "

Location of Villa Georgokastello
Stalos, Crete
7 km west of Chania, the village of Lower Stalos fringes a long, sandy beach with the island of Theodorou, said to be a petrified sea monster, rising from the sea just a short distance off shore. 1km inland the small village of Upper Stalos nestles serenely on the hillside amidst a patchwork of vineyards and olive groves. Here you will find a slower pace of life as well as a couple of the best local tavernas in the area, both certainly worth a visit or two! ...More about Stalos >>

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