Book a hotel near Boutari, Archanes-Asterousia

"An exquisitely designed property in a charming town, near Heraklion. Although it's no fault of the hotel, GPS programs insist on directing you on tiny, steep lanes to bring you to and take you from the property. Highly recommended to not rely on GPS apps. This offers small town flavor near to Heraklion with plenty of tourist sites nearby, including Knossos. Breakfast was great. We had a few pre-season hiccups which the staff endeavored to solve. Same thing happened elsewhere. When things get busy, undoubtedly everything will go smoothly. Highly recommended, especially if you appreciate innovative design."

"Beautiful grounds, pool and vistas. Very friendly staff, and breakfast was very good. Just be aware you’re driving narrow country roads to get up to the property, about 1/2 mile outside Archanes. We’d do it again without hesitation, but probably not with the unit we booked. It had a loft bedroom with steep stairs and low ceiling height for half the loft. Fine for shorter folks or younger people. Not ideal at age 70."

"We stayed at Villa Mantilari for a large family reunion and it was more than what we could have expected. The hosts are extremely accommodating and responsive and the place is just magical. This has our highest recommendation."

"Having booked 5 villas through Vrbo in the last 10 years, this is the best! It was perfect. So well equipped, lovingly decorated, clean throughout, peaceful with a great sized pool and beautoful views. Eirinni was the perfect host, so kind and friendly. She was there to greet us, surprised us with a welcome cake that she had baked, some local snacks and raki. She checked in several times during our stay and had local advice if we needed it. The villa was so clean, the air con worked perfectly but the thing that surprised me was how thoughtfully Eirinni and her husband has equpped it. From the kitchen through to the lovely dining area, every kind of glassware, crockery and cooking equipment was on hand. By the washing machine was all of the laudry soaps etc, which isnt always the case. The bathrooms were great and again, had toiletries in case one had forgotten anything. The village was very nice, with two grocery stores, a butchers (closed for summer break on our visit), a pharmacy and two tavernas (again, one closed on our break). The bakery / cafe was the families favourite - great bread, pasteries and savories, coffee and ice cream. We found the villa location worked really well, not too far to get to Heraklion, the coast, and other sites, plus several large villages with plenty of restaurants within 15 mins drive. Thank you Eirinni for such a lovely stay, the villa was beautiful and you were the perfect host."