The grounds are beautiful. Each unit is very spacious and well equipped. Poppy was there to greet us and was extremely helpful throughout our stay. There's a snack bar near the pool, tavernas nearby. The beach is a short ride away. We were a group of 14 people, 3 generations, and everyone was so pleased!

Everything was great!

Spacious, outside areas very well looked after and outstanding staff, always ready to help and make their utmost to make our stay exceptional.

Spacious terrace but not satisfactorily furnished (basic table and chairs but no armchairs or sofas). Disappointing.

High quality apartment, spacious, well furnished, excellent cooking facilities. Lovely gardens surrounding, great views. Very pretty, quiet village (out of main season) with friendly locals.

Access roads in village very narrow and twisting - glad to never have met anyone whilst driving to/from property!

everything

+peace and quiet +very large rooms (Villa Erato) and three balconies +excellent kitchen +Popi an the staff

-mosquitoes -beds were bit uncomfy

amazing place, clean and beautifully situated

Douliana village is a series of villas of different sizes, taking up a large part of the village of Douliana. It's a lovely place - not quite captured by the booking.com pictures. The villas are arranged along a few roads, but thoughtfully laid out so that you do not feel overlooked. There is also a main pool, with a bar next to it, so you can swim at your own place and then go round to the bigger pool for a drink or a snack or a change of scene. The cafe doubles as a store for essentials including bottled water, fresh fruit and vegetables. But if you are going to eat at home you will need to visit the Synka supermarket in nearby Kalyves. We stayed in Villa Dionysia, which has 4 rooms and its own pool, surrounded by lemon trees, olive trees and grape vines: beautiful! Plenty of shade by the pool. There was a barbecue and an outside table under a shady colonnade to eat outside. The villa was very clean and had everything we needed - cleaners came twice during our week-long stay. There was plenty of internet access. It's probably worth mentioning that our villa pool was deep - probably more suitable for older children - so we had to go and use the big pool for the children not to be out of their depth. The owner Popi was really kind and attentive. When our children wanted to share a room she instantly came and made up an extra bed so that we could reorganise the sleeping arrangements. She gave us excellent recommendations and told us to call her any time, which we did - for example for directions when we could not find the beach. There are two tavernas and a couple of cafes within walking distance - both lovely settings in their own way. The further taverna Ta Ntouliana is smarter, with tables under the trees and a large menu to choose from - we enjoyed our food. Taverna Heliostasis - on the right on the way into the village - seemed a much more modest place, but the food was absolutely delicious.

The roads within the village are narrow and passing other cars is difficult, so this might put off people who are not confident drivers. As always, we got through a lot of water bottles because Popi advised not drinking the tap water. A filter system would be a fantastic addition, to save going through so many plastic bottles.

We self catered. We wanted a quiet location in a typical Cretan property. The apartment has a pool which it shared with four similar properties. There is also a larger pool with kafenion which is available for the use of all the Douliana apartments and villas. The property is a renovated old dwelling with modern facilities. It was exactly what we wanted. It came with its own private parking space. There are two tavernas within walking distance of the village (both offering excellent traditional Cretan food) and two kafenio offering drinks and snacks. There are lots of other tavernas within a short driving distance. The surrounding countryside is a sight to behold and provides excellent walking facilities. The properties have lovely gardens and ours had both sea and mountain views. We sat on one of our two balconies every lunchtime and evening. The apartment was cleaned several times during our two week stay and the towels and bed linen changed with the same regularity. The apartment was well equipped. It included a washing machine, iron and ironing board, TV, coffee making facilities, sandwich toaster and juicer. There is no dishwasher, but who needs this unless you propose eating in all the time? Two sunbeds were provided. There are several walks around the village through the olive groves and surrounding countryside. It's a great place to explore the natural beauty of the area. For those wanting a little more going on there are many other places within very easy reach. We have visited Crete almost every year for around twenty years and would certainly recommend this area and this property. It is advisable to hire a car if only to facilitate transport from the airport and to explore the area.

There is always something that can be better, but overall we were very satisfied with the level of service, the cleanliness and the feelgood factor. If we had to criticise something it would be the bed, which was a little springy and noisy. But this in no way stopped us from enjoying a great holiday. It was a little difficult to find shade on both balconies. The rear one contained a dining table which would have benefitted from being shaded from the midday sun. Having said this there was a good sized table inside, but this holds little appeal for those who like to eat outdoors.