Nymphes Luxury Apartments in Crete
My husband and I visited the island of Crete, Nov. 20-26, ’03. Since it was off-season, the majority of accommodations were closed. Fortunately, for us, Nymphes Luxury Apartments (Aghia Pelagia, Crete, GREECE; phone 30 2810 371605, fax 30 2810 811842, e-mail nymphes@ier.forthnet.gr or visit www.greekhotel.com/crete/heraklion/nymphes/home.htm) is open year-round. We can’t imagine a nicer place to stay on Crete, anytime of year.
Nymphes is in an excellent location about 12 miles west of Heraklion, above the pretty beach resort of Aghia Pelagia. Nymphes is perched high on a cliff, and every one of its six apartments and four studios has a stunning view of the ocean from a private balcony.
The apartments are lovely and immaculate and have a full range of amenities, such as a fully furnished kitchen, air-conditioning, central heat and satellite TV plus a complimentary fruit basket and bottle of wine. There is also a swimming pool and free parking — but note that there are 40 steps or so from the parking area to the apartments.
The icing on this beautiful cake is the absolutely charming and delightful lady who owns Nymphes, Pepy Chatzimarkaki. We’ve met many gracious people in the places we’ve stayed throughout the years, but they just don’t get any sweeter or more hospitable than Pepy. By the time we left Nymphes, we’d made a wonderful new friend.
We recommend that anyone contemplating a trip to the Greek islands check out the outstanding website for Nymphes, as it accurately reflects the beauty of the views and of the apartments.
We’d also encourage people to travel to Crete during the off-season. We had great weather (60s and 70s). The beach resorts are basically shut down, but the mountain villages and large coastal towns are full of life. The restaurants in Aghia Pelagia were closed for the season, but there were several excellent tavernas open in Fodele, the next village over (and home of El Greco), three or four miles west of Nymphes.
JEAN & JOHN FRAZIER
Scarborough, ME