The White Houses

Rooms

These 3 cottages and 2 apartments vary in size and layout, but one thing they all have in common is style: splashes of bright colour against whitewashed walls, pretty wooden or wrought iron furniture, and a few choice pieces of Cretan and Oriental antiquery (fading kilims, brass candlesticks, a historic diver’s bell). It’s a kind of ‘rustic Greek chic’ – simple and homely, neither overdecorated nor remotely tacky. Some have wooden floorboards and beamed ceilings, others marble floors and bright downlighters set into the plaster overhead. A few have retained the corner hearth from their days as fishermen’s homes; all have inherited wall-mounted heating / air-con units (very useful in midsummer and midwinter).

The cottages are designed for a family or group of friends, spread over two floors, with 3-4 bedrooms and 2-3 bathrooms. Pride of place goes to the ‘White House’, with its two gorgeous double bedrooms (one with wrought-iron four-poster and lace curtains, the other with low double-bed and floor-to-ceiling curtains) and a pair of generous sitting rooms (one up, one down) with massive wooden sofas – one of them fully 10 feet long. The ‘Double House’ is the largest, with 2 lovely double/twin bedrooms (one has stairs to a roof terrace) and 3 cosy rooms which can be used as single bedrooms or sitting rooms; it boasts a small private chapel with two bucket-style terracotta chairs (based on a Minoan design), in addition to a good-sized sitting room with wooden / bamboo furniture and corner hearth. The ‘Winter House’ is smaller, newer and cheaper than the other 2 – perfect for families of 3-4 – with the same blue-on-white minimalist design, including a blue-tiled shower cylinder planted inside the master bedroom.

The apartments would suit a couple with or without a child, each occupying one floor of a newer building and comprising 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom and a kitchen-living room. They are clean, white and refreshingly minimal, but lack the exotic touches and decorative flair of the cottages. The 'Balcony Apt' has (you guessed it) a balcony overlooking the harbour; the ‘Harbour Apt’ has no outside areas but, unlike the others, there are no stairs to negotiate.

All properties have a well-equipped kitchen (see Eating), gratifyingly efficient bathrooms (some ensuite, others adjoining; some with tub, others with shower) and a variety of living spaces (see above). All 3 cottages have a sun deck or terrace, some with reed-shaded dining areas, others with stately wooden benches for you to sit and watch the comings and goings of the fishing boats.

For a summary of the rooms in each cottage / apartment, see Cost and Booking.