Prices in Euro per room per night for double occupancy (taxes included)
Breakfast is included in the prices
The prices are valid until 31 December 2010, but may be subject to change – please verify prices when you make your reservation.

If you are interested in Cretan customs and you’d like to experience what it is like to stay in a historical village house, you will love the House of Kouriton. It is nothing like an ordinary guesthouse, as you will understand the moment you walk in and you are welcomed by an intense scent of herbs and a décor seems to come straight out of a ‘country living’ coffee table book. Bunches of dried herbs and flowers dangle from the wood-beamed ceilings, shelves are stocked with jars with homemade preserves and bottles of aromatised olive oil, and a large wooden table is covered with history books, freshly picked flowers and herbs.

The house dates from 1750, and is a purely Cretan design. (Unlike most historical buildings on the island, it does not display any Venetian or Turkish influences). It is what people used to call a fournospito – a house with a big bread oven inside where bread was baked for the family that lived there and for the workers in their employ. It has an interesting labyrinth-like layout – a remarkable Minoan inspiration found in 18th century Cretan architecture, and the charming bedrooms seem hidden in little corners.

Hostess Anastasia Friganaki is a retired history schoolteacher with wide-ranging interests (philology, architecture, Minoan culture, local traditions, arts and crafts…), that she is keen on sharing with her guests. She will treat you to a glimpse of the traditional ways of life on Crete, and turn your holidays into quite an experience. You will be served an authentic Cretan breakfast in the morning and offered homemade spoon-sweets during the day, and Anastasia will show you local ceramics workshops and direct you to any traditional events taking place in the area.


Your experiences

* ''A beautiful and unique place"
Our stay at the House of Kouriton was one of the hotel highlights of our trip to Crete. It's a beautiful and unique place, an impeccably restored 1750 house; and Anastasia is a fabulously colorful person. She is extremely warm and engaging and eager to talk, even though her knowledge of English is very limited. She is the best possible hostess. We enjoyed everything so much, and we took many pictures of the place, and of Anastasia as well! We also happened to be there the night of a traditional Cretan festival that Anastasia was hosting, with dinner and music and dancing, and as we were warmly welcomed to join them in all of it, we had one of our best nights in Greece! That's saying a lot.
 
Jennifer J,
USA

Open
All year

Rates
From 45 Euro
For further information regarding rates and booking periods please go to the tab ''On line booking''.

Rooms
2 rooms (2 people)
5 rooms (3-4 people)

Breakfast
From 8.30 to 10.30

Restaurant
No Restaurant

Notes
Children welcome, cots available
Dogs not allowed

Room facilities
En suite shower (small!)
Refrigerator
Television

Other facilities
2 dining rooms
1 sitting room

Distances
Airport: 55 km
Port: 25 km
Sea and beach: 12 km
Shops: 400 m
Restaurants: 50 m
Nearest town: Rethymno, 25 km

How to get there
Follow the national road between Iraklion and Rethymno. Turn off at the exit for Panormos and follow signs for Perama. In Perama, turn right and continue straight until you see a sign to the left for Margarites. The House of Kouriton is in Tzanakiana, the village just before Margarites. There is no sign, but you will see it on your left right above the road.

Activities
Explore the sites in the area (monasteries, Byzantine churches, caves), take part in cooking classes, demonstrations on how to make aromatic olive oils, seminars concerning ceramic workshops and Cretan traditions.