We hired a villa in Crete last June. We used Villa Select, who I would also highly recommend. We were about 30kms away from Chania, in the village of Plaka, which is on the hill above the small resort of Almyrida. This was ideal for us and our extended family, (ourselves, grown up son, daughter and husband and 3 year old grandson) with something for everyone. There were good places to eat in the village, the sandy beach and small resort was half an hours walk down the hill and there were plenty of places to explore by car. We visited Chania a couple of times. It is a wonderful place with a pretty Venitian harbour, lined with restuarants and bars and little narrow alleyways full of shops.

Are the villas you have seen in Chania itself or just nearby? Though we loved Chania and would love to stay there for a few days, I would not choose to be based there for a week, if planning to tour round. The traffic in and out of town can be very busy at times and the one-way system a pain to negotiate. Better (in my opinion) to be based nearby and visit a few times.

Here are some pictures from our trip to give you an idea of what can be visited in the area.

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/346735/index_all.html

Though I believe there are dolphins in Greece, in many years of visiting, I have never seen one. There are boat trips, including glass bottomed boats from Chania harbour but I'd have doubts about you seeing dolphins.

Hi Angelab1983
I totally agree with Mariah, we stay in Aspro (overlooking Almyrida) its fab.
Driving in Chania is a nightmare There's too many families on mopeds (you know what it's like driving in Greece)
I suggest you enter " Villa in Almirida " as a phrase in your search engine, as there are some really nice properties in that particular area of the island, and if your hiring a car Almirida has easier access to the national road, since they built a new junction at Kalyves.

For the real drama of Crete and the best beaches head west of Chania. Falasarna Beach has been voted the best in Europe. You have the wild west coast, Elafonissi, Paleochora and of course the nearby White Mountains. I agree Chania is wonderful to visit 2 or 3 times during a holiday but it's a busy town to be in for any length of time. It really depends what you want from your hols. Some great restaurants in Chania but avoid the harbour front at all costs!
Good luck.