All hotels 30 stays

Maison Meltem is an eight-room adults-only bed and breakfast above Agia Pelagia, where the whole building faces the Aegean and breakfast is served under olive trees.

Elounda Stories is a 13-room boutique hotel a short stroll from Elounda town on Crete's Mirabello Bay, built for contemporary comfort with sea and mountain views close at hand.

King Minos Retreat rises amphitheatrically up a green hillside above Crete's north coast, its Cretan-style stone buildings and garden bungalows arranged for sea views, some with private pools.

Minos Palace Resort occupies its own peninsula above Agios Nikolaos Bay — an adults-only address on the Cretan coast where a dark-bottom freshwater infinity pool opens onto Mirabello Bay.

Aisha Hotel occupies a renovated old building in the heart of Chania's historic quarter, a two-minute walk from the Venetian harbour and its waterfront.

NEMA Design Hotel & Spa is an adults-only five-star on Analipsi Beach Road in Hersonissos, part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, working a dark, contemporary palette against the Cretan light.

Dyo Beach Suites sits directly on the sand at Misiria, east of Rethymno: a small collection of one-bedroom apartments, several with private pools, breakfast carried to your terrace each morning.

The Tanneries Hotel & Spa occupies four conjoined 1800s tannery buildings on the Tabakaria waterfront near Chania, 20 suites strung along the water inside a Design Hotels member.

Panorama New Generation is a seven-room house set on the slope above Hora Sfakion, on Crete's south coast, with a pool terrace looking out over the harbour and the Libyan Sea.

RoccaMare Heraklion is a five-star member of the Handwritten Collection, set a short walk from the sea on the edge of Heraklio Town, with a seasonal rooftop pool as its centrepiece.