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.
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.
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.