Crete Accommodation Guide Overview

Where to Stay in Crete: Our Overview

Crete has accommodation for every budget, from family-run studios and village guesthouses to 5-star beach resorts and private villas. This overview covers the places we have stayed in ourselves, grouped into budget hotels, luxury hotels and villas.

We've lived in Crete long enough to know that where you stay shapes your whole holiday. A beach resort near Chania, a hotel in Heraklion or a quiet village guesthouse each give a very different trip, so we've added our own tips and experiences to each type of stay.

Budget Hotels in Crete

The Keramos studios in the mountain village of Zaros are a family-run traditional guesthouse, and one of our favourite budget stays in Crete. The simple rooms have wrought-iron beds, vintage touches and hand-crafted details.

The hosts treat every guest like family, and the breakfast is a spread of homemade Cretan food, from warm pies to fresh honey and thick yogurt.

The village of Zaros is a good base for walking, birdwatching, photography or orchid spotting.

Other places we've stayed in include budget Crete apartments in Georgioupoli and Stalis on the north coast and Paleochora and Sfakia on the south coast.

Budget self-catering studios and apartments in Crete vary in standard, but we've always found them clean and well maintained. The owners usually live on site or close by. Most are family businesses, so you can expect mother to do the cooking and cleaning, dad to look after the gardens and pool, the teenage son to run the bar and the 8-year-old daughter to wait on tables!

For example, we've stayed in the Filia Hotel Apartments in Stalis, where 3 brothers, their wives and children all muck in to make holidaymakers feel welcomed, happy and satisfied. We'd personally recommend these apartments for families who are looking for a cheap but cheerful holiday.

We also loved the Sunshine Studios and Apartments in Stalis, owned and run by twin brothers.

Another good budget hotel we've stayed in is the Oreia apartments in Paleochora on the south coast of Crete. It is well placed for the 2 main beaches and the harbour.

We've also stayed a couple of times at the family-run Manto Studios in Paleochora and can highly recommend it, with very clean rooms, a good location and a lovely breakfast.

Luxury Hotels in Crete

At the other end of the scale, we've also been lucky enough to stay in some 5-star hotels in Crete. We stayed just one night at the Megaron Hotel (now GDM Megaron Hotel) in Heraklion, as it was handy for the airport, and we loved its decor and stylish rooms.

We were among the first guests at the Mitsis Laguna Resort at Anissaras when it was newly built. It is now called Mitsis Selection Laguna, a 5-star ultra all-inclusive beach resort. We were impressed by the service and the decor, and we've made quite a few return trips since that first stay.

A note about all-inclusive 5-star hotels in Crete: some do not match the standard of luxury you may expect from the rating, but this is reflected in the price. For example, we've stayed at the Blue Marine Resort & Spa on Mirabello Bay near Aghios Nikolaos. It looked lovely but fell short of a true 5-star experience, though for the price we paid we were not disappointed.

Some 4-star hotels exceed expectations. We stayed at the Hermes Hotel on the seafront in Aghios Nikolaos a number of times over the years and found it good value for money. The hotel at that address, Akti Koundourou, now trades as the 5-star InterContinental Crete.

Another all-inclusive hotel we've stayed in many times is the Blue Sea Resort at Stalis, which was very good value for money. It is now the 5-star Hotel Blue Sea Beach Affiliated by Meliá.

We've stayed a couple of times at the Kalyves Beach Hotel, but not since it went all-inclusive. It stands right on the long sandy beach at Kalyves.

Just west of Chania, we've stayed at the family-run Rania Beach Hotel at Platanias, close to Agia Marina. The main building is right on the beach.

Another good-value hotel we've stayed in is the Hotel Axos (now Hotel Rethymno Axos) in Platanes, just east of Rethymnon, with a large pool and a family feel.

Our favourite of all the hotels we've stayed in was Corissia Park in Georgioupoli. The staff made us feel one of the family and nothing was too much trouble, and we loved the service, the food, the pool, the nearby beach, the entertainment evenings and the gardens. The Corissia group no longer lists a hotel by that name; its Corissia Beach Hotel in the village has gardens called Corissia Park.

For 42 more hotels, region by region, see our guide to luxury hotels in Crete.

Villas in Crete

A villa in Crete gives more privacy and flexibility than a hotel, with a kitchen, often a private pool, and space for a family or a group. Choices range from traditional stone-built houses in quiet villages to modern villas above the sea.

Staying in a villa lets you live like a local. You can buy fresh bread from the village bakery, have coffee on the terrace overlooking the olive groves and cook on the barbecue in the evening. Many villas are family-run, so the owners are usually close by.

For peace and seclusion, look at the countryside around Vamos, the hills of eastern Crete or the coves near Sitia. For easy access to restaurants, beaches and historic sites, look at Elounda, Agia Marina or Plaka.

When you choose a villa, compare the location, the facilities, the distance to the beach and shops, and recent reviews from previous guests.