Crete has long since been one of the most popular Greek Islands, not just because it’s the biggest. Mountainous hiking trails, secret coves, and ancient architectural sites like Aptera and Malia mean active travelers will find plenty of things to do. But if lying on one of the island’s most beautiful beaches or touring the local food scene holds more appeal, there’s an opportunity for that kind of holiday, too. Restaurants source local produce and draw from generational recipes to serve mouthwateringly fresh cuisine, and meals are finished with a shot of the famous Greek spirit, Ouzo.

For multi-generational groups, Crete continues to be a hit. It’s home to some of the best family-friendly hotels in Europe and two international airports, so time spent in transit won’t detract from the trip.

What is the best location to stay in Crete?

Lured by the picture-postcard Venetian harbour and proximity to the pink sand beach of Elafonisi, visitors generally flock to Chania in the northwest. With an abundant crop of grand new Greek island hotels opening their doors, however, the island’s lesser-known eastern half – famed for its near-deserted beaches lapped by mirror-clear waters and great value tavernas serving local specialities – is becoming increasingly popular.

What’s the best resort in Crete for families

Crete is home to some of the best family-friendly hotels in Greece, so there are plenty to choose from. One of our favourites is Cretan Malia Park with its river-esque swimming pool, teens-only cinema area and bungalows with built-in bunkbeds, or Domes of Elounda, which overlooks the Unesco-protected island of Spinalonga. Book into a Luxury Residence or Ulta-Luxe Villa where the self-catering facilities offer the perfect setup for families with little ones.

How we choose the best hotels in Crete

Every hotel on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has stayed at that property. When choosing hotels, our editors consider both luxury properties and boutique and lesser-known boltholes that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re always looking for beautiful design, a great location, warm service, and serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new hotels open and existing ones evolve. Find out more about our editorial standards and how we review hotels.

The Royal Senses Resort & Spa, Panormos hotel review

It’s no coincidence that everything, from the rooms to the restaurants and every pool, at this hillside hotel near Rethymno faces north. The bright blue views overlooking the sea of Crete are a stop-and-stare asset and made a purposeful feature throughout. Every room enjoys a front-row-view via a private terrace with seating, some have their own pool, plus the option to order a Balinese-style floating breakfast spread in the mornings. Then again, the breakfast buffet is a cracking one, with a rotating assortment of the classics (freshly plated eggs Benedict) as well as the traditional Cretan (fennel pie and sweet Bougatsa) and plenty of vegan options, served in an airy indoor, outdoor setting by the sprawling pool, a jazzy live saxophone serenading the morning sun. There’s sparkling wine and strawberries on offer too for those who are celebrating – of which I spotted many.

The Curio collection from Hilton property seamlessly treads the tightrope line between honeymoon and child-friendly. On one side of the hotel is the adults-only pool area and spa – the largest in Crete – as well as the romantic Cretamos restaurant, with room for only seven tables and a degustation menu paired with local wines. All the way on the other side is a shiny new kid’s club (the hotel only opened in 2021) that rivals most UK nurseries, along with a fantastical water playground with an array of slides to suit big and little ones, plus a bar for parents. All ages congregate around the palm tree flanked pool area, where citrus salads and cocktails can be ordered straight to your lounger. For a swim in the sparkling sea, guests can access the private beach at the neighbouring Royal Blue. Lauren Burvill

Price: from £196 per night
Address: Herakliou 58 km, Panormos 740 57, Greece

Acro Wellness Suites, Crete hotel review

Teetering over a caldera-like cliff with spectacular views over Mononaftis Bay, Acro Wellness Suites’ string of stone-built suites and villas are like a slice of Santorini in Crete. Scattered across a thyme-scented hillside, nine dome-roofed cave suites have in-room tubs for amorous soaping and large terraces with grotto pools for lazy soaking. The romantic adults-only setup makes it one of our favorite hotels for a honeymoon in Greece. The cave suites offer room for canoodling, but for the best sunset views, choose one of the three pool villas. Beyond the lovely suites, other highlights include the resort’s lagoon-like central pool and a light-filled spa crisscrossed with trickling water channels and centered on a Moroccan-style dome-roofed hammam. Heidi Fuller-Love

Price: from £375 per night
Address: Mononaftis, Ag. Pelagia 715 00, Greece

Daios Cove hotel review

It may be big – there are 300 rooms and 39 stone-built villas dotted around the olive-tree-covered cove – but service at Daios Cove is as smooth and polished as the marble floors. Families are especially well taken care of with complimentary buckets and spades for the beach and electric buggies to glide you noiselessly to your door. Villas are split over two storeys, with sitting rooms leading out to the infinity pool and terrace, and the master suite and balcony below. There’s a notable amount of effort to make your stay extra comfortable from the lengthy pillow menu to the choice of mango, vanilla or violet fragrances to be fed into the air-conditioning, and little treats like macaroons or feta muffins, waiting for you whenever you return to your room. The bars, restaurants and the swimming pool area are all on different levels up the rocky sides of the bay, accessed by a funicular rail car. Down at the beach, the shore is lined with loungers and the sea is shallow, making for child-friendly rippling waves.

Price: from £246 per night
Address: Βαθύ, Kritsa 721 00, Greece

St Nicolas Bay, Agios Nikolaos

In the unspoilt eastern side of the island, nestled between the town of Agios Nikolaos and the fishing village of Elounda, where local fishing boats pootle about the marina, life at St Nicolas Bay Resort feels simple. It’s hard to put this blissfully soothing cliff-side hotel into words: a hidden Greek far from the madding crowds, with twinkly sea views in every direction, teamed with a comforting, relaxed vibe that will see you and your brood scooped up, set down and looked after. Families can’t get enough of the chic new Olives & Sea suites, with separate bedrooms for the sprogs, private terraces and a pool so you can do laps and drink rosé, gazing across the spectacular Mirabello Bay, while they nap peacefully inside. The hotel is scattered about its six acres, with a rustic, authentically Grecian style, all-white stone walls fringed by blossoming pink oleanders and olive trees, with its own sandy beach and oodles of tucked-away spots under the fragrant bougainvillaea or beside the ancient church, ideal for diving, nose-deep into a book.

There’s a brilliant kids’ club run by the kind-hearted Roula, a baby and Olympic-sized infinity pool and no shortage of tempting food – from the Greek Kafeneion, where a bouzouki band serenades as you tuck into wood-fired souvlaki to the fine-dining Minotaur and its famed sushi. However, this place is all about the people. Eleni remembers every child by name with a high-five, Nikos happily picks up a tantruming toddler for a whirl around in his hotel buggy, and manager Alex treats every family coming here like his own. So very different from the run-of-the-mill resorts that Greece has become synonymous with, you’ll feel clever for finding this spot. Annabelle Spranklen

Price: from £252 per night
Address: Thesi Nissi, Ag. Nikolaos 721 00, Greece

Cretan Malia Park hotel review

A considered boho revamp has given this classic Crete hotel on the north-east shore of the island a second wind. Opened by the Sbokou family in the 1980s, with low-rise buildings set in tropical gardens of banana trees, palms and cacti, it is now drawing in a curious Euro crowd. On the private beach, Italian couples kick back and sunbathe, a bookish Parisian flicks through the latest Prix Goncourt-winning novel and a group of Germans order a round of Negronis. As one of our favourite family hotels in Europe, little ones come out of the kids’ club giggling before splashing into the river-like swimming pool, racing for the pink-flamingo and crocodile inflatables. Teens hang out at The Place, with its hammock-strung outdoor cinema where parents are kindly invited not to come. The modernist spaces were cleverly designed more than three decades ago – despite having 204 rooms the property never feels overcrowded. Nature envelops it all: the many trees provide shade throughout the grounds, and the grassy lawn makes everything smell cool and fresh even in the searing summer heat.

When Agapi and Costantza Sbokou undertook the complete renovation in 2019, they focused on sustainability and the Cretan soul of the place. Designer Vana Pernari opted for knocked-back tonal textures for the interiors with lots of ceramics, wood and stone, plus nature-inspired jungle green and Aegean blue alongside works by urban artists Thanassis and Dimitris Kretsis. Make a beeline for the deluxe family bungalows – with their built-in bunks and separate bedrooms for the grown-ups, they get snapped up early. At Mouries restaurant, the large open kitchen with a huge fireplace hosts cooking lessons using vegetables from the garden during the day and becomes a farm-to-table taverna after sunset. It’s lovely to feast on local flavours under the starry sky listening to the sound of the lyre.

Price: from £144 per night
Address: Malia 700 07, Greece