I’ve Traveled More than 1,300 Miles Around Crete—This Is My Favorite Place to Stay
You actually don’t have to go far in Greece's biggest island to find the best
Takeaways by Greek Column AI (Actual Intelligence)
Paralos Irini Mare is according to multiple reports the best resort property on the south coast of Crete
The family-owned and operated resort consists of 131 recently renovated rooms and suites with private terraces and balconies set against a stunning Mediterranean backdrop, a short walk to the beach and easy drive to spectacular coastal views and beaches.
From an authentic Cretan farm-to-table experience through to the elegant, inviting rooms equipped with modern, eco-friendly amenities and their sustainable suites with private pools — a unique feature in South Crete — a stay at Paralos Irini Mare captures the essence of green travel.
Fly to Heraklion then drive about an hour and a half south to Agia Galini, passing Minoan ruins and olive orchards along the way
Confessions from an Athens hotel balcony: when I start to think about Crete, things can get weirdly emotional. Crete doesn’t have the easy charm of Sifnos or Santorini, it’s easier to drive off a cliff than a tourist office will ever admit and nowhere else on earth have I seen a hawk carrying writhing snake in its beak above a haunted Venetian fortress with a blue sea in front that slays you.
Food that hits you.
Wind that knocks you off your feet, and might even start a fire.
People with dark eyes and tantalizingly unknowable, but not closed, hearts.
Other islands are Lady Gaga or Christina Aguilera. No disrespect to either, but Crete is Barbra Streisand. Uncompromising, and apex island vibes.
When I wrote this essay for my friend Bob Guccione Jr. at Wonderlust, I was in what you might call a “Kriti” state of mind. Crete is as close as Europe comes to what the California of my dreams is: wild, beautiful, sea-kissed and free. That state of mind seems distant in winter — but as Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote in a gentler time when evoking “the blue Mediterranean…Lull’d by the coil of his crystalline streams…If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
No, and also not far behind is summer, when I can almost guarantee you that availability at the better places to stay in Crete will go fast. That’s why it pays to start planning your Cretan odyssey now. There are many ways to do that and we’ll be happy to suggest some pointers to those who ask, but in the meantime I’m going to share one of my favorite hotels in Crete or anywhere.
It’s called Paralos Irini Mare, and is located in Agia Galini, a seaside hamlet on the south side of Crete, not far from the famous “hippie” village, Matala.
The photos in this resort not taken by me are courtesy of the resort.
Remember now, the north coast of Crete is where we find the three major cities: Chania, Rethymnon, and Heraklion, our personal favorite and also the regional capital. Each was fortified by the Venetians during their not completely unenlightened rule of Crete, which lasted from 1212 until 1669.
If it is a mix of mystery and the truly monumental that you seek, you need to venture deeper into the island. The Minoan palace ruins of Phaistos are 34 miles south of Heraklion, and worth the schlep. Most of the site dates from around 1700 B.C., but remnants such as two sets of oversized staircases really do convey a sense of the palatial.
Never far away, of course, is the sea. This swath of South Crete is an odd confluence of cultures and vibes. The seaside hamlet of Matala was renowned as a hippie hangout in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and it is not hard to see why. There is only one narrow road into the town, which mostly clings to a hillside opposite a cliff hollowed out in spots by small man-made caves. Between those and the inhabited part is a wide curl of beach.
Matala is not the kind of place I would recommend to stay unless you belong to a youngish demographic and are with a group of fellow revelers. It is, however, worth a stop for a gourmet but agreeably lazy lunch or dinner at Scala, a bright and breezy taverna perched so close to the sea it feels more like dining on a yacht.
Between Matala and the farm market town of Tymbaki, which ships out watermelons and more to mainland Greece and, from there, the world, there is a very long beach called Komos that on one spot includes seaside ruins said to be part of the port of ancient Phaistos. The bay opposite is that of Messara, so wide in scale that it is reminiscent of the kind of geography you would expect in some desolate South American or African location, not Europe. Here is where, on any given morning, the silence could be punctuated by the rumble of F-16 jets, which run practice maneuvers from their base at Souda Bay, the naval base of the Hellenic Navy and NATO on the island’s north coast.
The trade-off of enjoying the rustic charms and sundry historical sights of southern Crete is that fine places to stay are literally few and sometimes very far between. There are private villas one can rent, but they tend to be quite expensive and are typically better suited to longer stays. The best resort going is one that has everything a discerning traveler might want, yet retains the feel of a boutique hotel known only to a few. It is Paralos Irini Mare.
Crete is renowned for its food, and most of what is on offer here is supplied locally: from the tomatoes and pomegranates to the eggs, milk, and more. Olive oil from Irini Mare’s own orchards is fantastic. Most guests stay on a European-style plan, which means a vast breakfast buffet as well as dinner are included.
Those who are not aficionados of hotel buffets should break the rule. Although one day I passed by and ordered a couple items à la carte, it reminded me of the marvels the Irini Mare kitchen turns out on a daily basis. The Irini Mare salad featured goat cheese, dried figs, honey dressing, and bits of pasteli, or honeyed sesame crisps, and a generous piece of sea bass was oven-baked with roasted candied lemon slices and caraway seeds that triggered Proustian emotions.
Also, I still cannot explain Crete. One has the feeling that the longer you stay, the less the island wants you to know. That is not at all the same thing as unfriendly. I think of the shopkeeper who sold me the sweetest watermelon three days in a row, and refused to let me pay for it on the fourth.
To linger longer, I checked into a great new place, called Stella Luxury Apartments, also in Agia Galini. I drank up the sea view and ate omelets I whipped up myself, with Cretan graviera cheese and mountain herbs. I watched fighter jets dash high above the bay as I sipped my locally sourced banana cola.
One morning on a whim I drove westward to an impossibly steep and impressively lonely beach with fine silvery sand called Agios Pavlos, or St. Paul. This is what a beach on the moon might look like, if there was water on the moon. And what if there is? Stay a while in this realm of bewitching beaches, haunted Venetian fortresses, and jagged mountain peaks where patches of snow glisten well into July, and see if your mind does not travel to some strange and distant places marked only on maps unknown.
You know where you need to stay.⚓
