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Four outdoor pools, a heated indoor pool, six tennis courts, sauna and water sports that include scuba diving make this huge beach resort one of the best hotels in Crete for an active holiday. Accommodation is in suites or bungalows.

A chance to live like Cretan villagers, helping with wine-making, olive picking, herding goats, basket weaving and baking. A co-operative venture, Parthenagogio was restored by villagers in the mid-1990s and now has its own taverna, serving Cretan dishes and wines from its own vineyards.

This attractive old stone building stands close to the old harbour at Chania and, unlike some of its rivals, is open year round. There are 10 twin and double rooms, some of which have cosy gallery beds, with furnishings that harmonize with the building’s traditional lines.

This complex of 186 selfcontained apartments and studios (all with TV and kitchen) is set within vast grounds on the Elounda Peninsula, which provides some fine sea views. A restaurant, four pools and a supermarket complete the package.

Five-centuries-old Venetian town house, which became a hotel in the mid-1980s. It has 12 twin and double rooms (all with en suite shower and WC).

Opened in 2001 at Scaleta, 11 km (7 miles) east of Rethymno, the Rethymno Mare Royal has landscaped gardens and a pool, a restaurant, three bars and its own nightclub. It also offers a wide range of water sports, including a diving school.

The Silva Maris has one of the finest marine spa centres in Greece, with a range of health and beauty treatments. It also has a fine private beach and verdant gardens.

Coastal Spinalonga Village is a group of traditionalstyle stone houses beside the Gulf of Mirabello, with views across to Spinalonga, and shops and places to eat nearby at Plaka village (a fiveminute walk).

A stylish collection of two- and four-bed suites, some facing an inner courtyard, others looking out to sea. All have high ceilings, balconies and tall shuttered windows.