Daios Cove

Nested on a hillside overlooking its private bay on the North-East part of Crete, Daios Cove features 165 private sea-water pools a 2,500-m² spa, and luxurious rooms with spectacular views of the cove and the sea.  {Booking now here}

The elegantly designed Daios Cove rooms, suites and individual villas offer spacious living areas and marble-lined bathroom with separate bath tub and rain shower. Amenities include free Wi-Fi, flat screen TV, personalized pillow menu and coffee/tea maker.  {Booking now here}

At the Pangea guests can enjoy breakfast, overlooking the crystal waters of the cove. At night it turns to an International food bazaar with lots of International theme nights. A lighter fare is served at the Ocean Club. The Greek Tavern is set at the water’s edge and proposes local specialties and daily fresh catch.

Recreational amenities at Daios Cove Luxury Resort & Villas include 2 tennis courts, 2 outdoor pools, water sports, kids club, complimentary wireless Internet access and a 2,000-m² conference center.

Daios Cove Luxury Resort & Villas is 20 minutes from the fishing village of Elounda, 10 minutes from the cosmopolitan town of Agios Nikolaos and less than an hour from Heraklion International Airport.  {Booking now here}

A balm for overworked, whacked-out parents, with stone-built villas dotted around an olive-tree-covered cove. It may be big – there are 300 rooms and 39 villas – but service is as smooth and polished as the marble floors, with fragrant hand towels, iced water 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. Children can sleep on a sofa bed in the top half, with their own bathroom – an arrangement that works surprisingly well. What the rooms may lack in character they make up for in quality and extravagant extras: lengthy pillow menus, iPod docking stations, a choice of mango, vanilla or violet fragrances to be fed into the air-conditioning, and Château Margaux (at €1,800) on the room-service menu.  {Booking now here}

Whenever you return, a little treat is waiting: pastel- coloured macaroons, giant cupcakes or feta muffins. 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. And though it feels rather resorty, the Crete hotel’s eco credentials are impeccable, with water recycling and heat-recovery systems all working behind the scenes.

Evenings are low-key and family-friendly with help-yourself buffets that major on Greek classics, from souvlaki and dolmades to filo-wrapped prunes. There’s also, of course, a kids’ club, with mini discos, the occasional games night and babysitting. At the beach, the sea is shallow and shelves some 15 metres out, making for child-friendly rippling waves. Children can while away the time with their complimentary buckets and spades.  {Booking now here}