Minos Beach Art Hotel

This stretch of Cretan coastline, heading north out of the town of Agios Nikolaos all the way up to Elounda, is home to more than a few hotels. And while Minos Beach Art Hotel isn’t the biggest, the flashiest, or the most expensive of them, it still manages to stand out. It’s long been a low-key favorite for high-profile guests who love its sense of seclusion — though not hard to reach, it’s set on its own little peninsula and feels as private as can be.

If seclusion is what you’re after, the rooms and suites in the main building are a good start, with their sedate sea views and private patios. Meanwhile the freestanding bungalows get you closer to the water’s edge (and farther from your neighbors), and the one-, two-, and three-bedroom villas add extra space as well as private plunge pools. At all levels they’re luxurious, if not ostentatious, so comfortable you’ll find it hard to tear yourself away.

Minos Beach comes with no fewer than four restaurants, though, to tempt you into socializing, from traditional Cretan fare to pan-Mediterranean fine dining and beyond. The hotel’s art collection is an extensive one, sure to reward a bit of time spent browsing the grounds; and right on the hotel’s private beach is the Pelagos Dive Center, where you can get started with anything from windsurfing to scuba diving to sailing tours of the Cretan coastline.