Minos Beach Art Hotel

This recently refreshed Design Hotel has been around the 1960s — a modernist, minimalist landmark on Mirabello Bay. It’s owned by the art collecting Mamidakis family, who have created a stunning site-specific sculpture garden, with monumental installations by predominantly Greek artists.

Low-rise bungalows and villas with private pools hug the shoreline, so most have sea views. The coast is rocky, but you can dive (or climb) into the Aegean from little jetties studded with sunbeds jutting out to sea.

A few kilometres from the busy resort town of Agios Nikolaos, and about half an hour from Knossos, Minos Beach offers a slice of seaside serenity.