Pure Nature

Eight stone-built rooms make up Pure Nature, a four-star property tucked into the Anopoli hillside outside Heraklion, each with private balconies facing the Cretan countryside rather than a shared corridor. Free parking and airport transfers suit travellers arriving with a rental car or landing late at Heraklion airport.

An outdoor pool anchors the courtyard, shaded by olive trees planted before the hotel existed. Family rooms sleep four without a rollaway bed.

Heraklion's harbour and Knossos ruins sit within a short drive, making this a quiet base away from the coastal resort strip.