St. Nicolas Bay Resort: Chilling at one of the best hotels in Crete

After exploring many of Greece’s archaeological sites, chilling out at St. Nicolas Bay, Crete, was just the travel prescription we needed.

There are many top things to do in Crete – like hiking the famous Samaria Gorge (or smaller sage-scented Imbros Gorge) and getting lost in the Moorish-Venetian town of Chania.

And with more time, we would have loved to explore the island. Next trip!

For us, though, rest and relaxation was what we were after on this visit to Crete.

We can’t comment on some of the other deluxe hotels in Crete, but we can tell you that the St. Nicolas Bay Resort & Villas – which hugs the scalloped northeast shoreline of Crete – offers welcome peace and luxurious seclusion away from the island’s busier package holiday towns.

St. Nicolas Bay, Crete

With a boutique feel, the St. Nicolas Bay hotel blends in masterfully with the rocky landscape.

Multi-tiered terraces cut into amber and black rocks, with cushioned lounge chairs and umbrellas, provide blissful spots to sunbathe.

Want to swim? Climb down a ladder into the sparkling sea, or wade in from the small private beach.

Clustered in separate low-rise buildings, many of the 107 rooms and suites have private pools.

We arrived late at night after a long flight delay. And it was a treat to find that we’d been upgraded to a large Eros Suite!

Decorated all in white, it had cool marble floors, an expansive bathroom with a door opening from the glass shower to our private pool outside, king-size bed with organic Coco-Mat mattress and a separate living room with bleached-wood framed seaside pictures.

We also discovered plates of lox with asparagus, baklava and little honey cakes, sparkling Greek wine and a vase of fresh red roses, which had been sent to our suite, complimentary, as we were Club guests.

Dining at the hotel and in town

Rates include a delicious buffet breakfast (with a tantalizing array of sweet pastries, including gluten-free items), taken alfresco on a terrace overlooking the sea.

Many guests also opt for the dinner buffet on half-board rates.

We preferred the hotel’s a la carte restaurants, however, especially its pretty outdoor Cretan restaurant, Kafenion.

Dining under the trees, we felt like we were on a “Mama Mia!” set.

Other restaurants and cafes are found in nearby upscale Agios Nikolaos. We could walk to the town in about 30 minutes; there’s a public bus you can take too, or you can cab it.

Interested in other fabulous resorts with private pool suites? See our reviews of these!

Relax, reflect, rejuvenate

The real appeal to St. Nicolas Bay is that, by design, it’s adapted to the wild, rugged character of the area. Long grasses blow in the wind and rocky nooks and crannies invite taking time out for reflection among nature.

You can’t help but feel rejuvenated when you leave this resort. And it’s little wonder that it’s considered one of the best hotels in Crete.

Also check Booking.com, where you may find better rates

Book St. Nicolas Bay Resort Hotel & Villas

Ready to book your trip?

Check out the following helpful services:

• Airfarewatchdog, Skyscanner or Expedia – to find the lowest plane tickets and book flights
• GetYourGuide – for local tours
• Our Travel Shop – to find the best travel gear
• Our Travel Resources page – to suss out good travel, tour and car rental companies (and ones that will save you money)

Pssst! If you make a booking or purchase through our site, we’ll earn a small commission (at no cost to you). Thanks!

---

We stayed at St. Nicolas Bay Resort & Villas as media guests for review purposes. But if a place isn’t worth writing about it, we won’t recommend it; this place is definitely recommended! 

---



• Share
• Tweet
• Pin

Janice and George
We’re Janice and George Mucalov, award-winning travel writers, sharing tales of luxury travel with a twist of adventure at Sand In My Suitcase.