Just 350 meters from Platanias, Maria suites features a pool surrounded by a palm-tree garden. Located 150 meters from the centre, it offers apartments with free Wi-Fi and balcony overlooking the Cretan sea or the greenery. Featuring a kitchenette with cooking hobs and coffee maker, all the air-conditioned apartments at the suites Maria offer solid wood furnishings. Each has a seating area with a satellite TV. Staff at the tour desk can arrange car rental to explore the scenic Chania town 6.8 miles away. Shops, bars and restaurants serving Cretan cuisine are within a 3-minutes walk.

Crete. As well as the magnificent beaches and warm seas, the size and physical variety of the island of Crete invites exploration, and Maria Suites, located at Megalou Alexandrou, Platanias, 73014, Greece, is the ideal staring point. Uniquely among Greek islands, Crete’s mountainous spine creates a sense of spaciousness, a life distinct from sea and sand. Fly-drive holidays to Crete – or simply the hire of a car for some days during your stay in Maria Suites, – will enable you to seek out the rugged formations of the interior, the fertile countryside and tiny chapels filled with frescoes, the mountain villages where time has stood still. Always, the authentic spirit of the islanders, their fierce independence and pride – as well as the best cooking and most delicious meals that constitute the famed “Cretan Diet” – will more likely be found where few others are looking. With so much to see, with dolphins to watch, shaded squares to paint, olive trees and wild orchids, Minoan remains and sweeping beaches, no wonder Crete holidays and Maria Suites are revisited so often.