Nana Princess Suites, Villas & Spa

You will be understood in English from the start, alongside German and Greek, which takes one small piece of friction out of check-in, dinner and arranging the next day. Nana Princess Suites, Villas & Spa is a five-star resort for travellers who want the hotel itself to carry much of the holiday: private pools, a direct sandy beach, several places to eat and a substantial wellness area all sit within the same property.

The scale is generous without turning the description into a list of facilities. You can choose between suites and villas, including two- and three-bedroom options, so the arrangement works for a couple as readily as for a group travelling together. The resort opened in 2018 and has three floors, with a 24-hour front desk when flights, ferries or simply Greek time refuse to cooperate.

The resort sits in the Municipality of Chersonisos, on Crete's north coast, with direct access to a sandy private beach. Sun loungers, parasols and a beach bar are already on the useful side of the equation: once you have reached the shore, there is no further logistics exercise required.

Chersonisos town centre is 4 km away, close enough for an outing but not right outside the door. Around the resort, Buddha Beach, Drapano Beach and Nana Golden Beach give you other nearby stretches of coast to investigate. The setting suits a stay where the sea is part of the daily routine, while the town remains available when you fancy a change of scene.

A car is practical for exploring Crete rather than essential for getting through the day. The resort has parking, car hire and excursion assistance, so you can keep the itinerary loose instead of treating every evening like a military briefing.

The room choice is really a question of how much space and privacy you want around the day. For two, a sea-view private-pool suite gives you the straightforward version of the Nana Princess formula: step outside, cool down, and look towards the water without sharing the pool with half the resort. The Honeymoon Private Pool Suite adds a sauna, while the wellness-oriented suites follow the same private-pool idea with a more restorative emphasis.

Travelling with family or friends changes the calculation. The two-bedroom villas give people room to spread out, while the three-bedroom villas are the sensible direction when several adults need separate sleeping space rather than a heroic attempt at sharing one suite. Several villa categories also bring a sea view, and one two-bedroom option includes a dining area and patio, which matters when the group wants to linger over coffee instead of immediately heading out.

The practical details are well chosen for a hot, active holiday. Air conditioning, blackout blinds and soundproofing appear across many categories, alongside a mini-bar, tea and coffee facilities, a safe, bathrobes and slippers. Wi-Fi, television and a private bathroom cover the unglamorous but necessary bits; the mini-bar is particularly welcome when returning tired and thirsty. The room stock is not uniform, so check the individual room card for the exact equipment attached to the category you choose.

Breakfast is included and served as a buffet at Carpe Diem, the main restaurant, where the day starts with an international menu in an air-conditioned interior. Lunch and dinner are also served there, making it the dependable option when you want food without moving far from the main building. Room service runs around the clock, useful for a late arrival or the occasional evening when changing out of dry clothes feels like an unnecessary expedition.

There are three restaurants in total, each with a different reason to walk over. Meat-In Point sits by the pool and serves Greek food, including meze and snacks at lunchtime, before moving to an à la carte dinner menu. Eternal Blue is the beach restaurant, concentrating on seafood beside the private shore. Vegetarian choices are available, and the menus are designed by a Michelin-starred chef.

The bar count is three. Artemis Lounge · Main Bar handles cocktails in the lobby, Breeze Pool Bar keeps drinks within reach of the water, and Sea & Sand Beach Bar covers the beach and sunloungers with cocktails of its own. There is also a café and a snack bar, so the resort can deal with both a proper meal and the smaller hunger that appears when you have spent the afternoon doing very little.

The central leisure decision is simple: take the towel to the direct beach, settle beside the heated outdoor pool, or go indoors for the second pool when the sun has done enough for one day. Pool and beach towels are available, with loungers and parasols on the sand. The outdoor pool is open from May to October, so seasonal timing matters if swimming is central to your plans.

For recovery rather than entertainment, the Royal Wellness Club covers 1,500 square metres with massages, facials, a hammam, sauna and jacuzzi. The gym and fitness facilities give you somewhere to stretch the legs without pretending that a treadmill is the same thing as a dive. A solarium, garden and terrace add quieter places to sit, while the library is a better companion for a slow afternoon than another compulsory activity.

If you and your non-diving companion want to do different things, the resort also offers tennis, golf, cycling, hiking and cultural excursions. Boat excursions are available from the property, and a kids' club, children's activities, a play area and a children's menu make the resort workable for family groups as well as couples. It is a useful mix: enough to fill a day, without requiring you to fill every hour.

The front desk is open 24 hours a day. Check-in runs from 14:00 to 05:30, and check-out is by 12:00, which gives late arrivals a workable landing rather than turning the first night into a negotiation. Airport transfers and shuttle services are available through the resort; arrange the service with the hotel before travelling. Car hire is also available, and the concierge can help with excursions and local arrangements.

Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. There is a cash machine, currency exchange, luggage-related assistance, laundry, dry cleaning, ironing and a reception safe, with a doctor available on request and an infirmary on site. The resort is accessible by lift and includes wheelchair-accessible facilities, including the restaurant. Parking is available, and electric sockets are Type C and F at 230 volts.

For planning purposes, the meal arrangement attached to a booking is set out in its room details, while the resort's standard offering includes breakfast. Spa treatments, massages and golf require arranging with the hotel before arrival. The resort accepts cash, Visa and Mastercard, and the national cash transaction limit applies.