Crete, Greece

Tella Thera

Price per night from$337.36

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR290.60), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Tella Thera Photos

Style

Divine unwinding

Setting

(Dis)crete coastal corner

Explore

More hotels in Crete More hotels in Greece

It’s not just the face of Tella Thera that's like a Greek god, its soul is, too. Good looks come in the form of sketched-into-the-hillside suites, a lagoon-like pool and Aegean Sea views; plus an aesthetically blessed design that’s bolstered by conservation and local community commitments. The restaurant spotlights plant-based plates, and natural spa therapies and alfresco yoga complement days at Kissamos’ lesser-known beaches. We’re ready for Cupid’s arrow to strike.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

€50 spa credit a room

Facilities

Photos Tella Thera facilities

Need to know

Rooms

20 suites and one villa.

Check–Out

11am; check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.

More details

Rates at Tella Thera include a buffet breakfast and à la carte options.

Also

Two Superior Suites are accessible for guests with reduced mobility, with roll-in showers and adapted features, as are the spa and restaurant.

Hotel closed

For 2025, the hotel will open from 14 July to 2 November.

At the hotel

Boutique, library, gym, charged laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, air-conditioning, coffee- and tea-making kit, minibar, free bottled water, bathrobes, slippers and organic bath products.

Our favourite rooms

The nature-inspired suites at Tella Thera stir some ooh-ing and aah-ing with floor-to-ceiling arched windows, soothing stone details and cooling, cavernous designs. They each flaunt Aegean Sea views, but we’re making a beeline for the Deluxe Suite and its garden-swathed pool terrace. For even more wiggle room, the Signature Villa is a sprawling pad with an infinity pool.

Poolside

The infinity-edge pool seamlessly blends with its cliff-carved setting, and its salt water feels like a natural extension of the sea that backdrops the cabana-dotted terrace. A second indoor pool with magnesium-rich water sits at the spa for adults only.

Spa

The spa takes curative cues from Mother Nature, restoring with made-for-two treatments, botanical facials and alfresco massages. After a dip in the magnesium pool, you might make for the steam room, sauna or chromotherapy showers.

Packing tips

Screen-free entertainment feels only fitting for this back-to-nature boutique hotel: a pack of cards, watercolour set or dog-eared tome.

Also

You can soak up Aegean Sea views from the outdoor gym, which is kitted out with all the gear you could need; breeze-kissed yoga and pilates classes can be arranged on request.

Children

Welcome. Cots are free for babies, and over-twos are charged as adults. Each room has a single sofa-bed that can be made up on request; the villa and two-bedroom suite are best for bigger clans. Babysitting can be arranged on request.

Sustainability efforts

Sustainability is intrinsic to Tella Thera. The hotel eschews single-use plastic and is powered by solar energy, and its planted rooftops increase biodiversity and naturally cool the suites. Its zero-waste ethos is particularly evident at the restaurant, which spotlights a plant-forward menu and locally sourced produce. Over 200 olive trees have been replanted around the estate, and 80 per cent of staff are from the area.

Food and Drink

Photos Tella Thera food and drink

Top Table

On the terrace, naturally.

Dress Code

Earthy hues, raffia accessories and flowing fabrics will hit the mark.

Hotel restaurant

Anemoia follows in the rest of the resort’s stylish-and-sustainable footsteps, with arched windows, beamed ceilings and rattan furnishings in scenery-referencing shades. The indoor-outdoor set-up brings you closer to nature, as does chef Markos Marmatakis’ plant-focused menus of contemporary Cretan cuisine, which celebrate seasonal produce, local suppliers and a zero-waste ethos. We're eyeing the traditional fennel pie with pickled shrimps or the fresh goat cheese panna cotta with a roasted-tomato sauce.

Hotel bar

You can expect to find rustic-luxe interiors, plant-based snacks and refreshing tipples at Anemoia's bar.

Last orders

Breakfast is 7.30am to 10.30am; lunch is between 12.30pm and 3pm, and for dinner, it's 7pm to 11pm. The bar pours from 7am to 11pm.

Room service

You can order dishes round the clock from a dedicated menu.

Location

Photos Tella Thera location
Address
Tella Thera
Kissamos
Crete
73400
Greece

Tella Thera is set in the coastal countryside of northwestern Crete, overlooking Kissamos Bay and close to its rugged beaches.

Planes

Chania’s international airport is an hour’s drive from the hotel; you could also touch down in Heraklion, which is around two and a half hours away by car. Staff can arrange transfers from either airport, on request and for an extra charge.

Automobiles

A set of wheels comes in handy for touring your lesser-known pocket of Crete, plus the hotel has free round-the-clock parking.

Other

Ferries from nearby islands dock at Kissamos Port, which is a five-minute drive from the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

Dropping and flopping feels somewhat virtuous at Tella Thera, where your Earth-kind hosts respect and celebrate the landscape throughout the resort. After a kip by your private pool — or the lake-like communal one — limber up in a yoga class, or let someone else stretch you out with an alfresco massage. Outdoorsy pursuits will include coastal hikes and easy-breezy days at oh-so-blue Balos Beach or pink-sand Elafonissi Beach. Sample local olive oil and wine in tastings; spin ceramics in a workshop, or get jiggy with it during a night of Cretan music and dancing. You could also take in Chania’s storied old town or ramblers’-favourite Samaria Gorge.

Local restaurants

Hilltop Gramboussa Restaurant is loved for lingering meals, thanks to its sweeping sea views, family recipes and island-sourced ingredients. You’ll get front-row seats to the water at Molos Beach Restaurant Bar, a go-to for beside-the-beach breakfasts and wave-tuned sundowners. The Cellar Restaurant is as Greek as it gets: blue-and-white chequered tablecloths are topped with seafood platters and creamy tzatziki, and its heart-of-the-bay setting is primed for people watching.

Local bars

Take your date to Breeze Rooftop Restaurant for expertly crafted cocktails, local beers and starry nightcaps; your night might just end with a kiss(amos). At Macaya Beach House, you’ll start with a long lunch at its restaurant, before rolling into golden-hour drinks and DJ sets at its poolside bar.

Reviews

Photos Tella Thera reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this soul-soothing hotel in Greece and unpacked their olive oil and local crafts, a full account of their coastal break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Tella Thera in Crete…

We wouldn’t normally kiss and tell, but in the case of Tella Thera just outside of Kissamos, we might just have to…

‘Tella’ pays homage to Tellus, ancient Rome’s goddess of the Earth — or as the Hellenic legend of Solon suggests, ‘the happiest man ever’ — and ‘Thera’ derives from the Greek word for harvest. It's a fitting name: this sustainable-luxe hotel preaches an Earth-kind ethos and has a raft of eco-conscious initiatives to match. Your summer sojourns will be soaked in sunshine, and this island’s bountiful produce is relished at the plant-centric restaurant.

The outdoors is privileged here and natural spa rituals, private yoga classes and coastal hikes make the most of its alfresco potential. And like Tellus of Athens, you’re set to reach peak contentment: perhaps in your suite’s private pool, at olive oil or wine tastings, or while strolling along the beach hand in hand…

Book now

Price per night from $319.95

Hotels nearby

Villas nearby

Recently viewed