On the native island of Zeus, the King of the Greek gods, sits the Elounda Mare Hotel, with its white cottages that look out onto the turquoise waters of the Mirabello Bay. An ethereal light bathes this retreat and its maze of sweet-smelling gardens. The spacious and intimate bedrooms, the bungalows, all different but all with a private pool, enjoy magnificent panoramic views. The hotel’s location is the perfect place from which to discover Crete and its legends, monasteries and chapels bequeathed by the Byzantine civilization. There is even a chapel overlooking the hotel’s private bay, offering stunning vistas of the Mediterranean.