Acro Suites
Acro Suites is a clifftop wellness retreat where organic contemporary design meets the raw Cretan coastline, its 49 suites and villas each with private saltwater pools.
Acro Suites clings to a rocky headland at Agia Pelagia, designed by Afoi Orfanaki and CMH Architecture for two sisters from a local hospitality family. The name derives from the Greek 'akros' (on the edge) - an apt description for a property where builders worked in harnesses during construction.
The 49 suites and villas span four typologies: Loft, Wave, Gaia and Cave, the last carved directly into the cliff face with craggy openings framing the Cretan Sea. Local Mylopotamos stone, antique Egyptian Sinai marble for floors and Phaistos marble for custom furniture ground the interiors in Cretan materiality. Corten steel details, rusty-toned metalwork and smooth concrete create a bohemian aesthetic. Each accommodation features a private terrace with saltwater pool overlooking the Aegean - the ultimate cliff-edge plunge.
The 300-square-metre yoga shala, built entirely from bamboo, offers daily sessions above the sea. A Byzantine-inspired hammam uses Sinai marble and rainforest green stone, while the heated indoor pool completes the wellness offering. Cremnos restaurant serves nutritious Cretan cuisine focused on local produce, with Eleonas set amid an olive grove for authentic island dining.
Mononaftis Beach lies steps away - one of the island's best diving spots accessible by lift. The Palace of Knossos sits 25 kilometres south near Heraklion. Acro delivers genuine Cretan philoxenia (love of strangers) for travellers seeking wellness with design integrity on Europe's first advanced civilisation's home island.