Photo: Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons
Best Hotels in the Greek Islands: Mykonos, Crete & Rhodes (2026)
Bill & Coo Coast Suites' Mykonos windmill infinity pool, Amirandes Grecotel's Minoan-inspired Crete lagoon resort, and Lindos Blu's clifftop Rhodes Acropolis view — Greece's finest island hotels beyond Santorini in 2026.
The Greek Islands: 6,000 Islands of Hotel Opportunities
The Greek Islands cover a lot of different worlds under one name: the whitewashed Cyclades, Minoan Crete, and the layered history of the Dodecanese. Cycladic architecture — white cube houses, blue-domed churches, arched doorways — is instantly recognizable, and bougainvillea’s deep magenta bracts against white plaster have become the archipelago’s signature look. Crete carries the legacy of the Minoan civilization, the dominant prehistoric culture in Europe, whose palace at Knossos was built around 1700 BC as a sprawling 1,000-room complex. Its Bull’s-Head fresco depicts tauromachy, the Minoan bull-leaping sport in which athletes vaulted over a charging bull’s horns, and the site is inseparable from the myth of the Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull offspring born to Pasiphaë from her union with the bull. Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, layers its own history on top: the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, ruled the island from 1309 to 1522, following in the footsteps of the Colossus of Rhodes — a 33-meter bronze statue of Helios and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, built around 280 BC and standing for only about 54 years before a 226 BC earthquake brought it down.
Mykonos — The Party and Luxury Island
Bill & Coo Coast Suites — Windmill Infinity Pool
Price: €400–3,000/night | Location: Agia Ioannis, Mykonos
Bill & Coo Coast Suites sits on Agia Ioannis, a sheltered beach on a calm bay protected from the Meltemi — the powerful north-northwest wind that dominates Cyclades summers, blowing at force 5–7 through July and August. Ancient Greek sailors knew it as the etesian wind (ετησίαι ἄνεμοι, the “annual winds”), and its predictable summer pattern still guides both traditional fishing boats and modern sailing yachts. The hotel sits within view of the Kato Mili windmill complex, a row of 16th-century Venetian-built windmills that ground grain for more than 400 years and remain Mykonos’s most photographed landmark. Its infinity pool looks out to the Aegean horizon, with a widely photographed sunset view over the western Mykonos channel.
Crete — Minoan Legacy Luxury
Amirandes Grecotel — Minoan-Inspired Lagoon
Price: €250–2,000/night | Location: Heraklion, Crete
Amirandes Grecotel sits on the Heraklion coast, about 15 minutes from Knossos — an easy day trip from the hotel. Much of what visitors see at Knossos today is owed to Arthur Evans, who reconstructed the site with reinforced concrete between the 1900s and 1930s in a restoration still debated among archaeologists. His reconstructions include vivid frescoes — the Dolphin Fresco, the Bull-Leaping Fresco, and Ladies in Blue — and columns with an inverted taper, wider at the top than the bottom, the reverse of standard Greek and Roman column design. The palace’s throne room, built around a 3,500-year-old gypsum alabaster throne, is considered the oldest surviving seat of political power in Europe. Back at the hotel, guests have a private beach on a sheltered stretch of the Heraklion coast and an artificial seawater lagoon with calm, shallow water suited to snorkeling.
Rhodes — Ancient Knights’ Island
Lindos Blu Luxury Hotel — Acropolis View
Price: €200–1,200/night | Location: Lindos, Rhodes
Lindos Blu sits in Lindos (Λίνδος), a village perched below the Acropolis of Lindos and its 3rd-century BC Temple of Athena Lindia, dramatically sited on a clifftop above turquoise Lindos Bay. Steps are carved directly into the cliff face, and a Crusader-era castle built by the Knights of St. John in 1317 incorporates the ancient acropolis into its fortifications. Below, Lindos Bay’s azure water is ringed by whitewashed village houses, and the only way up to the Acropolis through the village’s cobblestone streets is by donkey — a mule-taxi tradition still in daily commercial use, one of the last of its kind in the Greek islands. The hotel’s blue-and-white infinity pool overlooks St. Paul’s Bay, where the Acts of the Apostles records the Apostle Paul landing in 51 AD.
Greek Island Comparison
| Island | Best For | Season | Hotel Type | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santorini | Sunset, romance, honeymoon | April–Oct | Cave hotel, villa | €€€€ |
| Mykonos | Party, luxury, beaches | June–Sept | Beach club hotel | €€€€ |
| Crete | History, food, walking | April–Nov | Resort, boutique | €€–€€€ |
| Rhodes | History, beaches, value | May–Oct | Boutique, resort | €€–€€€ |
| Corfu | Green, British heritage, villages | May–Oct | Villa, boutique | €€ |
| Naxos | Authentic, marble, surfing | May–Oct | Boutique, studios | €–€€ |
| Paros | Balanced, nightlife, beaches | June–Sept | Boutique, villas | €€–€€€ |
FAQ
Which Greek island is the least touristy in summer? Naxos is the most laid-back and least touristy of the major Cycladic islands. Its centerpiece is the Portara, the unfinished 530 BC Temple of Apollo — a 6-meter marble doorway, the largest of its kind in the world, standing alone on the islet of Palatia. Inland, mountain villages like Halki, Filoti, and Apeiranthos keep marble-paved streets and Venetian watchtowers largely free of tourist shops. Naxos’s green, fertile interior also once supported an emery mine — emery, or corundum, was a key abrasive used both for ancient Greek marble carving and modern industrial polishing — and the island’s beaches pair with a food scene built around the Naxia potato, grown in volcanic soil and prized alongside Kalamata olives and Santorini’s Vinsanto wine.
Is it better to stay in Mykonos or Santorini? Santorini and Mykonos offer different kinds of luxury. Santorini’s draw is the caldera view: cave hotels perched on the clifftop above the volcanic caldera, paired with sunset views and an atmosphere built for honeymooners. Mykonos leans more social, with beach clubs like Paradise Beach, the sea-level houses of Little Venice built directly over the Aegean, and a restaurant scene anchored by Nobu Mykonos, Spilia, and Nammos. On cost, the two are roughly on par — peak-season rates at top hotels on either island run €500–3,000 a night in July and August.