Casa Delfino

Casa Delfino sits on a quiet alley a few steps back from Chania’s Venetian harbour, in a 17th-century mansion that the same family has run for generations. It is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and it feels it: 24 individually designed rooms and suites, a pebbled courtyard where breakfast is laid out under an arched portico, a small spa with a steam room and hammam, and a roof terrace where the harbour turns gold at sunset. This is the Old Town address to book when you want history with proper comfort.

The experience

Days here start in the courtyard, a shady square of pebble mosaics (dolphins included), potted geraniums and marble-topped tables just off the seafront. From there the Old Town does the work: the covered market, the lanes of Topanas and the walk out to the lighthouse are all on foot. Come back for a massage, a session in the steam room or the whirlpool, then head up to the rooftop cocktail bar as the light drops. The honest caveats: some lanes are noisy on summer nights, many rooms are on the dark side, and parking nearby is a headache, so drop the hire car elsewhere.

The rooms

No two of the 24 rooms and suites are alike. Ground-floor rooms were carved out of old storerooms and cisterns and keep their vaulted brick ceilings and stone arches, while higher up some suites have a hayati, a glazed gallery looking over the neighbouring roofs. Furnishings mix Italian and vintage Greek pieces on marble or polished wood floors. Categories run from one and two-bedroom suites to Executive and Penthouse Suites; one Penthouse has a private terrace over the harbour and one Executive Suite has its own domed mini-hammam. Some suites have steep stairs, so ask if that matters.

Food and drink

There is no restaurant, and that is fine: you are in the middle of the Old Town. Breakfast is the meal to linger over, largely organic and served in the mosaic courtyard (indoors if it rains), with home-baked cakes, Cretan pastries and pies, eggs, thick yoghurt and fresh fruit, plus gluten-free and lactose-free options. In the evening the rooftop bar serves cocktails and snacks with harbour views before you wander out for dinner.

The neighbourhood

Casa Delfino is in Topanas, the old Venetian quarter on the western side of the harbour, with restaurants and shops within about a hundred metres and the nearest beach around half a kilometre away. The lighthouse walk, the covered market and the harbour bars with live Cretan music are all on foot. Chania airport is around 15 kilometres away and the hotel can arrange taxis. You will not need a car until you want the wider coast.