All-inclusive, high-rise and heaving hotels are the name of the game for Cretan beach holiday resorts. Thirty minutes outside Chania, the JW Marriott’s very first Mediterranean beach resort is none of these things. The five-star property opened in June, and immediately booked out for summer. With 160 rooms, suites and villas it should feel busy, but when there’s 100 acres of coastline plus 100 private pools, it never feels crowded. That’s got a lot to do with design choices by Athens-based studio Block722. Forget white-wash and cobalt blue, the property is a study in honed concrete, raw linen and terracotta. Minimalist beach cabanas are bolted onto the rockface, connected by boardwalks that take you to private rock pools and even a tiny sand beach off Souda Bay. Fairy lights festoon ancient olive trees. Buildings are cut into the natural slope, with planted rooftops blending them back into the land. Nature never feels far away. When it’s as beautiful as this part of coast, it makes sense to let nature do the talking. The same goes in the resort’s kitchens, where sourcing local produce is the priority and the approach certainly pays off. Guests get a taste of traditional Cretan dishes at Fayi restaurant’s extensive buffet. Start with build your own bowls of dakos salad – tomatoes, feta, capers, olives and rusks – before moving on to freshly baked spinach pie, flaky custard-filled bougatsa, thyme-infused honeycomb, house made dolmades and ultra-rich tahini halva squares. Sure there’s an omelette bar and pancake station, but swap those for heaped bowls of pistachio cookies and creamy Cretan milk tart. Add a prosecco or mimosa, perhaps a strong cup of Greek coffee, and you’re set for the day. Μαράθι 73500, Greece; marriott.com

Cretan open-fire cooking is the name of the game at Anóee, where celebrity chef Manolis Papoutsakis returns to his roots. Simple wooden tables under olive trees let the view do the talking; there’s 180-degree views of the bay as it turns lavender while the sun goes down. Greek sparkling wine cleanses the palate before an olive oil tasting plate. The Terra Creta Grand Cru oil steals the show, though the heavy crusted slow-fermented sour dough has something to do with it. Night falls and the cicadas come out to chirp, just as the waiter walks through a menu that reads a little like a love letter to Crete. There’s ‘whispers from the stove’ share plates – think savoury kalitsounia mini cheese pies, Cretan sauteed garlic snails, and wood-fired eggplant. Then ‘slow-cooked meats kissed by tradition’ where the traditional antikristiera wood-fired grill comes into play. A hero slow-roasted lamb is on almost every table, closely followed by the flame-seared keftedes meatballs. You’ll wait 20 minutes for the Chania-style bougatsa to be baked fresh but the stakovoutyro clotted cream and piktogalo soft cheese custard wrapped in crisp phyllo pastry is worth every minute. Μαράθι 73500, Greece; marriott.com

If there wasn’t a line outside, you’d be forgiven for walking right past Red Jane Project. Look for a small sign scribbled between graffiti on an old foundry building just beyond Chania old town. Enigmatic entrepreneur Nikos Tsepetis and London-designer Michael Anastassiades transformed the abandoned site to become one of the city’s most popular bakeries. Wooden display cabinets house towering torched meringue cakes, dainty strawberry painsuisse pastries and rows upon rows of croissants. Customers line up like they’re going to see the Louvre jewels before the heist, and the way these baked goods sell out, they’re almost as rare. If you’re in danger of missing out, or don’t have time to wait, sign up to Wolt, Greece’s answer to Uber Eats. You’ll pay a premium, but pastries will be delivered by motorbike in minutes. Kidonias 101, Chania 731 36, Greece; redjane.com

Three euros can get you two scoops of gelato, a shot of ouzo, or maybe even a souvenir key chain. It can also get you one of the best souvlaki in Chania. The Solidakis brothers have been serving pork souvlaki (also known as gyros) from this tiny hole-in-the-wall since 1967. Tucked into a side street a few blocks back from the old town, it’s easier to spot the line of locals at lunchtime than the signage. With tender pork scraped straight off the rotisserie, a heavy dollop of Greek yoghurt, big chunks of tomato, red onion, and a sprinkle of oregano, this is simple flavours at its best. In a move that could be considered controversial, there’s no French fries and the exact recipe is a closely guarded secret. At three euros a pop, grab two, and sit across the street on clever wooden planks perched on safety barriers. Voloudaki 4, Chania 731 34, Greece

The beach club scene in Crete is all grown up thanks to this newcomer. Onar Seaside Lounge is thirty minutes drive east of Chania (a free shuttle bus runs regularly from town) and feels a little like Disneyland for grown-ups. There’s a luxury Pirates of the Caribbean energy walking down rows of day beds and cabanas above Loutraki beach. Rattan umbrellas and sunshades keep things cool, while iced Greek coffees and jumbo bowls of cut fruit do the rounds into the afternoon. Then the music kicks up a notch, bottles of Whispering Angel rosé arrive, and the vibe gets a little spritelier. With Michelin-starred chef Lefteris Lazarou in charge of Istio, the fine dining restaurant on site, you’ll find guests eating delicate sea urchin salads and sea bass carpaccio rather than dancing on tables. VIP guests hide away in open air wooden cabanas that jut out over the sea. Knotted hemp ropes strung between driftwood rails are all that’s between the rock face and crystal-clear waters below. Παραλία Λουτράκι, Chania 735 00, Greece; onar-seaside-lounge.gr

Kondilaki might be one of Chania’s prettiest laneways. Bougainvillea branches stretch between shop awnings, covering the street in a purple glow. Between Aladdin’s cave stores selling local jewellery and brightly coloured resort wear is Phyllo café. People-watch from streetside tables as you tuck into chunky white toast topped with goat cheese, diced fig and prosciutto. Sourdough sandwiches are stacked with local meats from the small deli cabinet; the cakes display is very hard pass by without sampling a slice of deep dish milk pie. Kondilaki 35, Chania 731 00, Greece; instagram.com/phyllo_localbakery

If The Grounds of Alexandria moved to Crete, it would probably look something like this. Gramvousa Restaurant sends the ‘gram into overdrive daily, with international visitors going wild over tiny jars of pickled vegetables and baby bottles of raki that are free for the table. The jumbo newspaper-style menu is filled with generational Cretan dishes being made by yayas (and an army of chefs) in the busy kitchen. Expect everything from plates of pastitsio pork pasta to steamed rabbit in white wine sauce. Big bowls of Cretan salad arrive fresh from the garden. Gravity-defying shards of pastry wrapped around a signature bone-in lamb shoulder is a dish not to miss. Dessert is on the house – there’s a fruit stand overflowing with bananas, berries, melons and apples at the front door that’s a self-serve cornucopia. If you have more of a sweet tooth, the pastry chef means business with clever flowerpots of chocolate soil and bright lemon-shaped lemon tarts. Gramvousa Kissamou, Kaliviani, Chania Crete P.C; gramvousarestaurant.com/en/home-eng