A new breed of family-friendly hotels in Greece is being born. Spaces where the design is as exciting as the children’s activities, where parents can pretend – if they ignore their offspring instigating a water fight in the sleek, black-tiled pool – they’re still the kind of people who hang out at beach clubs. Domes Zeen, which originally opened as Casa Cook Chania a few summers ago, is one such spot. Concrete villas spill down the hillside from a modernist reception that wouldn’t look out of place in Palm Springs, the work of those in-demand Athenian architects K-Studio (of hit Mykonos beach bar Scorpios). At its foot, life centres around the pool: families camped out on one side, nearest to the kids’ club; couples opposite dozing under thatched parasols, the pebbly beach just beyond. The fashionable crowd is instantly recognisable: toddlers in Liewood leopard-print swimsuits and mothers with Isabel Marant beach bags stuffed with toys; Dutch parents in power linen who crack open the rosé as soon as nap time rolls around; bleary-eyed Berliners on baby’s first holiday ordering purées with their poolside poké bowls. There are rooms with a window seat that cleverly turns into a third bed and multi-roomed villas, all with private or shared pools. Interiors include muted textiles and rattan touches that are both covetable and child-proof in one.
The club is just as considered and has an environmentally conscious, Montessori-led, creativity-inspiring ethos. This translates as sessions crafting tic-tac-toe sets from painted rocks and castles out of cardboard, decorating photo frames with shells, cookie baking, and yoga. Families reconvene for outings into Chania with mapped-out recommendations such as coffee roastery Kross and restaurant/shop Ginger Concept or a boat trip to Loutro, a tiny, whitewashed village on a turquoise bay further south. Back at the hotel, the all-day Beach House turns out healthy food with Cretan flavours, from breakfasts of DIY grain bowls and local cheeses and pastries to hearty, slow-cooked pork belly and homemade kalitsounia pie for supper. New this year is the smaller, splashier Estia restaurant and an Elemis-backed spa. Greece has long aced family holidays, and this stay marks the next generation.
Insider tip
Rooms – except for the top villa – don’t have baths, so request a baby one (and other kit to save on packing space) before you arrive.