Break Bread with the Minotaur: JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa Opening this June

Tl;dr – Marriott is just about a month away from opening a hotly anticipated resort in the Mediterranean – the JW Marriott Crete.

I wrote about Hyatt’s new Mediterranean diet a few days ago, and now it’s Marriott’s turn. On June 2nd, 2025, Marriott will open the doors to a sleek new resort, the JW Marriott Crete. This one looks fun, so let’s dive into the details.

The JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa

Located on the northeast-ish side of Crete, the resort sits on a peninsula headlined by the nearby town of Chania.

Chania International Airport is only 14 minutes away and has direct access to seemingly everywhere in Europe (including Rhodes, Cyprus, and Malta for anyone scheming out island-hopping plans), so if you’re traveling from outside of the European continent, the hotel should be accessible with only one connecting flight.

Fun fact: An intriguing dotted line on Google Maps got me curious, and it appears there’s a ferry service from Athens to Souda, a port town ~25 minutes away from the hotel. For my fellow adventurers, it sounds like we’ll be making our entrance by sea.

The JW Marriott Crete is a 160-key affair, including suites and villas. The rooms look amazing, particularly the views. Almost all the rooms have some sort of private pool—a swim-up or plunge pool.

For food, there are four dedicated restaurants, a pool bar, and a main lobby bar. There’s FAYI, the hotel’s full-service restaurant, offering Mediterranean cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner; ONALOS, a ‘formal’ seafood concept serving lunch and dinner; CUCCAGNA, an Italian outpost open for dinner; ANÓEE, a dinner spot with a specific focus on local Cretan offerings; SUNCTI, a seafront pool bar; and EÉXIS, is the lobby spot to sip on cocktails throughout the day and night.

As far as amenities go, there are three pools – a main pool, a kids pool, and a dedicated adult pool. A state-of-the-art fitness center will help you stay active, and a kids club is on-site to keep youngsters entertained. If you prefer to get your movement by roaming outdoors, you can enjoy the property’s 100 acres, including a 2 km hiking trail through lush olive groves. Speaking of groves, guests can enjoy experiences such as wine and olive oil tastings, sailing excursions, hiking expeditions, sunning on a nearby pink sand beach, and strolling the classic old town of Chania. The famed White Mountains of Crete are about 1.5 hours away as well (the property offers excellent views of them).

However, the gem of this property is its Anoseas Spa, offering a ‘unique outdoor experience’—Linovrochi, a subterranean sanctuary nestled within a magical cave—which Marriott says will help you ‘ascend to Greek deity status.’

That sounds dope, but I have questions. 1) Is the hiding Minotaur down there?, and 2) As a demi-god, will I still have to go through TSA?

Rates are competitive. Cash rates are as low as €258 and as high as €720 , though for most months, nightly rates seem to average between €?300 and €400. Points rates bottom out at 88,000 points per night and peak at 192,000.

Family, we might have a solid new addition to the Bonvoy portfolio. By the way, for team NO-BACKTRACKS! ✊, if you depart from Heralkion (HER) after your stay, you can continue an around-the-world journey with intriguing ‘next stops’ in Armenia or Jeddah.