By Robin Gauldie Published: 11:26AM BST 17 Aug 2009  There's an opulent collection of split-level villas with private pools  Lots of blond wood, pale stone, muted suede and white fabrics are the keynotes  On the coast near Gouves, 12 miles east of Heraklion airport by taxi.  Crete's newest luxury hotel is a 21st-century take on an ancient Minoan palace, with an opulent collection of split-level villas with private pools around a low-rise hotel core of classic stone buildings, pools, fountains and palm trees, beside a semi-private beach. Even with 242 rooms and suites, it still feels small and intimate.  Lots of blond wood, pale stone, muted suede and white fabrics are the keynotes of rooms and suites, which range from superior guestrooms with balcony or terrace in the hotel wings to two-storey Royal Villas, each with its own pool and garden area. Insist on a sea-facing room: the gardens are attractive, but the sea view is special.  Breakfast at the poolside brasserie is a tasty blend of Greek and international, with fabulous local cheeses, olives, honey and yogurt, fruit and pickles, and sticky pastries. There is also life-enhancing Cretan cuisine in the Xasteria courtyard restaurant and outstanding contemporary Asian at the Blue Monkey.  The food; Ayurvedic treatments at the Elixir Thalasso Spa; dining on our own private deck at sunset; the Olympic-size saltwater pool.  The location, on a scruffy stretch of coastal wasteland between the airport and the downmarket sprawl of Kato Gouves and Hersonissos.  0030 28970 41103; www.amirandes.com; Double superior guestrooms from €153 (£131).  Thomson (0871 231 4787; www.thomsonflights.co.uk/flights) flies from Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Exeter, East Midlands, Doncaster, Cardiff, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Bristol. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies daily from Gatwick and twice weekly from Manchester.  Plunge into the ancient world of the Minoans at the 4,500-year-old ruins of Knossos (adults €6, daily 8am-7.30pm May-Oct, 8-5 Nov-April). A taxi from Amirandes will take about 20 minutes. Get there at opening time to avoid the crowds that bus in from the resorts and allow about three hours to explore – you can be back on the beach by lunchtime.
Robin Gauldie checks into Amirandes, a luxury hotel with a private beach close    to the Cretan capital Heraklion.