Off season pool hotels in Crete
Crete's air stays mild long after the beach crowds leave. These hotels heat their outdoor pools, which is what actually makes an April or October pool day work.
34 hotels in our database · Updated 19 Aug 2026
Between November and March the sea around Crete sits at 16–18°C and an unheated pool is colder still. Even in April and October, an unheated outdoor pool rarely climbs past 20°C — warm enough to look at, not to swim in.
Every hotel on this list runs at least one heated outdoor pool. That is the single feature that stretches the Cretan pool season from roughly ten weeks to six months, and in a couple of cases to the full year.
Heating and opening dates are two different things: a hotel can heat its pool and still close the property for winter. Check the season note on each hotel page, and confirm heating dates directly with the hotel before booking a shoulder-season trip.
The ranking
1. Nana Princess Suites, Villas & Spa
8.5Hersonissos · Private Suite Pools
Almost every suite has its own pool
2. Kalimera Kriti Hotel & Village Resort
8.1Sissi · Olympic-sized, Adults-only & Indoor pools
Pool village on a private bay
3. Elounda Mare Relais & Châteaux
7.8Elounda · Private bungalow pools and a large seawater pool
Private pools above Mirabello Bay
4. Anemos Luxury Grand Resort
0.0Georgioupolis · Unknown
Big beachfront resort with a heated outdoor pool plus a heated indoor pool and spa.
5. Aquila Atlantis Hotel
0.0Heraklion · No information available
City hotel in Heraklion whose rooftop pool is heated well past the beach season.
6. Aquila Elounda Village
0.0Elounda · Unknown
Village-style resort with heated main pool and heated private suite pools.
7. Aquila Rithymna Beach
0.0Rethymno · Unknown
Long-standing beachfront resort with heated outdoor and indoor pools.
8. Avra Imperial Hotel
0.0Kolymbari, Chania · Undetermined
One of Crete's biggest pool decks
9. Blue Bay Resort & Spa
0.0Agia Pelagia · No information available
Hillside resort above Agia Pelagia keeping one outdoor pool heated in shoulder season.
10. Candia Park Village
0.0Agios Nikolaos · Unknown
A family village where the central outdoor pool is heated for spring and autumn stays.
11. Cretan Malia Park
0.0Malia · Unknown
Palm-garden design hotel that heats its main pool for spring and autumn.
12. Domes Noruz Chania
0.0Chania / Kalamaki · N/A
Adults-only sister of Domes Zeen with a heated main pool a step from the beach.
13. Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas
0.0Elounda · Unknown
The seafront main pool is heated in shoulder season alongside the heated villa pools.
14. Elounda Gulf Villas
0.0Elounda · No information available
Villa pools are individually heated on request, which makes April and October swims realistic.
15. Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel
0.0Elounda · Unknown
Every suite has its own heated seawater pool on the peninsula, warmed well past summer.
16. Galaxy Hotel Iraklio
0.0Heraklion · No information available
Sheltered courtyard pool heated all year — the most reliable winter swim in Heraklion.
17. Giannoulis Grand Bay Beach Resort
0.0Falassarna, Chania · Unknown
Adults-only resort above Falassarna with a heated outdoor pool facing the sunset coast.
18. Grecotel Caramel Boutique Resort
0.0Adelianos Kampos, Rethymno · Unknown
Beach-house style villas whose private pools can be heated for shoulder-season stays.
19. Grecotel Creta Palace
0.0Rethymno · Unknown
One of the big beachfront pools is heated so the resort works from early spring.
20. Ikaros Beach Luxury Resort & Spa
0.0Malia · Unknown
Beachfront resort with heated main pool and a run of heated private bungalow pools.
21. Kalimera Kriti Sissi Bay
0.0Sissi · No information available
Bay resort that heats one outdoor pool and keeps the indoor pool warm all season.
22. Kalliston Resort & Spa
0.0Chania · No information available
Adults-only resort near Chania where the main outdoor pool is heated in spring and autumn.
23. Kiani Beach Resort
0.0Kalyves, Chania · Unknown
Family resort on Souda Bay with a heated main pool for cooler weeks.
24. Metropole Urban Hotel
0.0Heraklion · No pool detected
Small rooftop pool over the city centre, heated outside the summer peak.
25. Minos Palace Hotel & Suites
0.0Agios Nikolaos · Unknown
Adults-only peninsula resort with a heated outdoor pool facing Mirabello Bay.
26. Mythos Palace Resort & Spa
0.0Georgioupolis · No information available
Garden resort keeping a heated outdoor pool open through the shoulder months.
27. Out of the Blue Capsis Elite Resort
0.0Agia Pelagia · No information available
A peninsula of pools; a couple are heated so the resort opens early and closes late.
28. Pleiades Luxurious Villas
0.0Agios Nikolaos · No information available
Hillside villas where each private pool can be heated year-round on request.
29. Porto Elounda Golf & Spa Resort
0.0Elounda · Unknown
Heated seawater pools throughout the resort plus a thalasso spa for off-season stays.
30. Rithymna Beach Hotel
0.0Adelianos Kampos, Rethymno · No information available
Heated outdoor pool and a separate indoor pool for genuinely cool days.
31. Sensimar Royal Blue Resort & Spa
0.0Panormo, Rethymno · Unknown
Heated seawater pool plus a thalassotherapy circuit that runs through the cooler months.
32. St. Nicolas Bay Resort Hotel & Villas
0.0Agios Nikolaos · No information available
One of the outdoor pools plus several private suite pools stay heated either side of summer.
33. Terra Creta Suites & Villas
0.0Kolymbari, Chania · Unknown
Small adults-leaning property with heated private pools on every terrace.
34. Wyndham Grand Crete Mirabello Bay
0.0Agios Nikolaos · Unknown
Terraced bay-facing pools with one heated deck kept open outside high season.
Frequently asked
- When is the off season in Crete?
- Roughly November to March is low season, with April, May and October counting as shoulder season. Most resorts open in April and close in late October.
- How warm is a heated hotel pool in Crete?
- Typically 26–29°C. Private villa pools that are heated on request usually land at the upper end; large open-air resort pools lose heat to wind and sit lower.
- Can I swim outdoors in Crete in winter?
- Only at the few hotels that keep a heated outdoor pool running year-round, mostly in Heraklion and the Elounda area. Everywhere else the outdoor pools are drained or unheated.
How this page works
Hotels are selected automatically from our verified pool database and ordered by Pool Score — never by commercial relationship. Read the Pool Score methodology or our affiliate disclosure.