Pivoted toward the sunset just outside Chania, on Crete’s northern coast, the Tanneries is an attraction in itself.

Sat at the edge of the historic area known as Tabakaria, the hotel’s four distinctive heritage buildings have the telltale features of Greece’s old tannery infrastructure: tall chimneys, arched doorways and large courtyards once used for drying and storing leather. While the neighbourhood’s narrow streets and alleys are a popular for exploring the island’s traditional way of life, at the Tanneries, visitors can live at the heart of it.

Today the heritage-protected 19th-century factory buildings incorporate 20 waterfront suites with views over the shallow bay to the sea. Minimal and modern, they have feature walls of original stone, sleek black furnishings and spacious marble tiled bathrooms.

The house restaurant, Periplous, serves traditional Cretan cuisine using organic and fresh ingredients from local producers. Like the guest suites, the wellness centre is swathed in marble and original stone, with vast windows set level with the sea. Water features include a pool and indoor and outdoor Jacuzzis, to restore what Greeks call pneuma, a person’s ‘vital spirit or soul’.

The Greek hotel is located just over a mile from Chania’s city centre, near the museums, galleries, and workshops that were once tanneries themselves.

www.thetanneries.com

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