PHĀEA

Today, May 8th, marks the opening of Anogeia Weaving House. A living cultural initiative dedicated to preserving and evolving the weaving heritage of Crete. Envisioned and endowed by Costantza Sbokou- Constantakopoulou, Chairwoman of PHĀEA and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Protection & Promotion of Culture, together with her daughter Carmen, and gifted to the Municipality of Anogeia, the project creates a space where knowledge, memory, craftsmanship, and contemporary creativity exist in dialogue. Rooted in the history of Anogeia and the women who carried weaving forward through generations, the House gives new life to old looms, honoring a practice that has long shaped the cultural identity of Crete. At PHĀEA, this vision deeply resonates with our belief in celebrating a truer, more timeless Greece, one where heritage, local craftsmanship, and cultural traditions are continuously lived, shared, and carried forward through participation, creativity, and care. Through exhibitions, workshops, and cultural activities, Anogeia Weaving House becomes a meeting point between past and present, tradition and evolution, local community and contemporary cultural expression. #anogeiaweavinghouse #craftmanship #crete #phaea

Best Workplaces™ for Women Hellas 2026 Στα PHĀEA, θέλουμε κάθε γυναίκα να αισθάνεται ασφαλής, να εξελίσσεται και να νιώθει ότι ανήκει. Με 50% γυναικεία εκπροσώπηση, καλλιεργούμε καθημερινά ένα περιβάλλον με εμπιστοσύνη, σεβασμό και ίσες ευκαιρίες. Ένα περιβάλλον που το διαμορφώνουμε όλοι και όλες μαζί, κάθε μέρα. Learning and thriving together. #phaea #phaeatogether #phaeapeople

Phāea Farmers program joins the finalists of the Azure Road Impact Awards 2026 (@azureroad ) in the Heritage-Inspired Culinary Project category. But what is Phāea Farmers? Launched in 2019, Phāea Farmers is a regenerative agriculture initiative rooted in Crete. It brings together members of our hotel team who are also small-scale landowners and cultivators within their local communities. During the low season, they train alongside agronomists in sustainable and organic farming methods, learning how to restore soil health, protect biodiversity, and cultivate in ways that respond to a changing climate. What do they offer? • Regeneratively grown, organic produce 🌱 • 86% of our olive oil needs and 97% of our honey supply • A stable, fair market for local agriculture • Preservation of Cretan farming knowledge for the next generation • A direct connection between land, producer and guest The harvest returns to our kitchens across all Phāea properties, transforming guest dining experiences into a circular system of shared value, where hospitality supports the land that sustains it. Phāea Farmers is built on respect for our guests’ wellbeing, for ingredient provenance, for local heritage and for the island itself. #phaeafarmers #phaea #regenerativehospitality #sustainableluxurytravel #crete

Under the soft glow of handcrafted lights and the quiet rhythm of ancient looms, Phāea hosted “In Threads We Remember” an intimate private event at Mentis Antonopoulos (‘NEMA’) Passementerie of the @thebenakimuseum in Athens, honoring the living threads of Greek heritage, craftsmanship, and cultural memory. Hosted by @agapisbokou , CEO of Phāea, the evening honored long-standing partnerships and reflected the brand’s vision of a Truer, More Timeless Greece, where culture is lived, craftsmanship is activated, and hospitality becomes a medium for storytelling and continuity. The brand’s partnership with the Benaki Museum reflects its broader commitment to conscious hospitality, where luxury is defined by authenticity, memory, and emotional resonance. Guided by @virginia_matseli , Ethnologist and former Director of Modern Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture, guests explored NEMA as a living archive of memory and making. The space was transformed with @reywal_ handcrafted lighting installations by @joy_stathopoulou , creating a poetic dialogue between past and present. Phāea also unveiled its new curated publication ‘Arts & Craftsmanship’, highlighting collaborations with Greek artists and artisans across its properties. The evening concluded with a Cretan gastronomic ritual and the symbolic cutting of the 2026 Vasilopita, marking gratitude, renewal, and continuity. #phaea #concioushospitality #crete #benakimuseum #greekcraftsmanship

A single note of the Cretan lyra rises and with it, a lineage. Woven arts and lived rituals passed hand to hand like grandmothers’ secret recipes. This is Crete held together by hands of artisans and bakers, painters and musicians, ceramicists, woodworkers, ironsmiths, weavers, embroiderers, leatherworkers, boat builders, beekeepers, shepherds, and farmers. Of potters shaping earth, cooks stirring memory into meals, and makers who work slowly, guided by patience rather than haste alongside families safeguarding these traditions within their homes. This summer choose a Greek destination that holds tightly to what shaped it. Choose Crete. 🎞️Scenes by @stemajourneys #crete #phaea #cretantradition #craftsmanship

A Tale Woven in Tears of Happiness and Sorrow They say the Cretan ‘sariki’ was born from tears. Tears of joy as bright as dawn and tears of sorrow as heavy as winter rain. These tears, hand-knotted one by one into delicate fringes, once hung from a headscarf that could be white and celebratory or black carrying the weight of loss and courage.   Over time, the ‘sariki’ came to embody the very essence of Cretan heritage. By the turn of the 20th century, the sariki became a symbol of grief, endurance and unbroken spirit. So powerful was this symbol that 🖋️Nikos Kazantzakis - Crete’s most celebrated author and one of Greece’s greatest literary figures - wove it into the very soul of his iconic character, Captain Michales, in the novel Captain Michalis (Freedom or Death). Kazantzakis dressed his hero in a black ‘sariki’ as a visible oath an unchanging pledge of mourning for a land not yet free.   Perhaps you have already seen it these days at a traditional live Cretan evening 🪕at Blue Door at Phāea Blue, or worn proudly at Mouries restaurant at Phāea Cretan Malia, or even resting quietly on your table , printed on the label of our Phāea Extra Virgin Olive Oil, offered across all our properties.   Wherever it appears in your journey, the ‘sariki’ carries with it the enduring spirit of Crete. #cretantradition #cretanculture #crete #phaea #phaeablue #phaeacretanmalia #villageheightsresort #koutouloufarivillageholidayclub

We did it! 🎉 Phāea has been shortlisted for the Aspire Awards 2025 – Sustainability Initiative of the Year 🌿   What made us stand out? • €1.2M invested in sustainability projects in 2023 • 12.7 tonnes of fresh produce + 500kg of honey harvested each year • 85% of our olive oil & 47% of our honey needs met in-house • 304 local suppliers reducing our footprint & supporting community   From farm-to-fork dining to bee-friendly gardens, every step brings us closer to a kinder kind of hospitality. 👉 Scroll to see more of what makes Phāea unique! #aspireawards2025 #phaea #conscioushospitality #sustainabletravel #farmtofork #ecoluxury #sustainabilityinhospitality #phaeablue #phaeacretanmalia

Jean Cocteau et la Grèce rests quietly in the curated lobby of @phaeablue as a reminder that art, myth and memory are always in conversation. Jean Cocteau was a poet, an artist and a filmmaker who wandered through life weaving myth into modern art, in Greece and most of all in Crete. He found an endless well of inspiration a land where beauty spoke in symbols and mirrored the human soul. When he came to Crete, he felt the island’s singular pulse, “the bridge between East and West.” Here, in the land of labyrinths and light, of Minotaurs and seafarers, Cocteau discovered a Greece both familiar and otherworldly. He called Crete an “Oriental Greece”, which was raw, sensual, and mysterious. A place where myth was not a relic, but a living presence, woven into every stone, every horizon. At Phāea, we too see Crete as more than a destination. It is a mythic heart where cultures meet, where stories become art, where timeless heritage breathes into contemporary life. Just as Cocteau sketched Minotaurs and labyrinths to reimagine ancient truths, we honor Crete’s past while shaping its future. #crete #jeancocteau #art #phaea #phaeablue #lobbycuration #cretanheritage

Barefoot steps on soft Cretan sand, the first touch of sunlight warming your skin, the quiet play of shade and light across timeless craft. Moments that awaken your senses, that make you see Greece in a new light, as if for the very first time. For us at Phāea, serendipity is the gift of presence, the joy of finding beauty in the simplest of encounters: the way shadows dance on stone, the texture of craft passed through generations, the hush of the sea that feels both new and eternal. #phaea #timelessgreece #serendipity #phaeablue #phaeacretanmalia #greece

A cinematic invitation to mindful Mediterranean living. On Crete’s northern shore, where the Aegean meets sun-filled gardens, Phāea Cretan Malia blends effortless style with a deep respect for nature. This is a place to slow down, to savour the simple pleasures and to connect meaningfully with the island and its people. It is not just a summer in Greece. It is a celebration of balance, beauty, and authenticity. A stay shaped by conscious choices, creative spirit, and the freedom to live at your own pace. 🎥 Watch the full film on YouTube — link in bio 🎬 Filmed by @amaliakovaiou #phaeacretanmalia #greekislands #phaea #summeringreece #crete #timelessgreece #designhotels #boutique #luxurytravel #conscioushospitality #greekescape #getawaygoals #uniqueexperiences

Light moves across the stone, just as it has for thousands of years.⁠ The red columns of Knossos are a reminder that beauty, once built with meaning, endures. We return not to repeat the past, but to carry it forward. ⁠ ⁠ Across Crete, the 6 Minoan palatial centres now inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros, Kydonia and Galatas, are a constellation of stories, carved in stone and painted on ancient walls. ⁠ ⁠ Each is only minutes away from our properties and each holds traces of a civilisation that shaped Europe’s earliest myths. Stand among the ruins and feel history not as something distant, but as something alive — hand-built, hand-painted, and still speaking to those who listen. ⁠ ⁠ #phaea #phaeaplaces #authenticluxury #greece #phaeablue #phaeacretanmalia #phaeabluevilla #phaeatraditionalhouse #villageheightsresort #koutouloufarivillageholidayclub⁠

A place is only as strong as its people. Community isn’t just a word we use, it’s the lifeblood of Crete. It’s the fishermen mending their nets at dawn, the craftsmen painting caiques by hand, the grandmothers chatting in the alleyways being the island’s fastest news network. It’s the beekeepers tending to their “ladies,” the women cracking almond shells in the shade, the old men at the kafenion keeping traditions alive over small cups of Greek coffee. ⁠ ⁠ From the simplest gestures to the hardest work under the Cretan sun, each one holds a key role in preserving the values, habits and customs of this land. At Phāea, we honour this spirit! 85% of the olive oil we serve comes from our own Phāea Farmers program, 47% of the honey from local beekeepers and over 300 local suppliers bring their craft to our kitchens, gardens and guest experiences. ⁠ ⁠ When we say we support our community, it means cherishing these stories, creating real opportunities and building something lasting together. ⁠ ⁠ #phaea #phaeaplaces #authenticluxury #greece #phaeablue #phaeacretanmalia #phaeabluevilla #phaeatraditionalhouse #villageheightsresort #koutouloufarivillageholidayclub⁠