Tella Thera
Kissamos, Greece · 5-star Hotel Marriott Bonvoy
Tella Thera in photographs
When to go
The cheapest month we have found is October, at around USD 533 a night - -28% against what this hotel usually asks.
Where to book
- Book on Booking.com - Free cancellation options, guest reviews and a familiar checkout.
- Book direct with the hotel - Usually the best price, and the only route where a loyalty discount applies.
- Hotel website - Photos, facilities and location.
The loyalty angle
This hotel sits under Marriott Bonvoy. We have not yet checked what it saves on this property specifically. Every price on this page is the public rate, so a member may pay less than the figures shown.
Our notes
Tella Thera
Tella Thera is a five-star boutique eco-hotel at Kissamos on the west coast of Crete, and a member of Design Hotels. According to the hotel's own website it was designed for conscious travellers who want slow living, sustainability and intimate luxury, with renewable and sustainable materials throughout. Its sand-coloured, rounded buildings step down a hillside, and the spacious suites have panoramic views of the Bay of Kissamos and private in-room lounge pools.
The restaurant follows a zero-waste, plant-forward approach, using fresh produce grown on the property alongside seasonal ingredients from local farms. The in-house spa offers a range of therapies, and there is a rooftop yoga terrace as well as a pool with daybeds facing the sea. The hotel also accepts cryptocurrency payments.
The only review score on file is Google Maps 4.9 from 128 reviews, read in September 2026; that is a small base for a recently opened property, so we treat it as promising rather than proven. Photographs: the hotel's own website, tellathera.com.
The area
Kissamos and the small bay at Trachilos just outside it turned out, almost by accident, to matter rather more to human history than anyone expected: in 2017 researchers published a set of fossilised footprints found on the Trachilos shoreline, dated to roughly 5.7 million years ago and showing a clear, upright, human-like gait rather than anything resembling an ape's. If the identification holds up - it is still debated - they predate the earliest confirmed human ancestors found anywhere in Africa, which would mean bipedal walking was being tried out on a Mediterranean shoreline millions of years before anyone thought to look for it there. The site is unmarked and free to visit, a low outcrop of rock a short walk from the water.
The other reason to be based in Kissamos is what leaves from its harbour: the boat trip to Balos Lagoon and the island of Gramvousa, generally agreed to be the single most striking stretch of coastline in Crete - a shallow, almost impossibly turquoise lagoon backed by a Venetian fortress on the island opposite, reachable only by sea or a long dirt track. Kissamos itself is a modest working town rather than a resort, built over the ancient city of Kisamos on Crete's quieter, less-visited western tip, with a harbour, an archaeological museum and a scattering of tavernas that still cater mostly to Cretans rather than to tour groups.
What it costs through the year
| Cheapest we have seen | USD 457 ≈ €408 |
|---|---|
| What it usually costs | USD 735 ≈ €657 |
| Dearest we have seen | USD 967 ≈ €864 |
| Times we looked | 7 |
| Gap between the two | 69% |
| Last checked | 2026-10-08 |