Greece regional hotel guide · reviewed 10 September 2026
Looking for vegan hotels in Crete? A good island holiday starts with a place where the food fits the way you travel. This guide compares three vegan-friendly stays on the north coast: Apollonia Beach Resort & Spa and Agapi Beach in Amoudara, plus Cook’s Club Hersonissos. Choose between a dedicated vegan restaurant, a resort buffet with vegan options and a more social adults-only hotel with plant-based dishes at its Cantina. Apollonia is carried forward from our original Greece hotel collection.
Which Crete hotel should you compare first?
For a named vegan dinner venue, start with Apollonia and Avocado. For a family-oriented beach resort with published buffet options, compare Agapi Beach. For an adults-only stay with music and à la carte dining, consider Cook’s Club Hersonissos. The three food arrangements are not interchangeable, and none of these hotels is presented as entirely vegan. [C1] [C2] [C3] [C4]
Booking.com buttons are affiliate links. A qualifying reservation may earn Vegan Lifestyle a commission at no extra cost to you. Buttons marked “Search” open hotel-name results, not a confirmed room offer. Check your dates, room category and meal inclusions before reserving.
Quick comparison: three stays
Where to stay in Crete for a vegan-friendly holiday
Amoudara: beach days near the Heraklion area
Apollonia and Agapi Beach are beach-resort choices in Amoudara, also written Ammoudara, near Heraklion. They are not hotels beside the Venetian harbour. Our editorial suggestion is to use one resort as your base, settle your daily meals and group city outings rather than returning for every buffet service. [C1] [C5]
Hersonissos: a more social resort-town stay
Cook’s Club describes its Hersonissos hotel around poolside music, shared spaces and an adults-only atmosphere. This is the alternative for a holiday that includes time at the hotel as well as evenings out, not a recommendation for a silent retreat. Compare the room location and the atmosphere alongside the menu. [C4]
Planning a wider Crete itinerary
Start with your actual overnight stops, not simply an island-wide hotel search. A booking in Hersonissos or Amoudara should not be treated as a convenient address for every possible outing in Crete. Work out travel from the property and leave room for meals away from your base. These are planning suggestions, not verified transport times.
Three vegan-friendly stays to compare
Stay 01 · From our original Greece guide
Apollonia Beach Resort & Spa
Apollonia belongs in this regional shortlist for a specific reason: its Avocado restaurant prepares its dishes entirely from plant ingredients. It brings a vegan dining venue into a conventional resort, rather than making the whole property vegan. That distinction lets you compare the food you will actually book instead of relying on the broad description “vegan-friendly hotel”. [C1]
The published conditions deserve attention. Avocado requires a reservation at least three days ahead, and one dinner is included for all-inclusive guests. The operator also notes seasonal and operating restrictions. A week of all-inclusive accommodation should therefore not be read as seven included Avocado dinners. [C1]
For a longer holiday, ask about breakfast, lunch, snacks and the other evenings before you reserve. Request the cost and availability of additional visits to Avocado, then compare the complete arrangement with a resort whose vegan choices are part of a wider buffet. This is a useful choice when you value a dedicated plant-based dinner and are happy to plan the rest of the stay explicitly.
Apollonia was already featured in our Greece overview. We retain the property here, while using its current restaurant conditions rather than repeating every facility claim from the older article. Choose it as an Amoudara beach base, not as a room in central Heraklion.
Already featured by Vegan Lifestyle: read our earlier hotel portrait. The current food distinctions above take precedence over broader wording in older coverage.
Stay 02 · Vegan options at Mediterraneo
Agapi Beach Resort
Agapi Beach takes a different approach. Its Mediterraneo main restaurant explicitly lists vegan options within a buffet service covering breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is useful evidence for a resort-based holiday, but not a complete vegan menu for every sitting. The same page separately lists gluten-free and lactose-free choices; those labels are not substitutes for vegan ingredients. [C2]
The resort offers rooms and bungalow categories in its Amoudara setting and presents itself for families as well as couples. A room in the main accommodation and a seafront bungalow are different purchases. Check the selected category rather than assuming a photograph represents every unit. [C5]
Our practical reason to compare Agapi is the everyday food service. Ask the kitchen to describe a satisfying breakfast, a lunch main and a dinner, and find out how suitable dishes are identified. For children, discuss portions and favourite ingredients instead of assuming that a separate children’s buffet solves a vegan meal.
The wider dining offer includes additional venues with their own conditions. Request restaurant reservations and any supplements independently of the main-buffet discussion. A clear plan across the day is more valuable than a long list of facilities that does not explain what you can eat. [C6]
Stay 03 · Vegan dishes at Cantina
Cook’s Club Hersonissos
Cook’s Club adds a different holiday format to the comparison. Its Hersonissos restaurant page names vegan creations at Cantina within a mixed à la carte menu. This is property-specific evidence, not an assumption transferred from another hotel in the chain. Ask for the current dishes and how breakfast works for a vegan guest. [C3]
The board arrangement is particularly important. The operator describes bed and breakfast, while its half-board option includes breakfast plus daily credit towards dinner. Drinks and extra items can be additional purchases. Compare the amount of credit and the menu prices for your reservation instead of treating half board as an unlimited evening buffet. [C3]
The hotel is marketed as adults-only and built around a social atmosphere, with DJs and poolside activity. It is therefore a contrasting choice to the two Amoudara resorts, especially for adults who enjoy music and shared spaces. Travellers prioritising very quiet evenings should check the room position and the programme before deciding. [C4]
Choose the room size and layout for your party, then arrange the meals you expect to eat on site. Keep some flexibility for an evening away from the hotel rather than paying for a dinner arrangement you may not use. A documented vegan option makes the shortlist useful; it does not make every dish at Cantina plant-based.
Compare the complete food arrangement
Compare what is included
Write down the meals you need across a normal holiday day. At Apollonia, account for the evenings beyond the included Avocado visit. At Agapi, ask about each buffet service. At Cook’s Club, establish what the dinner credit buys and whether drinks are extra. Then compare the total alongside your room and cancellation terms.
A message for the hotel
Send your dates and the room or package you are considering, then ask for a specific reply.
We eat vegan, without meat, fish, dairy, eggs or honey. Which breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes can you provide for our dates? Please confirm restaurant opening days, what our rate includes, reservation deadlines and any supplements or dinner-credit limits.
Beach holiday or island touring?
For a mostly on-site week, prioritise food variety over the number of restaurant names. A sample day helps reveal whether the property matches your appetite, preferred meal times and budget. For a sightseeing-led trip, a simpler breakfast arrangement may suit you better than a broader package that ties you to the hotel at lunchtime.
The three hotels offer a starting point on the north coast, not evidence that every Cretan region has equivalent vegan hotel provision. Use the Heraklion city guide for a closer urban comparison. For a multi-stop holiday, choose each base independently and check your onward transport before making non-refundable reservations.
Vegan hotel questions, answered
Are these fully vegan hotels?
No. Apollonia has a dedicated vegan restaurant, while Agapi Beach and Cook’s Club publish vegan options within mixed dining services. The food evidence does not certify every hotel product or service.
Which hotel is retained from the original Greece article?
Apollonia Beach Resort & Spa. Its updated profile explains Avocado’s vegan menu concept and the published reservation and all-inclusive limits.
Does Apollonia include Avocado every night?
The operator states that one dinner is included for all-inclusive guests and asks for a reservation at least three days ahead. Confirm the current conditions for your rate. [C1]
Is Cook’s Club Hersonissos half board a buffet dinner?
The published package provides breakfast and credit towards dinner. Ask for the credit amount and extra charges; it is not described as an unrestricted dinner buffet. [C3]
Are all three hotels in central Heraklion?
No. Apollonia and Agapi Beach are in Amoudara, while Cook’s Club is in Hersonissos. The separate Heraklion guide includes a city-centre alternative.
Will a gluten-free buffet label identify vegan food?
No. Check dairy, eggs, honey and other animal ingredients separately. Ask for named vegan dishes rather than assuming one dietary label covers another.
Sources and image credits
Reviewed on . This is a desk-researched editorial selection, not a report of on-site visits, a scored popularity ranking or a guarantee of availability. Food claims are based on the named operator pages below. We did not obtain meal confirmations for an individual reservation.
- [C1] Apollonia Beach Resort & Spa — À La Carte Restaurants, Avocado section. Plant-based restaurant, advance reservation, once-included dinner and seasonal restrictions.
- [C2] Agapi Beach — Main Restaurant Mediterraneo. Vegan options within the main buffet and the separate dietary categories.
- [C3] Cook’s Club Hersonissos — Restaurant & Bar. Vegan à la carte choices and the dinner-credit half-board arrangement.
- [C4] Cook’s Club Hersonissos — Official hotel page. Adults-only positioning, room formats and music-led atmosphere.
- [C5] Agapi Beach — Official hotel overview. Amoudara location, family/couples positioning and room/bungalow categories.
- [C6] Agapi Beach — Eat & Drink. Separate venue reservations and service arrangements.
Cover photograph: Koules Fortress and Heraklion harbour, JopkeB, CC BY-SA 4.0, reused from our Heraklion article. This is destination scenery, not a hotel photograph. No Apollonia property photograph was present in the existing Greece overview or its linked hotel portrait; no unrelated image has been labelled as that resort.
Menus, service days, room features and package conditions can change. Confirm the points that matter to your stay before reserving. Source references are provided as editorial notes rather than additional hotel-direct booking buttons.
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