Chania: conditional green light for two five-star hotels

The environmental committee of the Crete Region approved, with conditions, on Thursday 24 September 2026 the environmental terms for two new five-star hotels in the Chania prefecture, in Georgioupoli and Aptera, two areas that in recent years have attracted increased investment interest in the tourism sector. The approval comes at a time of increased interest in high-end investment in the Chania prefecture, where demand for five-star accommodation units remains consistently high in recent years.

In Georgioupoli, the approval concerns a 303-room and 499-bed unit, an investment estimated at 50 million euros and associated with the Vantaraki family. In Aptera, the approval concerns a 107-room and 212-bed hotel, of which 69 rooms have private pools, with the conditions of the opinion concerning mainly the protection of the beach and the loggerhead sea turtle, a species that nests on beaches in the area. The two units had received positive opinion from the Region earlier in September, a stage that precedes the approval of environmental terms, while the Georgioupoli area is already under traffic regulations on the BOAK due to ongoing works. The two approvals constitute separate procedures, as they concern different investment bodies and different points in the prefecture, with the common characteristic of five-star status and increased environmental conditions that today accompany the licensing of large tourism units in Crete.

The two investments add a total of 410 rooms and 711 five-star beds to the tourism map of the Chania prefecture, strengthening the area’s high tourism offer ahead of the coming years and attracting new investments in a market that remains attractive for the hospitality sector. The environmental conditions accompanying both approvals, particularly regarding the beach and loggerhead sea turtles in Aptera, aim to ensure that the development of the units will not burden sensitive ecosystems in the area, an issue that systematically occupies the competent services in coastal zones of Chania. The overall capacity of the two units ranks them among the largest tourism investments approved this year in the Chania prefecture, further strengthening the region’s position in high-end international tourism.

The two investments must now proceed to the next licensing stages before the start of construction works, with the implementing bodies called upon to comply with the conditions set by the environmental committee of the Crete Region. No schedule has yet been announced for the start of works in either case, nor for the expected completion date and start of operation of the two five-star units.