White River Cottages first opened  in 1991, at a time when restoring abandoned houses for use as tourist accommodation was uncommon on Crete. The owner, Vangelis Mavrakis, spared no effort in creating the hotel. His sensitive approach, breathed new life into the ruins, maintaining the property's authenticity and distinctive architectural style. 

The property comprises 13 stone cottages formerly belonging to the seasonal hamlet of Aspros Potamos , which was used when villagers from Pefki had farm work to do in the Valley. The hamlet was abandoned after the Second World War. In the 1970s almost all of the houses were bought by a civil engineer named Manolis Karantinos, who restored a group of cottages.

After his early death the houses were sold on to various owners, and in 1986 we acquired ownership of part of the hamlet he had not managed to restore, consisting of ruined, roofless dwellings. Few people lived in the area at the time, there was no electricity, and the dirt road leading to Makrys Gialos was in terrible condition.

Restoring the houses to their present condition took considerable effort and perseverance. The necessary building materials were brought in along rough tracks, at first by donkey. The guiding principle in our work was the architectural tradition of the area, and the use of local natural materials.