Andrэ Kovalev
We recently had the pleasure of staying at the Elounda Bay hotel, and it was a truly exceptional experience from start to finish. The service was nothing short of perfect and incredibly considerate; the staff anticipated our needs and went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable and memorable.
The hotel's beach is a real highlight—pristine, well-maintained, and a perfect spot for relaxation. The food was consistently delicious, with a wonderful variety of options. Breakfast, in particular, was fantastic, offering a huge selection to start the day right. We also loved the range of sea activities available, which added an element of adventure to our trip.
Elounda Bay truly lives up to its reputation as a "Leading Hotel of the World." The attention to detail, impeccable service, and top-tier amenities make it a standout destination. We can't wait to return.
Zino Spinedi
The hotel is by no means bad, so I want to make it clear that my two-star rating should not be seen as criticism of the hotel itself, and especially not of the staff.
The reason I am giving only two stars is that this is absolutely not a 5-star hotel, although it presents itself as one and charges accordingly. At best, it’s a 4-star property. The food is fine, but nothing special. The grounds are spacious, yes, but far from a 5-star standard, as everything feels old and in need of renovation.
The rooms are by far the weakest point: outdated, worn down, small, and very nois. you hear everything.
The best thing about the hotel is the staff. Whether at reception, housekeeping, or service, everyone is extremely friendly and attentive.
The worst thing is the value for money. The hotel sells itself as a 5-star property, which it most definitely is not, yet still charges 5-star prices. (For example: a non-alcoholic beer at the pool costs €8.)
Not worth the Money, but not a bad hotel
Richard
Fantastic experience. Part of at least a some interconnected resorts, especially Elounda Bay Resort next door (where the internal dive shop Cretas Happy Divers is located, about 8 minutes walk from the palace). The staff were overly accomodating! They were willing to try and help with whatever. The facilities and amenities were good. LOTS of options for food and drink, leasure and pools, beach, and more. The seaside location you cant complain about either! Great restaurants (well highly rated) within close walk and some diverse-ish shopping a little past that. Vintage's food was amazing! Check them out at least once and early on if you are having a stay.
Bout 1 hour 15 minutes drive from Herkalion Airport. Rental cars are MUCH cheaper than airport transfer through the resort or otherwise, 1 week car rental was half what one way transport to or from the airport would cost!
We had the half-board, the dinners were great as well. HUGE buffet, too much to try, semi-themed from day to day making sure to keep some basics from the core patronage basic foods between Italy, Germany, and UK that we could pick out.
The breakfast was equally as large, and followed somewhat the same pattern, but more consistent in the offerings. Note: unlike dinner drinks, breakfast drinks INCLUDING coffee are free, included. After our first dinner we assumed delivered coffee came with a charge, last morning we found out if was a flase assumption. Lucky we had a coffee machine in the room to get us going before diving or excursions.
The stuff in the room behind the doors and in the fridge, not free. Dig a minute and you will find the steep in room prices. Walk 8 minutes down the road.
If you are still reading this, we were there for 7 days mid-Oct 2025. They closed for the season after October so the crowds theoretically were winding down with the season termination, weather changing and time of the year.
Amy Ford
Positives:
- New refurbished suites are lovely. We had a suite with a pool shared with one other villa. Really recommend trying to get the refurbished rooms.
- Beach area is lovely
- Staff very kind and good service
Negatives/ room for improvement
- Water- aside from one bottle when you arrive they don’t provide water. You have to pay €5 for a bottle with half board. For a 5* I’d really expect water be replaced daily by housekeeping and that it’s included at the buffet + a filter at the pool area. We saw loads of guests walking around carrying 6 packs of water that they bought outside of the resort which is really not a good look for a 5*. Seriously just charge 5€ more a night and give people their water for free. There are loads of reviews on this so clearly it bugs a lot of people!
- Food- the buffet dinner is a let down with most of the food luke warm. You can go to one of the restaurants instead with a €30 credit pp but it’s an absolute rip off the prices even with that ‘discount’ which is not really a discount as you’ve paid already for the half board. For example, at the Greek restaurant it was €33 for a prawn saganaki and there were FOUR prawns. Seriously. Out of the resort every saganaki had around 12-15 prawns.
So all in all I am glad we went for 4 nights but if that had been my whole trip I would have been really annoyed as the food is much better outside of the resort and half the price. You would be better off booking a 5* that is bed and breakfast and eat where you like with higher quality, bigger portions and lower prices.
Alissa Campbell
This place was a scam. They claim to be 5 star, yet we had many issues. When we arrived at 11pm with a sleeping child and asked if we could take him in a cart to our room, they said no (we just had to wake him up). The entire stay, the staff was not friendly or helpful. We chose the hotel (from the many options!) based on the nice beach - but everything else about our stay was not worth the money. We felt scammed. Our room was worn and old and had ants in it upon arrival. The half board room price is outrageous! Then when we asked for a comp for missing our first night buffet (90 Euros), they said no -- until we pushed and pushed and finally gave us a free lunch. The kid pool was tiny and basically for babies. Our older kids had nothing to do. After 5 nights and thousands of dollars, we felt like our entire vacation was a rip-off. We requested a credit for the room rate (since it was NOT 5 star, as advertised) but they NEVER responded. Do not stay here, find another nicer hotel.
My Booking
