Domes Of Elounda, Autograph Collection

“Cringey check-in process, but everything after that was amazing!”

Amazing location with really great staff. Our visit was smooth from start to finish. We arrived by car and found self-parking easily (valet is available when the lot is busy, or if you just prefer it). We arrived in the morning and though our room was not yet ready we were offered breakfast which … more

Amazing location with really great staff. Our visit was smooth from start to finish. We arrived by car and found self-parking easily (valet is available when the lot is busy, or if you just prefer it). We arrived in the morning and though our room was not yet ready we were offered breakfast which was still open (a really nice touch). The check-in process was a bit cringey - rather than a straightforward process at the reception (there is a reception desk and it was not busy), we were asked to sit in the bar at a kind of lounge sofa area with a coffee table, offered a drink, etc. There our receptionist gave us a ton of info about the property, much more than I retained. I have to guess some visitors enjoy this engagement but for for us, seasoned tired travelers looking for the essential info (room number, breakfast hours, wifi, etc), it just felt ... weird. And took longer than needed. One thing our receptionist did not mention, until we asked, was that our room was not yet ready. No big deal, we were early. The hotel said that they would let us know when our room was ready and we headed out in our car to explore the area. Get out a bit if you can - the little towns and roads up in the hills are a sight of their own. We received a message that the room was ready and headed back to the hotel. We learned that we'd received an upgraded room as a Bonvoy perk (nice!) and headed up to the room with our receptionist for a tour of the room (again, not necessary kind of cringey - maybe we should have just declined). The rest of our visit was absolutely wonderful! We only ate breakfast on-site but it was decent enough and had sufficient options not to become boring, at least for three nights. Our room was in the new CORE complex (recommended - very clean and new) - only complaint there was seemingly *very* thin walls. We could hear our neighbors' conversations clearly. Some of the older buildings really felt dated compared to CORE. The property is on a hill and it's enormous, but club cars are looping around regularly and easy enough to find. When not, we were able to call from anywhere and one was quickly arriving to take us around when we weren't up for walking. Service at the pool bar was excellent and prices were what one might expect for an island resort. Bottom line : great resort. great staff and service. would stay here again.

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“Shoulda Stayed Longer!”

We really enjoyed our stay at Domes of Elounda. Our inbound flight was late, so by the time we got our rental car and drove the hour to get there from the airport, it was quite late. But the welcoming hospitality was on display after we figured out where the lobby was. It is a little challenging… more

We really enjoyed our stay at Domes of Elounda. Our inbound flight was late, so by the time we got our rental car and drove the hour to get there from the airport, it was quite late. But the welcoming hospitality was on display after we figured out where the lobby was. It is a little challenging identifying the driveway in the dark, but in daylight I'm sure it will be fine. Upon our arrival after 11 PM, a security officer greeted us in the parking lot. He directed us to the lobby, took our car and ensured us we would be receiving out bags upon reaching our room. In the lobby, we were greeted with professionalism and were informed that we had been upgraded to a villa with a private pool! We were also told to come back to the lobby in the morning and the concierge would go through the amenities with us. We then were taken by golf cart to our villa and were surprised to find a delicious late-night snack consisting of gyro sandwiches, potato chips and desert! It was a perfect late-night meal after traveling all day! During out stay, we had breakfast near the family pool since that was closest to our villa. The food was delicious and the area was relatively quiet since we were on the edge of off-season. Housekeeping did a great job, the unique "food truck" experience at one of the restaurants was outstanding and perfect for families wanting a great meal at a good value. All-in-all, a great experience and stay. We were sorry to leave!

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“Our perfect escape”

We spent a week at this beautiful hotel at the beginning of October, we booked with Tui, flew with EasyJet from Manchester and from start to finish everything was perfect. We arrived at the hotel at around 10.30pm, we had booked a sea view suite with hot tub (the best room available through Tui) we… more

We spent a week at this beautiful hotel at the beginning of October, we booked with Tui, flew with EasyJet from Manchester and from start to finish everything was perfect. We arrived at the hotel at around 10.30pm, we had booked a sea view suite with hot tub (the best room available through Tui) we were greeted by Pedro and informed that they were unable to give us this suite BUT were upgrading us to a suite with our own private pool!!!!! 🙌🙌 a golf buggy transferred us and our luggage to the most amazing room for which we will be eternally thankful. The buggy service is very good, we never had to wait more than 5 minutes if we rang for a buggy to take us from our room down to reception and there were always buggies waiting outside to take you wherever you wanted to go in the hotel. Breakfast next day in the buffet restaurant was plentiful with a large selection of hot, cold, sweet and savoury food with teas and coffees of your choice served at the table, we had a particularly lovely lady who looked after us most days called Rania, she was a ray of sunshine . The beach is a short walk away through the grounds and there are loads of sunbeds and even a quiet zone, the sea was ‘cool’ but once you were in, it was amazing, so clean and wonderful views of Spinalonga. The beach bar offers drinks and food and the service is excellent . The adults pool is a beautiful spot and quiet, we never saw more than 6 people there at any time, we never ventured to the family pool, we really tended to go on the beach in the morning and back to our ‘private pool’☺️ in the afternoon as the sun was on it until about 6pm #perfect. The main bar offers a fantastic drinks service in very relaxing surroundings with amazing views. We ate in the buffet restaurant a couple of evenings and the food was tasty and plentiful. We went to Core (the street food) one evening and the food was very good, not as relaxed as other restaurants, good I think if you have children. Also I ordered a cocktail and it came in a plastic glass and only half full. I understand plastic glasses are safer but just not for me. The hotel is positioned just 800m to the nearest village Plaka and 4.5km to Elounda, we visited both (walked to Plaka, took a taxi - booked by reception for 10 euros to Elounda) and both were stunning. I think this place was just what we needed, the people are helpful, kind, friendly and welcoming. The sun and sea soothed our souls. The food and drink cleansed and energised our tired bodies. I have made the bold statement that I would be happy to holiday here every year for the rest of my life. Thank you Domes, Crete and Greece 🇬🇷

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“Very nice but pool temperatures mean we won’t return.”

This is an undoubtedly nice hotel. The staff are very friendly and helpful, the room is nice and the location is perfect. However it falls short of for us. - The pools are just too cold. They say they are heated but I can only assume this is done using a single candle. The family pool was rarely … more

This is an undoubtedly nice hotel. The staff are very friendly and helpful, the room is nice and the location is perfect. However it falls short of for us. - The pools are just too cold. They say they are heated but I can only assume this is done using a single candle. The family pool was rarely used despite the area being busy. Our son could manage a few minutes before having to get out. It was very disappointing for a pool advertised as heated to be this cold. I see this has been mentioned in reviews going back 6+ years and so is obviously not something management are planning to do anything about. I realise there are environmental restrictions but we have stayed in other Crete hotels with the warmer pools. One of our favourite things about going on a warm holiday is being able to spend all day splashing in the pool, unfortunately this was not possible and for this reason alone we would not return to this hotel and would warn others to consider carefully whether to come here. - The wine prices are very high. The cheapest bottle is around €44. While this is fine to go with dinner, we didn’t feel comfortable buying a bottle with lunch or by the pool. - The curtains in the bedroom are too small for the window and therefore let a lot of light in. This was particularly bad in the sitting room where our son was sleeping as there were multiple windows. This led to him waking very early and had a detrimental impact on our stay. - The service, while friendly is a little hit and miss. Several meals had to be sent back as they had made errors. There are plenty of high spots though. The kids club is lovely. Food at the core was generally excellent and it was a nice place to be, far better than the buffet with some kids entertainment some days.

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