Elounda Bay Palace, a Member of the Leading Hotels of the World

The hotel, the service, the staff, and the beach – everything is five stars and more. We stayed for 10 days and regretted not staying longer. Check-in was handled by Danai, who was warm and professional. She explained everything clearly and showed us our room. The food at the Aretoussa Restaurant is delicious – there's a wide variety of dishes and a great selection every day. All the staff from the restaurant are incredibly friendly and always smiling. A huge thank you to Costas , who made us feel right at home with his positive and professional attitude. He always had everything under control and was ready to help with anything we needed. You can tell he genuinely cares about every guest. We also rented a car for two days. Both Elounda Bay Palace and Elounda Beach have a car rental desk, where the lovely Phaedra provided us with a clean, well-equipped car at a great price. She speaks several languages, is funny, and such a pleasure to be around. She also gave us excellent tips on what to visit and where to eat. All the staff were extremely polite and paid great attention to the guests. Whatever you ask for is done in half the expected time, to the highest standard, and always with a smile. Last but not least, the beach is amazing. There are two piers and two swimming pools. You’ll find sunbeds on the sand, as well as on the large green areas with grass and trees which provides natural shade

This was our 4th visit to Elounda Bay Palace, and the staff were very friendly and welcoming as always. We love this hotel and we were given an upgrade, as our previous booking was changed due to the rooms been refurbished. We were given a suite with a shared pool, which was a surprise. Lovely and clean, a bottle of wine with a bowl of fruit and local desserts on the table for us. The view was limited, but it was fine for the week stay. Our neighbours were happy to chat and we gave advice on the local area. We were on a half board basis, and the food was delicious and hot. A great selection of dishes available and really nice desserts too. The waiters & waitress were always there to help and we would have a nice chat with them during dinner. We only had water during our meals, and we already know about the cost of water so not an issue for us. We walked into Elounda every day to buy supplies. But unfortunately during our stay, there was a heatwave of 45c. So it was uncomfortable but we just took our time. Because of this, we hired a car for 2 days to take the strain of walking in the heat. There are plenty of sun beds available and the sea is a nice temperature. I did use the pool, which we had to share. I personally don’t like shared pools, not that I don’t like sharing, it’s just that because I am on the Autistic spectrum, I like my own pool. That aside, it was a really relaxing, fun, and enjoyable week away. We have booked for a week in early June 2025 for my birthday, again. So looking forward to an amazing time and seeing the beautiful Elounda and the staff of the Elounda Bay Palace.

Just returned from an 11 night stay and will not be returning. We booked a mountain view room for three which on the Jet 2 website looks exactly what we would ordinarily go for, neutral, spacious, light and modern. This is supposedly a 5 star resort so we felt confident we would be happy with our choice of hotel/room. On arrival during the early hours of the morning we were taken to our room which was on the ground floor overlooking the pool. It was accessed by old sliding doors and was the exact opposite of what i described above which is what i thought we had paid for. It was extremely old fashioned, dark, and cluttered with unnecessary furniture, to put it mildly it was down right depressing although could be described more as a hole of some kind but shall keep it polite . There were dark wood louvre doors to the bathroom which you could see through at certain angles . This is not acceptable when travelling with a 13 year old girl. The bathroom was needlessly large and ‘naff’ (think the scar face bathroom scene). It was absolutely not 5 star- perhaps in the 80’s but not by 2025 standards so we were bitterly disappointed. The following morning we took a look around the grounds of the hotel and quickly realised we were in the worst part of the hotel. The 5 star rating is clearly reserved for the large rooms at the top of the hotel and the lovely private little apartments with their own private pools dotted around the complex, we however were in 2 star at best but had paid more than what we usually would have for 4 star accommodation. We contacted Jet 2 to query the room and explained it was nothing like what we were expecting or what was advertised. They very quickly arranged for us to see the mountain view rooms (which we had originally booked), they directed us to the reception where we were told we had actually been upgraded upon check-in to the ground floor bungalow! My heart sank. We were taken to a mountain view room which was smaller than the ‘upgraded bungalow’ and although still old fashioned looking and not what we thought we had booked it was light and airy and i liked the view of the mountain so i said i preferred this room and would be happy to take the swap. The concierge seemed shocked and was clearly trying to talk us out of taking the room by telling us how small it was and reminding us how big the bathroom is in the bungalow. Personally i don't book a hotel based on the size of the bathroom unless it’s pure luxury of course but it absolutely wasn't and so i reiterated i wanted to swap. The concierge then added that the pull out sofa bed was broken…..i wondered why we had been shown the room then? I can only assume they thought we would not want to swap because it was smaller and we caught them off guard so they had to make up some lame excuse perhaps. They then insisted on showing us another mountain view room on the other side of the hotel which was larger. We ended up taking this room because the concierge was so insist

My stay at the Elounda Bay hotel was just amazing! The employees there were so kind and always welcoming- especially my new found friend Kela! Thank you very much for this wonderful experience- I‘ll definitely come back :)

Just returned from 12 days at this hotel. We had 2 Bedroom Family Garden View .... The Hotel rooms we stayed in were not 5 star by any stretch of the imagination. There are 5 star aspects of the resort and some disappointing areas as well. The sister hotel next door (Elounda Beach) and some its the pool villas did look more upmarket and newer The hard working staff try very hard to do their best for you and make the holiday special. But it is expensive for what you get. (Relative to the Caribbean, Portugal , Turkey , France, Italy etc) Lunch and all drinks are over priced €4 for a small 200ml of water in the room, with NO other option for water in the hotel is a bit pricy. Rooms - These were disappointing in size and amenities. They are two rooms with an inter-leading door between the rooms. They are by no means 5 star, much smaller than marketing material makes out and fixtures and fittings very dated. Walls very thin and Sliding doors did not seal so the wind was very noisy and so were the crying babies !!! . Bathrooms were the biggest disappointment as you had to shower in a bath with a plastic curtain sticking to you trying to soap yourself..5 Star..no way Staff - were lovely 10/10 Food - Great food ..Breakfast and dinner had something for everyone local and international food. We enjoyed eating there with VERY friendly service. Pools and beaches are lovely (careful of beach loungers under trees next to the sea..There live hungry Mosquitoes..... Swimming in the sea is easy and protected At breakfast the staff try hard to bring expressos / latte etc but they are way way under machined and at busy times you will do well to eat and enjoy your hot drink (assuming not std pot coffee which is ready immediately). Lunch and Drink Prices are expensive ( Burger €29, Latte €7, Small coke €5.5, 750ml sparkling water €6) but food and service is very good. Elounda is a short walk away, which has loads of LOVELY waterside restaurants and cocktail places that are very reasonably priced. Locals are lovely , no pressure to buy to eat. Pick up water at the local supermkt €0.80 for 1.5 litres....eases the in-room pain of the cost of water at €4 for 200ml...

Mixed feelings really. While I’m sure it was once an extremely luxurious hotel when built in the 80s, the hotel is resting on its LHW accreditation and charging accordingly for a pretty mediocre delivery. Yes the setting is beautiful and you can’t deny the premium location BUT that’s where, for us, the 5 star tag ends. The rooms are tired and old fashioned although admittedly the beds are very comfortable. Dark pine finishings, tired decor and old fashioned bathrooms. Gardens on the ground floor rooms are a little unkempt. The seawater pool is large but there is a mixed bag of premium loungers and metal/folding ones which seems a little untidy. There is a permanent bad smell in some areas of stagnant water and worse. Today by the pool it was extremely strong and in the indoor pool almost umbearable. I feel for the pool staff. One of the senior staff members mentioned it happens from time to time and would get maintenance to look at the plumbing - it’s not improved. The buffet is ok but the same food is offered time and again and the tables not always turned around quickly. We had a conference here for 2 days which made access to the buffet at breakfast a little chaotic. We are a family of 5 and there were no large tables but a single traveller placed on a table of 6 and many tables uncleared of dirty dishes. The other restaurants are extortionately expensive - we have an allowance as half board guests of €30 per adult and €15 per child. This doesn’t even cover a starter. Tonight we ate at the Japanese fusion restaurant and had some sushi followed by a main course and some wine. With our allowance included we paid €253 on top. 2 courses. One child meal. The food was mediocre at best. Similarly we ate at the seafood restaurant and €202 covered us for 1 course each with our allowance already taken off. I understand this is classified as 5 star so prices reflect that but the delivery is not meeting the mark. I urge management and LHW to review this.