Domes Aulus Elounda All-Inclusive Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton

What can we say? Wonderful 5 night break at this delightful hotel. Even though this is the last week of the season, nothing is too much trouble for this wonderful staff team. Fabulous suite with amazing views, easy, laid back styling and entertainment offerings, and superb food at all of the restaurants. Special mention to Christina and all of the team at the Island buffet restaurant and the amazing chef and his team at the sushi meze restaurant. Thank you Vicky and all of your team...and definitely see you again next season!

So we are just back from a short break (4 nights) at the Domes Aulus and I have very mixed reviews. Firstly the staff are fabulous, and absolutely 5 star but the resort is not. We booked a Sapphire Cozy Suite with private pool and private terrace, comes with Cool Living but the description and room layout given by Hilton is not the reality. As we had booked Cool Living we expected to be at the top of the very steep hill as that is where Cool Living is situated but we were not as it appears that they have not built any Sapphire Cozy Suites up there…instead they have renovated a few of the old hotel suites at the bottom so anytime we wanted to use the facilities we paid for we had to either walk up the very steep hill (its half a mile)or get a golf cart from reception and that is for breakfast, lunch, dinner or to sunbathe, so a bit of a pain. We were in block 1, next to the normal restaurants, just above reception and the car park. So noisy, overlooked and not private. Our deck and pool were not private, they were on a public walkway, surrounded and overlooked. If we had been staying longer I would have complained but the alternative, as I found out, would have been a move to block 5 which is neither near the beach or cool living, instead stuck half way up the hill. All the new Cool Living blocks are stunning, relatively private with fabulous views. The original hotel at the bottom of the hill (non cool living) is quite rough in places, like the pool needs an overhaul, the loungers are not great and there is broken tiles and decking and generally not that clean. The new cool living part is beautiful, stunning pools, great loungers, lovely bar area and good food but that all comes at quite a premium and even if you’ve paid for cool living you may not be roomed there. However its not all good because the hotel appears to upgrade anyone who complains about the normal facilities to cool living as compensation but that means those who have paid for cool living don’t always get what they have paid for. We couldn’t get a restaurant booking for a couple of the nights and couldn’t get a lounger one of the days. It sounds petty but when you’ve paid just under $4K for 4 nights and been promised 5star it’s not really that great. The food in the Griglia is lovely but I wasn’t impressed by the food in the Island restaurant (very basic buffet). So would I go back, no, not 5 star and definitely not value for money which is a shame as Crete is beautiful and the staff are fabulous.

We are just coming to the end of our week here and I wanted to write about how amazing the staff have been here at the hotel- especially Viki and all those working up at Cool Living. From the warm welcome we got at a very late arrival to the helpfulness with everything we needed. We had a slight issue with our room- not the fault of the hotel - but from the moment we reported it we have had nothing but the greatest of experiences. We have had the most gorgeous and restful holiday after 2 years of extreme stress. The weather has been glorious, so together will the really tasty food (no issues as other people have reported- all hot, varied and delicious), the chilled vibe of the Cool Living area and the views to die for, we will be leaving relaxed, refreshed and with the most stunning views imprinted in our memories that will carry us through winter. Thank you Domes Aulus ❤️

Don't write off this beautiful place because of some of the negative reviews. This was a return visit to Aulus Domes Elounda for us having been before, 7 years ago (albeit when it was the Elounda Blu). Having loved the place so much the first time, we chose to come back to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. With a celebratory card and a small box of Greek Delight and a bottle of fizz, the hotel made us feel very welcome from the start. Since our last stay the hotel has been refurbished with the new part (Cool living) at the top of the hill. But whilst the new part is sharp and modern and 'shiny', the older, original hotel really hasn't changed and could therefore perhaps do with a spruce up. The food is great. Plenty to choose from each day. Loads of varied fresh fruit. Service in the main restaurant was good. Very attentive waiters and waitresses. The main bar (in my opinion) was under staffed which occasionally meant we could wait for five minutes to be served, but we were on holiday (on Greek time) so no great issue. We had a little pool of our own so didn't use the main pool or beach but both seemed well used and so I would assume were also met with good service. The hotel is on a hill. Everywhere you look or whatever you read, the information is clear that this is the case. To accommodate this, there are golf buggies and a shuttle bus regularly ferrying folk up and down the complex. I think the longest we waited for a buggy (but we were on holiday and not racing to a meeting) was 3 minutes.... We'd recommend the jeep safari tour. Pick up from the hotel with a full day seeing some of the sights of Crete up in the mountains. Traditional taverna lunch included. Remember, it's a jeep safari and not an air conditioned Mercedes limousine safari.... We also took ourselves off to Spinalonga. There are organised tours from Elounda and Agios Nicholas but we felt a little rushed on the island so ordered a taxi to Plaka from reception and then got on the half hourly ferry to the island and investigated at our leisure and returned to Plaka when the next available boat arrived. Plaka is a beautiful village, so we watched the world go by with a well earned drink for a lazy hour and then got a taxi back. We also walked into Elounda town (about 44 minutes) a couple of times loads to see and buy and eat!! My only negative would be that since our last visit there appears to be a DJ and Disco on a couple of nights of the week. Very loud and in my opinion not in keeping with the hotel. Please don't turn this little bit of perfect into Malia - it doesn't need it. So, thank you Aulus Domes Elounda. You made our anniversary very special

I want to start by saying this was the best holiday of my life! I never normally leave trip advisor reviews but feel that I have to share how wonderful my experience was here. My partner and I came to Domes Aulus Elounda in August for a week (non cool living). At first, we were unsure whether we should have booked cool living but we definitely didn’t need to! We had the pleasure of being upgraded to a shared private swim up pool room which was fantastic. The hotel left us food, wine and a lovely message along with rose petals to congratulate us on our anniversary in the room. This was a strong start. The main pool was lovely and had plenty of sun beds. As did the beach. Both bars were good but you have to go up, they don’t serve you from your beds. Don’t expect plastic or glass cups, but this didn’t bother me. The wind off the sea was lovely and refreshing - sometimes a bit much but that’s Crete for you! The À la cart restaurants were lovely but we only managed to get booked into one as they were fully booked which was a shame. The all inclusive buffet restaurant was great and the servers were amazing! My glass was never empty. I am veggie and the options were limited but I always found something tasty to eat. Nice fresh salads and various hot foods. The amphitheatre bar was amazing in the evenings and the drinks were strong and delicious. All of the staff were so happy to help and even gave us extra drinks to take back to our room. Some evenings had music entertainment but some were quieter with gentle background music. The hotel vibe is quiet and chilled which was perfect for us. We made some good friends and had drinks in our private pool with them one night but received a noise complaint for music even though we weren’t playing any. The guests didn’t seem to stay up late or want anyone else to - but the staff were happy for us to continue drinking in the pool as long as we didn’t start playing music. Elounda is a 5 minute taxi ride and has nice bars and boat trips to Spinalonga. We also did a luxury yacht sunset cruise which was booked via the concierge - this was stunning. On the whole, we felt extremely relaxed, well looked after and full of beautiful Greek wine. We’d come back to this hotel tomorrow if we could and still wouldn’t bother with the cool living part. One couple we met said they were cool living and it didn’t feel any more exclusive or better than the standard hotel which we were in. They even spent most of their time in the non cool living areas. It’s right at the top of the hill so you wouldn’t even know it was there. The views from every part of the hotel were incredible and the hotel itself is beautifully decorated with high quality finishings. I would recommend this hotel to everyone - you will not be disappointed! Thank you so much for making our stay so amazing. Matt and Chris

We have now visited Domes Aulus Elounda a total of 5 times over the last 10 years, and the hotel has gone from strength to strength. It is quite an expensive stay, but you do get a 5-star all inclusive experience, and the ONLY extra expenses are if you want the room minibar restocking and getting a massage in the Spa area. All other drinks (including table wines and bottled water) are cost included. The meals are mainly buffet-style, with good and varied choices, with some à la carte bookings available for traditional Greek, Italian and Asian cuisines. Our room this time was further up the hillside in the Cool Living area, and these newer rooms are very well appointed, with great bathroom facilities, super-comfortable bed mattresses, good lighting arrangements and more than adequate a/c). There are now 3 swimming pools, the better 2 of which are in the Cool Living area. The shuttle service to get people up & down to these rooms is frequent. The staff are exceptional, a special mention to the "regulars" Georgos P, Nikos K, Manolis M and Maria K, and many others besides. The surrounding area is beautiful, and we would recommend hiring a vehicle (a local bike rental we have used many times previously supplies us with a quad bike) to explore, although the hoteldoes have a private beach with its own bar which is part of the all inclusive system. All in all, an experience that will keep us coming back for more!