Domes Of Elounda

We had a 10 day break in Domes of Elounda and over all an enjoyable experience. The hotel is well located between a short walk to Plaka, very cute village with plenty of places to eat and drink and Elounda a short taxi ride (12 euro) a little bigger and can enjoy dinner or drinks in many of the bars / restaurants over looking the port. We stayed in a private luxury residence which was a great size with 2 teenage children, especially having the garden with a private pool. house keeping were excellent, ensuring we had plenty of complimentary water and fresh towels. The food and restaurants were of good quality, can highly recommend the Italian and also the street food at Core, Buffett was well stocked with plenty of choice for breakfast or dinner. We spent most of our days by the beach, the beach is small but the sea is crystal clear with sand. Plenty of sun loungers and the staff at the beach looked after us well with great service. We found the layout of the complex very disjointed and everything was spread. We had to use the buggy to get from our room to the main reception due to steep hills and in the heat not great if you are heading that way for the evening, no one wants to be a sweaty mess for dinner! We used the Haute Living a few times for drinks before dinner but it just didn't seem to work for us, we did notice that other guest were making the most of this by filling their bags with bottles of wine and taking snacks and drinks poolside, once you notice one, you notice it lot! This wasn't allowed but if you can get away with it then why not!! We also found that everywhere seems very quiet after 10pm. Only place open was the lobby bar and that lacked atmosphere. So we did spend a few evenings out as the kids were bored (15 & 17yrs). There was a DJ some evenings in the lobby bar and Core and a singer on others in Core but again 10pm and it finished, I liked the Core as it was chilled vibe and would have been nice to stayed longer, also as paying guest I feel the hotel maybe missing a trick.....open 11pm maybe ??? We did enjoy our holiday but not sure if we would return to this hotel but definitely would to Crete.

In reality this is probably a 4.5 star review. We had a fabulous 8 days at Domes Elounda. It is a great resort for all holiday makers. We travelled as a small family and were very impressed with the hotel. Having travelled to other Greek islands and experienced other luxury AI brands this was a welcome change. We were initially upgraded to a family suite w private pool and then recieved another upgrade to a 2 bed residence with large pool. Both rooms were of a great standard however bathrooms are very dark and decorated in dark colours making it difficult to see properly! In our first room, housekeeping didn’t refresh things like disposable coffee cups and face cloths which was a shame but these were easily requested at room service. Our small pool was lovely in the morning but didn’t get much sun after noon so was baltic! Beds were very very firm! Our second room was closer to family pool and was a large 2 bed residence. The private pool was fantastic and loved by my 10yo. The rooms were well decorated, great amenities for all rooms and of a high standard. Breakfast in Tholos was good. I’d have preferred more fresh egg options. Service was a bit hit and miss and coffee was awful! I didn’t get a decent black americano all week but this was minor. Dinner buffet was good. Not rammed and a decent choice. It’s a smaller hotel so I did t expect a huge buffet hall à la other brands! Antoninos was okay. We had €50 towards our meal on our HB plan. It was expensive for what it was and service was not great. It was windy outside so they were pushed for tables and it became clear they were trying to rush us in order to accommodate a larger group. No sooner had we put our forks down for our starter, our main arrived. Not great in a 5 star hotel… service too quick is almost as bad as too slow! If they had explained we could have moved our booking to another evening! We didn’t go to Makris preferring to venture out into Plaka or Elounda for dinner. We had some excellent fresh fish and sea food for similar prices to what we would have spent at mediocre onsite restaurants and enjoyed supporting local economy. The family pool was a highlight. It was never packed. Large enough to feel luxurious, Service was good, Beach was also a nice change! Lots of sunbed availability, All in all we very much enjoyed our time at Domes. It was an excellent hotel for families and we enjoyed the location. We will return!

Very good stay in this beautiful spot. We were in the adults-only section... the food, the room, and the staff are top-notch. Only small downside, families do not respect the adults-only areas of the beach and it is difficult to find lounge chairs in this area. Very beautiful view of Spinalonga.