Porto Elounda Golf and Spa Resort

An experience I never would have imagined having in a facility that presents itself and is marketed as a 5-star luxury resort. I am writing this review only after the conclusion of the matter and after having received the full refund of the €2,680 I actually paid. I want to be very precise: what follows represents my personal experience, the facts as I directly experienced them, and my personal assessments. I also have the documentation regarding the booking, payments, refunds, and subsequent communications with the hotel. The incident began on the very day of the booking. I had booked a Superior Room Shared Pool directly, relying on the images, the presentation of the facility, its positioning as a five-star hotel, and, not least, the presence of a Six Senses Spa, as I have already been a Six Senses client for years. Between the booking and the moment I expressed the desire to leave the facility, an extremely short period passed: about an hour after arrival and actually seeing the accommodation, I had already contested the situation and requested to leave and obtain a refund. I had not stayed for four days only to then decide that I did not like the hotel. The complaint was immediate. We did not even spend one night at the facility. The main problem was that what I had found, from my personal point of view, did not correspond to the experience that the images and the hotel's commercial communication had reasonably led me to expect. For this reason, I personally consider the commercial representation that I had seen before the purchase to be highly misleading compared to the reality of the accommodation that was concretely assigned to me. The room had a connecting door to the room occupied by another family, an element that I had not understood from the images through which I had made the choice. The “shared pool,” in the accommodation we were assigned, had a partition that, personally, gave me a very different perception from the exclusive and luxury experience I had imagined through the commercial presentation. The bed also did not meet my expectations: it was two single beds pushed together, made up separately. After our complaint, the solution proposed to us was to add a mattress on top. To all this were added several other aspects that, taken individually, might seem secondary, but which overall I consider difficult to reconcile with the level of service I personally expect from a luxury resort in this category. During our experience, the room phone did not work and the chat system on the room tablet gave an error, making it complicated even to contact the Reception. The expected welcome drink was not offered to us. We were unable to normally find the necessary information for the Wi-Fi from the room and had to seek assistance. Upon arriving at the beach, we were informed that beach towels were not available. The property also appeared very sprawling to us, and, while moving around, we personally encountered a lack of signage and assistance. The handling of luggage upon arrival and other room details also contributed to creating an overall impression that, for us, was simply incompatible with what we expected from a property sold and priced at this level. At that point, we did not ask for discounts or benefits. We asked to leave the hotel immediately and to be refunded. And this is where, personally, the most incredible part of the entire experience began. Although the booking had been made that same day and the complaint had been raised practically immediately after seeing the accommodation, initially a full refund was denied to us. The property referred to the rate/booking conditions, and a solution was proposed to us that would have involved withholding 30% of the amount. I immediately contested this position, because my request did not stem from a simple change of heart or a change of plans: I was contesting the accommodation and the service immediately after having been able to see them concretely, and I therefore believed that the non-refundable clause could not simply be invoked to close any discussion on the conformity and the representations made before booking. It is naturally not up to me to establish in a review what the legal outcome of the matter would have been. Precisely for this reason, I was ready to submit it to professionals and the competent authorities. But even more surprising was, in my judgment, the human handling of the complaint. Initially, a young man was called who was introduced to us as the person in charge. After a long discussion, this young man had to in turn call a woman who introduced herself to us as the General Manager. I thought that the matter would finally be addressed at the appropriate managerial level. Instead, this person also essentially explained to us that she did not have the power to decide independently and that she would have to contact a further superior/manager to obtain a decision. So, to understand the situation well: I was physically at the Reception of a five-star luxury resort, with a complaint just raised, and I was witnessing a sort of chain in which a person in charge called a manager and the manager had to in turn call someone else. The thing I remember most clearly, however, is something else. During the discussion, I explained that if it were not possible to resolve the situation, I would call the police to protect my rights. The woman who had introduced herself as the General Manager replied to me, in front of other people, with words that I remember essentially along the following lines: “Go ahead and call the police, they can’t do anything about it anyway. I will be here for you.” I was not alone during this discussion. Other people were present, including some Italians, and I have kept the contact information of some people who witnessed the incident. Personally, I had never in my life seen such an unprofessional handling of a complaint at a facility that presents itself as a five-star international luxury hotel. In the end, I left Porto Elounda without spending the night there and was forced to look for other accommodations. From that moment on, in order to obtain a solution, the matter took on proportions that I consider frankly absurd for a simple hotel complaint. I had to protect myself through my consultants, consulting with both an Italian lawyer and a legal professional in Greece; I contacted the Italian representatives to understand how to protect my rights abroad and brought the situation to the attention of Six Senses, a brand of which I have been a proud customer for years. I would like to clarify, for the sake of fairness, that I am aware that Six Senses operates the Spa and not necessarily the hotel management of Porto Elounda. But the very presence of the Six Senses brand had contributed to the trust with which I had chosen this facility. I therefore considered it absolutely correct to inform them of what was happening at a facility commercially associated with their name and leave any assessment to them. After my formal complaints, Porto Elounda finally decided to proceed with a full refund. I received €1,876 + €804, for a total of €2,680, which is to say everything I had actually paid. It is right to say it publicly and I thank the General Manager for finally confirming and arranging the resolution of the financial matter. I thought that at that point this unpleasant experience was over. I was wrong. Subsequently, I received from the Business Development Director of Elounda Collection Hotels & Resorts, Mr. Ilias S. Kokotos, a communication titled: “Formal notice regarding your statements”. The communication referred to legal counsel and the possibility of taking legal action should certain conduct continue. Up to this point, naturally, everyone is free to protect their own rights. There is, however, an almost surreal detail. The “Formal Notice” was addressed to: “Mr. D’Angelo”. I am Nicholas De Carlo. And that is not all. The communication began by speaking verbatim of: “the review you have published”. That is, the review that I supposedly published. But I, at that moment, had not published any review about Porto Elounda. Neither on Google, nor TripAdvisor, nor other platforms. I leave it to the reader to evaluate how singular it is to receive a communication presented as a “Formal Notice”, containing references to consultants and possible legal action, addressed to another person and relating to a review that I had never published. I cannot know why that communication contained these errors and I do not intend to invent explanations. I can, however, say that the doubt inevitably arose in me that it could have been a text previously prepared for another situation or another client. And it is also legitimate, in my opinion, to wonder why a communication that seems to refer to a negative review was sent specifically to me when that review did not yet exist. Well, now that review exists. It is this one. And it also contains this episode because it is, for all intents and purposes, part of the overall experience I had with this property. I have no intention of defaming Porto Elounda, nor would I have any need to. I am simply recounting what I personally experienced, what I can document, and my opinions on the quality of the service received. I also find it almost ironic that, when I was physically at the Reception desperately looking for someone capable of making a decision, the presence of management was rather difficult to perceive. After my departure, however, everyone appeared. General Manager. Business Development Director. Legal consultants. Formal communications. Perhaps a portion of this extraordinary managerial attention would have been more useful when the guest was still physically in front of the Reception simply asking for a solution. My personal conclusion is very simple. I had never experienced anything like this in a property that presents itself as a five-star luxury hotel. The difference between the positioning and commercial communication of the property and the experience I personally had was, for me, enormous. And the subsequent handling of the dispute was even more disappointing than the initial experience. For the sake of fairness, I reiterate once again that Porto Elounda finally issued a full refund of the €2,680 actually paid. Anyone reading this review will therefore be able to know both the negative aspects and the positive fact that, in the end, my money was fully refunded. I naturally expect a public response from the hotel, probably elegant, generic, and reassuring, in which a very different version of the story will be presented. It is their full right to respond and anyone who reads it will be free to form their own opinion. But I do not need to convince anyone with slogans. I have recounted the experience that I personally lived through, distinguishing the facts from my evaluations, and I have the documentation related to the matter. Future customers will be the ones to judge.

We had a wonderful family holiday at Porto Elounda. I really cannot understand why some of the recent reviewers didn't enjoy it. In my opinion, the hotel being so spread out is a good thing, as it never feels over-crowded. The pool and beach areas are second to none. Breakfast was very good but we've had more variety at other 5 star hotels. The staff were all very helpful without being overbearing. The room was pleasant and we slept well. Facilities on site such a tennis, padel and water sports kept us busy but we also found plenty of time to relax. The town of Elounda has great restaurants and we had some great day trips to other parts of the island. Highly recommend

Experience absolutely below expectations and, in my opinion, completely disproportionate to the prices requested. The property presents itself as a huge village, extremely crowded and full of children, with a really high noise level and an organization that I found decidedly lacking. What I find even harder to justify is the price: the three hotels included in the property, in fact, share the same beaches, pools, and main services. Consequently, I absolutely do not understand how such high prices can be requested for an offering that, in practice, provides the same spaces and the same facilities. The rooms were also a big disappointment. The photographs online are significantly different from the reality of the rooms we found upon arrival: old, poorly maintained, and dirty environments. In fact, the double bed was made up of two single beds pushed together with two separate mattresses, rather than a single mattress, which I consider unacceptable for a property of this level and especially for the prices requested. Overall, the hotel absolutely does not meet the expectations that the price and the online images might lead one to imagine. The price-quality ratio is, in my opinion, terrible. Personally, I would not recommend it to anyone and, considering the cost of the stay, I believe there are many much better alternatives.