Domes of Elounda, Autograph Collection, Crete

We had an amazing time at Domes of Elounda! The complex is very beautiful, nestles pleasantly into the landscape and offers an incredible view of the island of Spinalonga. Luxury à la five stars! Great and spotlessly clean house, very comfortable beds and our own warm pool with an incredible view of the bay. The food at the Core is very nice and tasty, especially for families - our kids love this place. All our wishes were fulfilled. There were always problems with the bill regarding the dine around - but we were always more than accommodated. The Haute Living service is great! One morning, beautiful helium balloons were delivered at 9 o'clock sharp for my husband's birthday (I paid for them, of course). The hotel donated a magical chocolate cake and champagne for his birthday. The entire team deserves special mention - from the cleaning fairies to the hotel manager Pantelis. I would especially like to thank Eleni, Chara, Panos and Petros - wonderful, helpful people who always seem to be working. We went on great excursions with our two teenagers (Spinalonga, safari up to 1,200 meters above sea level, private boat trip, cube cruising and Easter night in Agios Nikolaos). However, there is one thing I would like to point out and have already discussed with the hotel manager: There were lots of nice activities for small children, but no real program for teenagers. The teens club is nicely done, but the focus is too much on gaming (Minecraft, Fortnight). There is definitely a need for action here. Nevertheless, I can say that I have rarely returned home so deeply relaxed and satisfied, because practically every wish was read from our eyes - simply an amazing team!

Fantastic hotel, excellent service. Great food. Superb kids club. Handy for both Plaka and Elounda towns. Clean - a special thank you to our cleaner Butterfly, who was so friendly and obliging - it was a pleasure to say hello every morning: and Elena the concierge who was so helpful.

A perfect family holiday. Just back from our week stay here and I would highly recommend to anyone travelling with children (of any age). Our 2.5 year old was so well looked after and everyone was so kind and helpful. The views are absolutely stunning - as a family, we opted for a 2 bed villa with pool and it by far exceeding expectations. The beach is so beautiful, with incredible views over towards Spinalongq. There is a waiter who works behind the bar on the beach (curly hair but not sure of his name), he was so kind and our daughter was treated like a Princess! The Kids club here is also wonderful - Eleni and her team looked after our toddler for a few mornings and the facilities and cleanliness of the creche were better than those of our nursery back home in the UK. Connie babysat for our daughter for a few nights and she was so kind, so much so that our daughter didn’t want to leave and actually asked ‘where’s Connie?’ and cried when she realised we weee leaving. Another huge thank you to the concierge in Haute Living. I’m not sure of his name but, again, such a superstar. I would definitely recommend paying the extra for HL, lunch-type food comes out at around 1pm and it means that you don’t need to pay restaurant prices for lunch. Having said that, would highly recommend the 15 min walk to neighbouring village Plaka, beautiful shops and restaurants and well worth the trip. I can’t wait to return to Domes of Elounda. Am so glad we discovered it when our daughter is only 2.5, it means we can have many more trips here before she gets bored of us! Thanks again for everything!

Beautiful place, some of the warmest and friendliest people I have come across working in the hotel. They seemed genuinely happy to be at work and happy to help, nothing was too much or any trouble for them! Special mention for Sara, Chara and Petros All round great family holiday was had, I would highly recommend!!

Beautiful resort and nice facilities and location. The operations staff ( driver Pericles was wonderful, as was Kostas in the kitchen and numerous kind and thoughtful waitstaff in restaurants) and servers in restaurants were almost universally lovely. Resort was not ready for opening, however and created some big hiccups. Although things to be expected, in this new season, at a 5-star resort, also expect management at al levels to be accountable. Hotel had lots of fun activities and we were so happy the pool was warm enough for swimming. The haute lounge was also pretty well stocked and had nice snacks most of the day. The tennis court was beautiful and had free racquets and balls for use. The beach was well maintained and offered cheap transport (60 Euro r/t for family of 7) to nearby UNESCO site, Spinalonga . What didn't work? Upon check-in hotel, we were informed by manager Dimitris I is a mandatory " Marriott rule" to pay all charges ( nearly 8 K) upfront. Check-in was performed by a new employee, Kelly who did not know enough about the hotel and numerous offering and requirements for reservations in many areas... Even the welcome drink was off putting-- we were informed it was two drinks only so our kids got nothing without paying-- weird and left a bad taste. The first night we used our half board at the food truck area. We were seated and no one talked to us for 45 minutes . After 2.5 hrs we were informed the hotel ran out of food and we left without half of our main courses and no offer of substitutes or compensation... A similar situation occurred at lunch the next day, we we informed that multiple items on an already slim ( 2 or 3 choice) set course menu were not available and no substitution. We also ordered wine where most choice unavailable and sommelier Ana consistently Ana offered upsell to wines 2x and 3 x the cost we requested. When we ordered by the glass she poured a glass that was so small everyone at the table thought it was a joke or a taste. We met her at several restaurants with similar results. We ordered a bottle and asked about another wine , she said she would give us a glass since she only had an old bottle . We were surprised to be charged for the stale glass offered, given her communication and the fact we ordered an additional bottle. Hotel had a great wine list but huge mark-up for area. For example, we ordered a nice rose from alpha estate in town for 42 euro here it was 72 euro. Last, our phone was broken the entire trip . Most hotels this is no issue but here reservations are mandatory for most things and travel between areas requires golf cart service. We reported on a Tuesday, they came on Friday to fix after multiple comments. And then it broke again. Friday afternoon ( no dial tone or service. The last straw was when they attempted to call us many times to ask us to check out early Monday morning because of the of a heavy amount of inbound. They persistently called my brothers room until I walked to both lobby and then Lounge only to receive this message. We normally don't write negative reviews and normally love Dones resorts, but this beautiful spot has some management challenges or is cutting corners. . If they had offered a free bottle of wine or offered some bonvoy points this probably could have been headed off... instead they made me feel like a complainer for obvious issues and didn't fix anything. We love Crete and Greece and will be back but not to Domes of Elounda. In fairness , the hotel may have a different feel when it gets its era legs Walter in the season.