Domes of Elounda, Autograph Collection, Crete

We had an amazing stay at Domes of Elounda. It was a great experience from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. When we arrived we were accompanied by a very friendly staff member who explained to us everything we needed to know about the resort. We were pleasantly surprised to know that we were upgraded to a bigger nicer villa! Breathtaking views, beautiful villas, delicious food in the various on site restaurants and most importantly an incredible staff everywhere. From the people in the reception, to the room service to the golf car drivers, everyone was very friendly and helpful. If you plan on having a vacation in Crete, this is one of the absolute best places to stay in.

This was a very important trip for us for a number of reasons and, to be honest, it started off a little rough with the communication on some special surprises I wanted to schedule for my husbands special birthday. However, after some back and forth, the trip was amazing. All of it thanks to Eleni and her amazing team. Our room was lovely and we had the most amazing food, boat excursions around the bay at sunset (highly recommend!), the spa was terrific, and it just ended up being a trip that was truly outstanding. We will definitely be back. We are lifetime Titanium and Ambassador so we travel a lot and this is on the top of our list now. One small call out though, for those that have mobility issues, the property is very much built into a cliff (as most are in Greece) but they have many golf carts ready to assist. Thank you to the team again!!! We are so happy!

We have just completed our 10 night stay here and would highly recommend! We stayed in the adults only ‘Chora’ part of the resort with our own jacuzzi. The rooms and beautiful as are the views. The highlight of this place is the staff, they cannot do enough for you. It was my boyfriend’s birthday whilst we were here and they brought a cake to our room without asking! We tried all of the restaurants and our favourite was Core. We did not love the buffet style of Thelos but with core being included and getting €20 per person towards the other restaurants we were happy with the options. We would recommend walking into Plaka for a change of scenery whilst here as this is only 10 minutes away and has lots of restaurant and coffee shop choices. Our only negative would be that we did not have good weather for half of our stay and due to the remoteness of the hotel, if the weather is not good there is not much to do around without a car. If we’d had good weather it would have been perfect as the hotel is so peaceful, with 3 pools and the beach to choose from. We made the most of the fitness classes offered and the outdoor gym had everything needed. We hope to return early next summer. This is the 27th country I’ve visited and I have never stayed in a more beautiful hotel.

Me and my wife went here for our honeymoon and we were beyond impressed with the friendliness and supportive nature of the staff throughout it our entire stay (shoutout Pietros!!). Everyone at the resort went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable, even in the face of historic, record-setting rain and wind during the first few days of our stay. The highlights: 1. All of the restaurants are good quality and have scenic views, nice ambience, and a variety of options. The breakfast buffet was great every morning with Cretan delicacies and American/US breakfast as well, nice variety. 2. Our room (we had a 1 BR villa with a sea view and private pool) was really well kept, cleaned daily, and stunning. My one knock here is the private pool was not heated and quite cold, even for the 2-3 days when we had 73-74° weather. 3. The resort amenities were top notch. Beautiful lounging near the bay, adult only lounger sections and pools for relaxation, a really nice spa/relaxation center, a beautiful outdoor gym, a cool game room (pool table, ping pong table, though this is broken, and gaming consoles), and round the clock transportation up and down the hills. 4. Again, the staff went above and beyond accommodating us during our honeymoon. They welcomed us with a dessert, champagne, and flowers in the shape of a heart on our bed (thank you again, Pietros!). But, everyone was so friendly consistently through the resorts. We are already planning our return trip. Thank you Domes team!!

We recently stayed at Domes of Elounda and, while there were certainly some enjoyable aspects of the resort, I came away feeling that a few details did not quite live up to the expectations I would have for a high-end property. What We Loved: -The views are amazing. The resort's setting is beautiful, and the scenery around the property is one of its biggest strengths. -The beach is also fantastic for families with young children. The water is very shallow and the waves are minimal, which made it easy and comfortable to enjoy the beach with our kids. This was particularly valuable for us with a 3-year-old and 6-month-old. -One thing that really stood out was the availability of beach chairs. We never felt like we had to wake up early or race down to the beach to claim a chair. There were plenty available throughout our stay. This may sound like a small thing, but anyone who has stayed at a busy resort knows how frustrating the morning beach-chair competition can be, so this was a genuine positive and made our beach days much more relaxing. Areas That Could Be Improved: -Room furniture: The sofa in our room had a metal support bar that was noticeably uncomfortable. Every time you sat down in a particular spot, the bar pressed directly against you, making the sofa difficult to use comfortably. -Bed comfort: Unfortunately, we did not find the bed particularly comfortable. After each night, both my spouse and I found ourselves with achy backs and necks. Obviously, mattress preferences are subjective, but this was noticeable enough throughout our stay to detract from the overall experience. -Golf cart transportation: The resort's golf cart service is a nice amenity given the size and layout of the property, but in practice it was not always as timely as we expected. There were several occasions when we found ourselves waiting and ultimately having to call or ask when the cart would arrive. With young children, including a baby, reliable transportation around a large resort is particularly helpful. -Towels at the family pool: On one occasion, the family pool had run out of towels. This may have been an isolated incident, but it was particularly frustrating because we had a young child who was left cold and wet while we waited for towels to become available. -Dinner reservations: Every dinner restaurant required a reservation, which the resort explained was because they were fully booked and wanted to space out diners. I can understand the reasoning, particularly at a busy resort, but it did take away some of the spontaneity of the vacation. With two young children, there were times when we simply wanted to see how the evening went and decide when and where we felt like eating, rather than having to plan around a dinner reservation every night. That said, we ended up eating at the buffet restaurant every night because it was the easiest option with our two little ones, and the food spread there was actually fantastic. There was a very wide variety of choices, which made it easy to find something for both adults and children. -Beach Club food options: The Beach Club menu was fairly limited, particularly when it came to options for children. We noticed a significant difference when we spent time at the family pool, where the menu had much more kid-friendly choices such as chicken fingers and pizza. By comparison, the Beach Club's chicken cutlet was one of the more obvious options for children, which felt limiting. Given that this is a family-oriented resort, having more simple, kid-friendly choices at the beach would have made the experience considerably easier for families. -Checkout communication: The day before checkout, reception called while we were at the beach with our family to ask whether we needed transportation when leaving the resort. Since we had arrived with our own rental car and the resort was already aware of this at check-in, the call seemed unnecessary. At a high-end resort, I would expect that information to be noted in the guest profile and for the team to avoid interrupting guests with questions that could have been answered from information already on file. None of these issues individually would have been a major problem, and some may have been isolated incidents. However, taken together, they were noticeable because Domes of Elounda is positioned as an upscale, luxury resort. At this price point, I would expect a higher level of attention to detail and consistency in the guest experience. Overall, we enjoyed our time at Domes of Elounda, particularly the beautiful setting and family-friendly beach. The shallow, calm water and plentiful beach chairs made spending time at the beach incredibly easy with young children, and the buffet was a pleasant surprise. There is a lot to like about the property, but I think there are several relatively small operational, dining, and comfort-related details that could be improved to better match the resort's high-end positioning.