Elounda Bay Palace

This was our second visit to this beautiful resort in 2 years and when we thought it couldn’t be topped, it was. The willingness to please and make you feel welcome from the fabulous staff from Beachside to restaurants to reception was second to none and not to mention the perfectly charming hotel manager who more than bent over backwards for us to make our trip as comfortable as he possibly could. He was not only accommodating of all our requests and needs but went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure we were well taken care of. All hotels should have a manager like him. Thank you for a wonderful and memorable week. Until next time.

Definitely our favorite place as a family!! From the welcoming hospitality and service to the delicious selection of food, easy and private access to the most incredible beach to the comfiest beds. By far the best place to unwind and relax. We return back year after year.

Just returned from an 11 night stay and will not be returning. We booked a mountain view room for three which on the Jet 2 website looks exactly what we would ordinarily go for, neutral, spacious, light and modern. This is supposedly a 5 star resort so we felt confident we would be happy with our choice of hotel/room. On arrival during the early hours of the morning we were taken to our room which was on the ground floor overlooking the pool. It was accessed by old sliding doors and was the exact opposite of what i described above which is what i thought we had paid for. It was extremely old fashioned, dark, and cluttered with unnecessary furniture, to put it mildly it was down right depressing although could be described more as a hole of some kind but shall keep it polite . There were dark wood louvre doors to the bathroom which you could see through at certain angles . This is not acceptable when travelling with a 13 year old girl. The bathroom was needlessly large and ‘naff’ (think the scar face bathroom scene). It was absolutely not 5 star- perhaps in the 80’s but not by 2025 standards so we were bitterly disappointed. The following morning we took a look around the grounds of the hotel and quickly realised we were in the worst part of the hotel. The 5 star rating is clearly reserved for the large rooms at the top of the hotel and the lovely private little apartments with their own private pools dotted around the complex, we however were in 2 star at best but had paid more than what we usually would have for 4 star accommodation. We contacted Jet 2 to query the room and explained it was nothing like what we were expecting or what was advertised. They very quickly arranged for us to see the mountain view rooms (which we had originally booked), they directed us to the reception where we were told we had actually been upgraded upon check-in to the ground floor bungalow! My heart sank. We were taken to a mountain view room which was smaller than the ‘upgraded bungalow’ and although still old fashioned looking and not what we thought we had booked it was light and airy and i liked the view of the mountain so i said i preferred this room and would be happy to take the swap. The concierge seemed shocked and was clearly trying to talk us out of taking the room by telling us how small it was and reminding us how big the bathroom is in the bungalow. Personally i don't book a hotel based on the size of the bathroom unless it’s pure luxury of course but it absolutely wasn't and so i reiterated i wanted to swap. The concierge then added that the pull out sofa bed was broken…..i wondered why we had been shown the room then? I can only assume they thought we would not want to swap because it was smaller and we caught them off guard so they had to make up some lame excuse perhaps. They then insisted on showing us another mountain view room on the other side of the hotel which was larger. We ended up taking this room because the concierge was so insistent. It was located on the corner of the hotel overlooking the courtyard with a partial sea and mountain view. Because of its positioning the balcony was permanently shaded which personally is not ideal and the room, again, was really old fashioned and different to other rooms within the hotel but we wanted to start our holiday and so reluctantly agreed to take the room. The concierge advised us to head back to the bungalow, pack our cases but leave all clothes on the hangers within the wardrobe to make it easier and the porters would have everything transferred to our new room in addition to a bed being made up for our daughter within 40 minutes. We did as advised and handed in our key to reception and headed off to grab some lunch and did not return to our new room for over two hours where we found none of our belongings had been transferred and there was no pillow or blankets for my daughter. We headed back down to reception who were so rude and obnoxious, the old guy on the desk in particular was so dismissive. Baring in mind we were just going on what we had been told by their concierge and if they had just put us in the correct room to begin with we wouldn't be in this situation. Their behaviour was unacceptable and put a real dampener on our holiday. We waited in the room for our belongings as advised and the porter eventually arrived with our cases but with none of the clothes from the wardrobe, as we were trying to explain we still had clothes in the wardrobes he stormed out mid conversation clearly very annoyed. After some back and forth we eventually got our clothes. If we had known this would cause us so much hassle we would have gladly just taken our stuff up ourselves, i am not entitled i would have been more than happy to do this but the concierge insisted it would be sorted on our behalf and so we trusted it would be with no issue. The whole fiasco resulted in hostile behaviour from staff members mainly from the front desk area for the rest of our holiday. We felt we could not approach them after what should have been a standard request , we felt a general sense of judgement from them and so everything we did outside of the hotel like car hire or days out we arranged ourself. The only 5 star reviews of this hotel i can guarantee are from those who have stayed in the actual 5 star accommodation. Standard Mountain view rooms are NOT 5 star, they are 100% only 2 star. They are old, tired, and dark and you appear to be treated less favourably if you opt for one of these rooms although charged at 5 star rates!!! On a more positive note the hotel is situated nicely on two lovely beach coves with crystal clear sea and we really enjoyed the food. There are some really lovely staff members here too particularly in the main hotel restaurant who are too good for this establishment. They work so hard and are so kind and friendly, they made our stay really. On a final note there are way too many members of ‘management’ or those of a higher ranking to other staff at this hotel who walk around suited and booted with a sense of superiority who fail to grasp the very basics of hospitality which will be the downfall of this establishment. There are so many other negative points i could make but don't have the space to do so. Overall we were so disappointed with our stay, had we have been given the choice to stay in nicer accommodation, even if it cost more we would have appreciated the choice but to be repeatedly told the old tired rooms we were allowed to stay in were 5 star quality as we could clearly see much nicer rooms is gaslighting at its finest. They clearly made a judgement about us and were unwilling to provide reasonable solutions to try and make our stay more enjoyable. I have never experienced such snobbery. We shall be returning to other hotels where we feel more valued and welcome in future. Please ensure you book the correct room if choosing this hotel because it will make a huge difference to your stay.

My stay at the Elounda Bay hotel was just amazing! The employees there were so kind and always welcoming- especially my new found friend Kela! Thank you very much for this wonderful experience- I‘ll definitely come back :)

Just returned from 12 days at this hotel. We had 2 Bedroom Family Garden View .... The Hotel rooms we stayed in were not 5 star by any stretch of the imagination. There are 5 star aspects of the resort and some disappointing areas as well. The sister hotel next door (Elounda Beach) and some its the pool villas did look more upmarket and newer The hard working staff try very hard to do their best for you and make the holiday special. But it is expensive for what you get. (Relative to the Caribbean, Portugal , Turkey , France, Italy etc) Lunch and all drinks are over priced €4 for a small 200ml of water in the room, with NO other option for water in the hotel is a bit pricy. Rooms - These were disappointing in size and amenities. They are two rooms with an inter-leading door between the rooms. They are by no means 5 star, much smaller than marketing material makes out and fixtures and fittings very dated. Walls very thin and Sliding doors did not seal so the wind was very noisy and so were the crying babies !!! . Bathrooms were the biggest disappointment as you had to shower in a bath with a plastic curtain sticking to you trying to soap yourself..5 Star..no way Staff - were lovely 10/10 Food - Great food ..Breakfast and dinner had something for everyone local and international food. We enjoyed eating there with VERY friendly service. Pools and beaches are lovely (careful of beach loungers under trees next to the sea..There live hungry Mosquitoes..... Swimming in the sea is easy and protected At breakfast the staff try hard to bring expressos / latte etc but they are way way under machined and at busy times you will do well to eat and enjoy your hot drink (assuming not std pot coffee which is ready immediately). Lunch and Drink Prices are expensive ( Burger €29, Latte €7, Small coke €5.5, 750ml sparkling water €6) but food and service is very good. Elounda is a short walk away, which has loads of LOVELY waterside restaurants and cocktail places that are very reasonably priced. Locals are lovely , no pressure to buy to eat. Pick up water at the local supermkt €0.80 for 1.5 litres....eases the in-room pain of the cost of water at €4 for 200ml...