Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas

We stayed here for five nights in July 2026 with my mother and young daughter, booking two Deluxe Sea View rooms. I've waited a few days before writing this review because we left after a dispute over our final bill and wanted to make sure I reflected both the positives and negatives fairly. The positives: We received a lovely welcome drink on arrival, and check-in was quick and efficient. The reception area is beautiful, and the staff initially gave us a warm welcome. Breakfast was excellent, with a wide selection of fresh fruit, continental options and hot food. The private beach is stunning, with beautiful views, and the hotel feels very safe and secluded for families with young children. There is a good choice of restaurants within the hotel if you don't want to venture out. Housekeeping was excellent. Our rooms were cleaned to a very high standard every day, with plenty of fresh towels and bottled water replenished each evening. The independent water sports company on the pier next to the hotel beach was fantastic. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, and we made great use of both the boats and inflatable rings. They also offer a boat trip across the bay (around €20) to a beautiful restaurant, which I'd highly recommend. The negatives: The pool area was disappointing. The pool itself is nice, but the surrounding sunbeds, bar and overall pool area feel tired and in need of refurbishment. It was almost empty every day we were there, which wasn't surprising. It's a shame because the lady working at the pool bar was lovely. If you're someone who prefers spending your holiday by the pool rather than on the beach, and you don't have the benefit of a private pool, I probably wouldn't recommend this hotel. I'd read several reviews praising the beach sunbed arrangements, but that wasn't our experience. On arrival we were told there were no beach sunbeds available for our entire stay. After some discussion, we were eventually allocated three sunbeds and an umbrella, but it still felt like a daily struggle to find somewhere comfortable to sit. It appeared that many of the front-row beds were permanently reserved for private villas, even when they remained empty all day, while other guests weren't allowed to use them. It didn't feel like the best use of the available space. If you're ordering food to the beach, be prepared to wait. We regularly waited up to an hour for food to arrive. There were very limited ice cream options for children. Small individual pots (less than a scoop) were priced at €9 each, which felt excessive. The Dine Around option is a nice idea but expensive at €65 per person, excluding drinks. We used it twice. The Italian restaurant was very good, but on our second evening we booked the Mediterranean restaurant for the advertised Cretan Night with live music and dancing. We assumed this was included in the Dine Around package, so I signed the bill without concern. At checkout we discovered we had been charged an additional €65 per person for the entertainment evening. This extra charge was never explained to us when booking or during the meal. When I raised this at checkout, I found the response from reception dismissive and unhelpful. A buffet dinner with one bottle of rosé ended up costing almost €350 for two adults and one child, despite my daughter not even eating there. My advice would be to check carefully what is and isn't included before signing anything. Overall, there are certainly some lovely aspects to this hotel, particularly the beach, breakfast and housekeeping. However, given the price, I don't feel the overall experience justified the cost. What disappointed us most wasn't the issues themselves, but how they were handled. We did raise both the beach sunbed situation during our stay and the unexpected restaurant charges at checkout, but unfortunately no one seemed willing to help. I fully expect the standard response may be that these concerns could have been resolved if we'd mentioned them at the time, but we did, and sadly that wasn't our experience.

A summer fly and flop, with excellent levels of service, the hotel didn’t disappoint. We loved the calm atmosphere throughout the resort, the high levels of service and the warm and friendly staff. Everything felt easy and well organised, and the team looked after us with just the right balance of care and discretion. Spotlessly clean throughout, and a nice touch being able to reserve your beach sun-bed for the duration of your stay. Food , excellent choices across all the restaurants, with the Italian taking the top spot during our stay. Do try the Greek wines, a wide and varied choice. We would highly recommend a stay here.

From the very first moment, I received such a warm and heartfelt welcome from everyone at Elounda Beach Hotel. Many of the employees have been working here for many years, and you can truly feel that they are like one big family. This genuine warmth and hospitality can be felt throughout the entire resort. Everyone was incredibly friendly and attentive, whether at the breakfast buffet, in the restaurants, at reception, or anywhere else around the property. You really feel that the entire team is doing their very best to make every guest feel welcome and comfortable. My Waterfront Ambassador Suite was an absolute highlight of my stay. Having my own private platform by the water was simply incredible, and just to the left was the beautiful little beach in the bay with wonderfully clear water. The suite itself left nothing to be desired. Everything was very clean, comfortable, and maintained to a high standard. The indoor whirlpool bathtub and private steam bath made the experience even more relaxing and luxurious. The breakfast buffet offered a great selection with plenty of choices for everyone. Sitting outside while enjoying breakfast with the beautiful view made every morning even more special. The hotel may not be the most modern resort, but it does not need to be. It has something far more important: character, atmosphere, warmth, and a wonderful feeling of comfort. The entire property is absolutely beautiful. With its low-rise buildings, lush surroundings, and village-like layout, it feels like staying in your own little world. A true oasis of relaxation. I felt completely comfortable from beginning to end. Even travelling alone, I never felt uncomfortable or out of place for a single moment. Quite the opposite: everyone made me feel welcome, safe, and well looked after. The reception team also deserves special recognition for always being friendly, helpful, and approachable. One recommendation I would give to future guests is to take some time to look carefully at the different room categories before booking. Some categories may appear more traditional or older in style, while others offer a more modern and luxurious experience. As with many hotels, the experience depends partly on the room category you choose. It is always helpful to inform yourself beforehand, and the hotel can easily be contacted directly if you have any questions. For me, Elounda Beach Hotel is a place with soul. The beautiful surroundings, the unique village-like atmosphere, the wonderful sea, and above all the exceptional warmth of the people working here made my stay truly special. I felt wonderful from A to Z and would return without hesitation. A big thanks to Andie for the very special stay i really enjoyed. Maria and all of them were fantastic. A heartfelt recommendation from me to anyone looking for genuine Cretan hospitality, relaxation, beautiful surroundings, and a place where you can truly feel at home. Thank you to the entire team for making my stay so memorable! We will see you definitively again. :) lovely greetings to all of you. Marina K.

Classy but unpretentious hotel. Staff all very friendly and always helped. As others have said you are allocated sun beds for your stay which is brilliant. We found facilities good - gym, paddle & tennis courts were great and the private beach and bay was fantastic. There is a golf buggy shuttle that will take you to Elounda Palace exit/entrance and from there it’s a 10 min walk to harbour and promenade with loads of bars and restaurants. We had two adjoining family suites that were a great size though are coming close to needing modernisation. Only gripe were prices for a beer or food on beach/pool which even for a quality hotel were excessive. Taxi to Agios Nikolaos is a set price and worth a 10 min taxi trip and visit to Spinalonga interesting. All in all another fantastic visit to Crete and the friendly Cretan people.

We really liked this hotel. It's way better than the ticklist might suggest. Rooms are good and staff are genuinely friendly. Fantastic beach setup where you're allocated sunbeds for your whole stay.... totally eliminated any need to grab a bed early. One or two areas for improvement. Food generally ( breakfast and evening restaurants) was ok but not ever any better than that. Overly pricey for dinner, luckily the restaurants in the two nearest towns are better and about half the cost. We'd visit Elounda Beach hotel again...the overall stay was enjoyable.