Elounda Bay Palace Hotel

Jovan Jovanovic

What a rollercoaster of experience. From terrible to good and back to terrible. We were in the hotel in August 2025. We booked a classic room with a mountain view because we weren’t planing on spending much time in the room - other than for sleeping, and as soon as we arrived, it seemed that sleeping won’t be possible. Classic room is at least 20 years old, with some wires hanging from the wall, disgusting plastic curtains in the shower, very tired… A 5 star hotel you would wonder? Should be 3. But, all of that, we would have survived because it’s classic/older room, we didn’t research much prior to booking it, but then the AC… man the AC. AC is a device from the 80s, EXTREMELY loud, without any temperature control, only with a fan switch with 3 speeds in the wall. To cool down the room to some remotely acceptable temperature, you have to keep it on the highest setting at all times - on which you can’t hear your thoughts. Try sleeping with it. We complained tomorrow to our agency and after a visit from the AC service man, we were offered another room, an upgrade, with a garden view (again, not really important), and with a newer model of AC - with a temperature control. They have newer ACs in renovated rooms, keep that in mind. Of course, we moved. At this point, besides the fact that the whole hotel is noisy, you can hear doors slamming all the time, room was ok, it was about to be a good vacation. Hotel is stupidly expensive, as if someone set some random high numbers as prices for everything. One example is a glass of wine. A glass of wine is 12 euros. On Crete, a wine island, where you can get 1 liter of AMAZING wine in any shop for between 5 and 10 euros. Why do this to yourselves? Needles to say, we didn’t spend much on the drinks or anything in the hotel, shops are near, and you can get anything you need cheap. Another example is a meal in a lunch restaurant, you need to spend around 30 euros for a souvlaki or similar, while you can’t find that same meal in the city anywhere to be more than 14 euros. Food in the main restaurant should be better in a 5 star hotel, felt more like a canteen, but okay, what was available, was tasty. Days went, it was cool, we were dragging water, drinks and snacks from stores, but it was fun. Until the checkout. On the checkout, we were greeted by a bill for a few coffees and drinks we had on the beach and something from the minibar. Minibar was a mistake, we didn’t touch it, we even left our room with like 3 more waters and 2 cokes. We just asked if someone could check simply because we didn’t touch the minibar - we brought our own stuff and as mentioned, prices were ridiculous. 5 mins later, a room manager shows up and starts arguing about 2 bottles of water, he’s like, “who took it then? Who took it? Guests from another room? I had to refill, means you took it!”. A 5 star hotel manager arguing about 2 small bottles of water? I tried explaining that there are even more drinks in the room and mini bar than there were originally but no, he says they refilled, keeps arguing. Obviously I wouldn’t continue the conversation and paid, but for a 4000 euros vacation, and a 200 euros normally accepted and paid bills, you, as a room manager, decide to argue with a guest about 2 small bottles of water instead of being like, cool, maybe we made a mistake, no problem, whatever? That’s just completely unacceptable. So, a conclusion, beach is nice, sea is beautiful, hotel has a good location, stuff is kinda neutral and uninterested, but after the argument and the fact that they have a 3 star rooms in a 5 star hotel, I would be very very careful if I decide to come back here. I still wouldn’t, but I could cool down.

Kowalski

We recently had the pleasure of staying at the Elounda Bay hotel, and it was a truly exceptional experience from start to finish. The service was nothing short of perfect and incredibly considerate; the staff anticipated our needs and went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable and memorable. The hotel's beach is a real highlight—pristine, well-maintained, and a perfect spot for relaxation. The food was consistently delicious, with a wonderful variety of options. Breakfast, in particular, was fantastic, offering a huge selection to start the day right. We also loved the range of sea activities available, which added an element of adventure to our trip. Elounda Bay truly lives up to its reputation as a "Leading Hotel of the World." The attention to detail, impeccable service, and top-tier amenities make it a standout destination. We can't wait to return.

Zino Spinedi

The hotel is by no means bad, so I want to make it clear that my two-star rating should not be seen as criticism of the hotel itself, and especially not of the staff. The reason I am giving only two stars is that this is absolutely not a 5-star hotel, although it presents itself as one and charges accordingly. At best, it’s a 4-star property. The food is fine, but nothing special. The grounds are spacious, yes, but far from a 5-star standard, as everything feels old and in need of renovation. The rooms are by far the weakest point: outdated, worn down, small, and very nois. you hear everything. The best thing about the hotel is the staff. Whether at reception, housekeeping, or service, everyone is extremely friendly and attentive. The worst thing is the value for money. The hotel sells itself as a 5-star property, which it most definitely is not, yet still charges 5-star prices. (For example: a non-alcoholic beer at the pool costs €8.) Not worth the Money, but not a bad hotel

Amy Ford

Positives: - New refurbished suites are lovely. We had a suite with a pool shared with one other villa. Really recommend trying to get the refurbished rooms. - Beach area is lovely - Staff very kind and good service Negatives/ room for improvement - Water- aside from one bottle when you arrive they don’t provide water. You have to pay €5 for a bottle with half board. For a 5* I’d really expect water be replaced daily by housekeeping and that it’s included at the buffet + a filter at the pool area. We saw loads of guests walking around carrying 6 packs of water that they bought outside of the resort which is really not a good look for a 5*. Seriously just charge 5€ more a night and give people their water for free. There are loads of reviews on this so clearly it bugs a lot of people! - Food- the buffet dinner is a let down with most of the food luke warm. You can go to one of the restaurants instead with a €30 credit pp but it’s an absolute rip off the prices even with that ‘discount’ which is not really a discount as you’ve paid already for the half board. For example, at the Greek restaurant it was €33 for a prawn saganaki and there were FOUR prawns. Seriously. Out of the resort every saganaki had around 12-15 prawns. So all in all I am glad we went for 4 nights but if that had been my whole trip I would have been really annoyed as the food is much better outside of the resort and half the price. You would be better off booking a 5* that is bed and breakfast and eat where you like with higher quality, bigger portions and lower prices.

Richard

Fantastic experience. Part of at least a some interconnected resorts, especially Elounda Bay Resort next door (where the internal dive shop Cretas Happy Divers is located, about 8 minutes walk from the palace). The staff were overly accomodating! They were willing to try and help with whatever. The facilities and amenities were good. LOTS of options for food and drink, leasure and pools, beach, and more. The seaside location you cant complain about either! Great restaurants (well highly rated) within close walk and some diverse-ish shopping a little past that. Vintage's food was amazing! Check them out at least once and early on if you are having a stay. Bout 1 hour 15 minutes drive from Herkalion Airport. Rental cars are MUCH cheaper than airport transfer through the resort or otherwise, 1 week car rental was half what one way transport to or from the airport would cost! We had the half-board, the dinners were great as well. HUGE buffet, too much to try, semi-themed from day to day making sure to keep some basics from the core patronage basic foods between Italy, Germany, and UK that we could pick out. The breakfast was equally as large, and followed somewhat the same pattern, but more consistent in the offerings. Note: unlike dinner drinks, breakfast drinks INCLUDING coffee are free, included. After our first dinner we assumed delivered coffee came with a charge, last morning we found out if was a flase assumption. Lucky we had a coffee machine in the room to get us going before diving or excursions. The stuff in the room behind the doors and in the fridge, not free. Dig a minute and you will find the steep in room prices. Walk 8 minutes down the road. If you are still reading this, we were there for 7 days mid-Oct 2025. They closed for the season after October so the crowds theoretically were winding down with the season termination, weather changing and time of the year.