Elounda Bay Palace Hotel

Billy McDowell

perfect location surrounded by stunning scenery, its own two small private beaches, and several pools. food excellent in quality and choice, staff lovely, quiet area away from all the noise and mayhem of busy resorts their crowds. perfect for couples, families and more mature holidaymakers wanting to avoid the nightclubs, party goers and drunken tourists. slightly older building and decor but doesn't detract from our stay. excellent!

Tobias Ilario Robusti

What an unforgettable experience! From the moment we arrived, the warm welcome and impeccable service made us feel right at home. The rooms are spacious and elegantly designed, with breathtaking views over the bay. We loved the variety of restaurants, especially the beachfront dining options. Fresh seafood and sunsets make a perfect combination. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a peaceful, luxurious escape!

Abrar Mood

This review is long overdue ! But it never felt all right not to leave a review still. We stayed there in 2021/2022. Our stay could not be more comfortable but this is due to the beverages manager whom have been amazingly accommodating my condition and this was not at my request as the hotel called us after our first night to check if we have had a good night sleep. I have then mentioned that due to my condition i was not able to enjoy dinner again due to my condition as i have a very limited options to eat. On the same day, the beverages manager arranged a meeting with the chef or the person responsible for supervision and us which resulted in having extra special meals added for the dinner menu to accommodate my condition. Although i was not complaining but still they took actions to ensure i enjoy the stay. This place knows how to keep customers happy and they mean business ! I thank everyone there starting with the beverages manager, hotel manager and all staff there. It was truly humbling to see them go out of their way to make our stay as comfortable as possible. So thank you!

Kevin Gossett

Everything about this hotel was great. It was a real 5 star experience. We arrived at 1am and the staff was still smiling and made us feel welcomed. The concierges were absolutely incredible they helped us plan out everything that we wanted to do. I would highly recommend this place to anyone.

Craig Cannon

I stayed at the Elounda for 5 nights with my family. We had 2 rooms with a shared pool. The facility location is great (close to Spinalonga and the city of Agios Nikolaos). The staff, particularly the breakfast staff, are generally very pleasant and nice. However, the resort facilities, particularly the rooms, are just not being maintained up to 5 star standards. Our rooms were “upgraded” upon arrival to a shared pool for 4 rooms (vs 7). We were assigned rooms 33 and 34. However, upon arrival to the rooms, we noticed a very moldy smell in the rooms (which the hotel staff told us would go away). It did not. We then noticed that the rooms had a few ants inside, which we attributed to the sliding glass doors in the room. The room furniture and decor was also very dated. However, given the “upgrade,” we decided to stay in the rooms and deal with these issues because we liked the shared pool. That was a mistake. Over the course of the next 5 nights, the ant problem only became worse. Finally, by the last night, we had a full ant infestation. Maintenance then came into our room at midnight with ant spray. We were not moved to a different room that night and had to sleep in the room with the ant spray smell and infestation. The maintenance staff also told us to place all food that we had from that night into the hall outside the entry door and that someone would come to pick it up immediately. That did not happen and the food then attracted more ants at the front of the room by the following morning. Upon checkout the next day, I explained the situation to the hotel manager, who visited the rooms with me to see the dead ants all over the floor from the spray. He said that he would have his general manager call me later that day since we were flying out of Crete that morning. However, I did not receive a call that day and then received an email from the general manager 3 days later explaining that the ant infestation was created due to our leaving food outside of our room. Blaming your guests is not 5 star service. Please see the attached photos for what we were dealing with. It should also be noted that many of the resort facilities are being maintained at 1 or 2 star quality. For example, the “mini golf” area has basically been abandoned (we did not even play on it given the run down quality). Similarly, the gym facilities (particularly the gym on the palace side of the resort), are just not 5 star quality. They smell and they don’t have a good selection of free weights (e.g., only low weight, worn out dumbbells). I would give them 2 stars. The area near the check in also smells terrible at certain times. By way of example, our family tried to play outdoor ping pong one night (which is located outside of the check in), and we had to stop due to a sewage type smell coming from the area. The pool that was in front of our room was salt water and was generally what we desired. However, the steps into the pool looked like they had not been cleaned in years and were covered with a slimy film. We avoided using them after the first day. There is also some strange desire to push still and sparkling water onto hotel guests during lunch and dinner at resort restaurants. I suspect that this is because the resort charges 6-8 euros for each bottle on top of any prepaid meal plan payments. However, it is very distracting and almost bothersome when your waiter or waitress is always filling your water bottle after you have taken a few drinks. I have not experienced this at other “5 star” resorts. One other point, the resort appears to be dealing with falling guest numbers. By way of example, we had the Italian restaurant all to ourselves, with a singer, on one of the nights we went to dinner. This was great for us but perhaps reflects that other potential guests have found the same issues that we found during our stay and are not returning to the resort after their first visit. I would not return to the Elounda unless changes are made to return it to its former glory. There are other true 5 star resorts on Crete.