- Greece Holidays
- Elounda
- Domes Aulus Elounda
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Domes Aulus Elounda
Greece, Europe
Elounda
Ideally set in Mirabello Bay, our central location offers a tranquil escape near all the city's top attractions. The beautiful coastline, shaded beaches and crystal clear seas is mere steps from our front door. Our peaceful retreat offers onsite dining, spa, two pools and breathtaking views of the Aegean Sea and Cretan landscape.
Facilities
- Tennis*
- Billiards*
- Massage
- Steam bath
- Sauna
- TV lounge
- Sun loungers
- Luggage room*
- Sun terrace
- Multilingual staff*
- Please note some facilities may incur an additional fee
The Local Area
Tripadvisor Reviews
4.5 Excellent2,994 reviews
Excellent
59%
Very Good
24%
Average
11%
Poor
4%
Terrible
2%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
If you don’t book Cool Living then it’s not five star!
We booked here as a treat for our anniversary as it was listed as 5 star. We paid just over £3000 for a tropical nest - 7 days for 2 adults. When we arrived it was around 1 am Wednesday (the transfer from the airport took 1.5 hours). We were greeted in reception and given our room details. We were told to return to reception the following morning to have the full welcome conversation due to the time of day. We were not offered any refreshments despite it still being almost 39 degrees.
We were then taken to our room, 503, by a golf buggy as the hotel is built into the side of the mountain. The porter was amazing and moved all our luggage, stopping my husband from helping. On arrival to the room, we were greeted by a very small room which didn’t look very clean. At this point we were exhausted so decided to just go to sleep. In the morning we opened the curtains to find our £3000 view was the back of another brown building! No sea, no mountains, just brown concrete. Further inspection of the room showed broken furniture, stains on the walls, dirty taps in the bathroom to name a few. We went down to reception at 7am (in a golf buggy again due to the steep landscape) and explained how disappointed we were with the room and that we didn’t feel it was the 5 star room we had been expecting. We showed photos of the room to the receptionist who said she would have to speak to a manager when they arrived at 10am and that they should have some news around 12 as to whether there was an alternative room. When we returned at 12 we were offered an alternative room, 203. We were then shown this room and it was a vast improvement- bright, roomy, lovely view of the sea and Spinalonga Island- exactly what we were expecting from the start. We settled into this room and started our holiday. Over the next 24 hours we enjoyed the pool, and private beach area. The pool area was reasonably clean, although there were some cigarette butts under the loungers first thing in the morning. It was quite easy to get a lounger in the morning but they were usually reserved with towels by late morning. There were some spare plastic loungers available without cushions and umbrellas that you could use if stuck but shade was very limited. The small beach area was just below the hotel across the road. It had about 20 loungers (again, usually all reserved with towels by 11ish) and a small beach shack that served drinks and light snacks (baguettes/fruit/salad pots).
We ate at the main buffet restaurant and booked our one night Al a carte dinner at the Amphitheatre restaurant for our final night. The food in the main buffet restaurant was adequate but again we didn’t feel it was 5 star. I wasn’t really sure what I expected but the food was basic, steamed fish, roasted vegetables, plain pasta etc. Very little meat unless you liked pork. We found we were eating the same each meal, whether breakfast, dinner or tea. The staff in the buffet restaurant were helpful but some didn’t smile and didn’t look approachable. On the Thursday afternoon we received a phone call from one of the managers to offer us a free upgrade to the “Cool Living” area and another room change. We weren’t aware of the Cool living area but this is where the 5 star experience began!
We moved to room 220 which was a suite with a balcony- with a jacuzzi on the balcony. We had a separate bedroom and dressing area. Only mild complaint was the shower was just a hand held wand - no bracket on the wall, so difficult to wash hair - but no biggy!
Anyway, the cool living area is right at the top of the mountain, again by buggy or air conditioned car, and was amazing. This was a secure gated area with access via a swipe card. There were 2 pools, one which was an infinity pool. The sun loungers were about 12 inches thick. The restaurant in this area was called Greco Lavante and the food here was amazing. Fresh fish, fresh salmon, beautiful salads and fruit, freshly cooked breakfast items, a fabulous choice. And the evening meal was absolutely delicious. My husband had a slab of brisket that melted in the mouth and I had fresh sea bream. We even went to thank the chef it was so good. The bar up there served branded cocktails and the service was great. Lots of smiling faces and you felt looked after.
We did have a great time on this trip but feel it would have been a very different story if we had stayed in the original room. We joked that it was like the titanic. We had been below deck for the first couple of days, then we were moved to first class. We don’t feel the whole hotel should be listed as a 5 star hotel. The “below deck “ area is a 3/4 star with the cool living area a 5 star. When talking to a lady who had booked the cool living accommodation with a private pool, she told me she had arrived at 1am too and was offered food and drinks on arrival - clearly another 5 star perk! The staff were fabulous, especially the reception team and the porters who work tirelessly getting everyone up/down the hill.
Elounda town is a 30 min walk one way and Plaka a 45 min walk the other way. If you have any mobility issues, this is not the place for you.
Review by C7482YDmichellej Shropshire, United Kingdom
Amazing Staff and Wonderful Hospitality
We had a lovely stay and really enjoyed our time here. The hotel is beautiful, but what really made the difference was the staff. Everyone was so friendly, welcoming and always ready to help with a smile.
We felt genuinely looked after throughout our stay. A big thank you to the whole team for making our holiday so special. We would definitely come back!
A Wonderful Stay with Amazing Staff
We had such a wonderful stay! From the moment we arrived, the check-in was quick, smooth and very welcoming, making us feel at home straight away.
Our room was beautiful, clean and comfortable, with everything we needed for a relaxing holiday. The whole hotel is very well looked after and has a lovely, relaxed atmosphere.
What really made our stay special, though, was the staff. Everyone was so friendly, kind and always happy to help. You really feel that they genuinely care about making sure you have a great holiday.
We had an amazing time and would definitely love to come back!
An unforgettable stay at Domes Aulus Elounda 🤍
We absolutely loved our stay at Domes Aulus Elounda and honestly didn’t want to leave!
Our room was incredible. We were very lucky to be upgraded by the hotel to one of the private pool rooms, and it was unbelievable. The views were absolutely stunning, and having our own pool made the whole experience feel so special. There’s something pretty amazing about waking up, making a coffee, sitting in bed looking out at the view, and then having a morning dip before heading down to breakfast. It was the perfect way to start every day.
The hotel really pays attention to the little details that make your stay feel extra special. We had Turkish delights waiting for us when we arrived, as well as a bottle of wine and a bottle of honey liqueur. There’s also a Nespresso machine in the room, which was perfect for that early morning coffee fix. Our room had a separate shower room from the main bathroom too, which was a really nice touch and made getting ready much easier.
The staff were fantastic throughout our stay. The reception team were incredibly helpful and genuinely seemed to care about how we were getting on. They checked in with us during our stay to see if we needed anything and how we were finding everything, which made us feel really looked after.
A special mention also has to go to the drivers who take guests up and down the resort. Because the hotel is built on a steep bank, you can use the little vehicles to get around, and they worked all day and night. They were brilliant and made getting around the complex so easy.
The food was another highlight. During a week-long stay, you get three restaurant bookings included — Asian, Italian and lunch — and all three were amazing. The food was genuinely delicious, well seasoned and cooked really well. The buffet had slightly more limited options than I expected, but what was available was really good quality, so we never felt disappointed.
And the cocktails deserve a mention! We were expecting the usual all-inclusive cocktails that can sometimes taste a little questionable, but these were actually really good. They were made with branded alcohol and tasted like proper cocktails rather than watered-down all-inclusive drinks.
One thing worth knowing before booking is that the stunning infinity pool with the incredible views is only included with certain room categories. We were fortunate enough to be upgraded, but upgrades are subject to availability, so you’re not guaranteed to be able to pay for access when you arrive. If this pool is important to you, I’d definitely recommend booking a room category that includes it rather than relying on an upgrade. Another great thing about the upgraded rooms is that there’s a full restaurant at the top of the resort, so you don’t need to make your way down to the main hotel area every time you want food. (The boujee rooms are so worth it)
The only downsides for us were that there weren’t quite enough sun loungers around the main pool or the “beach” bar, so finding a spot could be difficult at times. Also, if you’re expecting a traditional sandy beach, this isn’t one. The water is incredibly blue and beautiful, but the beach is pebbly rather than sandy, so it’s worth knowing beforehand.
Overall, we had such an amazing experience at Domes Aulus Elounda. The room, views, food, cocktails, staff and little touches all came together to make it feel like a really special holiday. We’d absolutely return and would highly recommend it if you’re looking for a beautiful, relaxing and slightly more luxurious all-inclusive experience in Crete. 🇬🇷☀️🤍
Disappointing Domes didn’t do it for us.
We have just returned from 10 days at Domes Aulus Elounda hotel and feel that a review has to be written in an honest and fair manner. This was our first experience with Hilton hotels and our arrival was met by a lady greeting us with a friendly warm smile whilst going through our signing in process. We were given an upgraded room in the Cool living area and were taken by buggy to the location. The hotel is split into 2 separate areas connected by an extremely steep hill ( impossible to walk up or down unless you are a goat). The room upgrade was a very welcoming plus, but proved to be somewhat isolated at the very top. We went into the dining area where things went seriously down. Food quality being served on cold plates by miserable uncaring staff was encountered daily ( chefs didn’t care about overcooked bacon, stone cold eggs, mushrooms, beans etc) were simply take it or leave it! Many meals were extremely disappointing and even worse if you chose to eat in the main dining facilities at the bottom of the hotel. Specialist dining experiences were very disappointing and fell short of expectations for 5 stars. A major issue was swarming wasps around the food on display with some items completely infested. Bar services in Cool Living area were unhygienic, again swarming with wasps, glasses unclean and likely to cause infection. Staff attitudes again were very uncaring and nonchalant. The atmosphere throughout the hotel is very lacking and unfriendly wherever you chose to go for drinks after meals. Cleanliness in some public areas, ie, pool area in Cool Living was definitely in need of attention with poor results daily and rubbish left blowing around sunbeds. After contacting guests relations several times regarding our concerns about the situations, actions were taken but should never have been in the first place in 5 stars accommodation. To sum up our stay we would like to thank the buggy drivers for their services in delivering us up and down the mountain, reception personnel ( who must have a very difficult job) trying to make things happen. Unfortunately we will not be returning or using Hilton Hotels again, however, Crete remains a favourite island and we shall continue to visit using other hotels.
