Elounda Bay Palace

The hotel is in a stunning, beautiful location. It is not however, in my opinion a 5* hotel in terms of service, facilities, communication, furnishings & food quality. Our room was lovely and the housekeeping staff worked very hard to maintain high standards. The wardrobe hanging space was particularly limited especially for 2 adults. One of the two slim hanging wardrobes was actually not fit for purpose. It was impossible to use one of them for hanging any garments due to fixed shelving & safe. The food was decidedly average and nothing special it was often cold . This is definitely not 5* dining, the dining chairs are grubby too and place settings were the green missing basic items. The wine is extremely expensive too! We ate better out of the hotel down in Elounda. The restaurant staff work very hard and in the main are lovely, polite & accommodating with the exception of one staff member who was especially rude during breakfast service. Drinks are very expensive as are the lunchtime bar snacks. Although we do not expect ‘lively’ entertainment in the evening it was particularly disappointing that after dinner the atmosphere in the hotel is simply nonexistent - it’s just dreadful! The main bar is closed . There is the outdoor sail bar that is open until 11.00pm but as it is now cooler in the evenings (late September) it’s either an early night or taxi into Elounda. The overall impression is that there simply aren’t enough staff and attention to detail is lacking. A member of the concierge team booked a trip for us but actually booked the wrong one . What was also disappointing was that the jeep had a faulty seatbelt & I was told by the company rep that it didn’t matter as we were in Greece !!! Not acceptable! On the last day we were advised to let reception know when we were ready to check out & that a porter would collect our luggage …. 50 minutes , 2 phone calls and a visit to reception later we actually had our cases collected. We had been so looking forward to this holiday and although undeniably the location is 5* the hotel itself absolutely is not. We are extremely disappointed and feel very let down by poor service , lack of attention to detail, extortionate pricing of drinks & a complete lack of atmosphere! Totally let down by this hotel !

This may have been a 5 * resort at some time however some of the facilities, and the room we stayed in, Bungalow 4, are tired and in need of refurbishment. The prices charged in the bars etc are definitely 5*, akin to capital city hotels prices plus some. The "ala carte" buffet restaurant offers only mediocre food. The alternative of using the on site restaurants was what attracted us to the resort. You are offered a 30 euro credit per person for using these restaurants which seemed reasonable. However whilst of a good quality, elegant and some interesting menu's these restaurant's are all situated in the resort next door, The Elounda Beach. We tried the Blue Lagoon last night, 1/10/24. It became apparent that not only is there a two tier system of menus that are offered to us guests from the cheaper Elounda Bay resort, but also in the attitudes of staff. We were made to feel like something on the bottom of their shoes. The prices negate the 30 euro credit with the prices charged, which is not warrantied given the only "adequate" food served and, we can't say poor service but again not of the level you would expect from an establishment that is charging on average 200 euros for a meal for two. That given the staff at the Elounda Bay Palace are great, very helpful and trying their best to keep the resort up to standard.

Overall, the property and views are STUNNING. Had I known it would be this beautiful and enjoyable, I would have booked a longer stay. The staff generously upgraded our room. We stayed in a villa with a private pool, which was also stunning. I most enjoyed swimming in the sea. I agree that this property is not quite a 5-star establishment. I'd say it’s a 4 star with some 5 star qualities. Some parts of our room were not in great shape (vanity chair cushion was not attached to its base, handwriting from previous guest on bedside brochure, bath tub plug not working, low water pressure in shower, the rubber door seal to the shower was loose, etc). The price of wine is incredibly high (for context, we live in the San Francisco Bay Area, near Napa Valley, a high cost of living region where everything is expensive.) At this resort, we paid 66 euros for a bottle of rose that would have cost us 17+ USD at Whole Foods. (I had to rewrite this part of my review because I just found the exact same rose wine at the Heraklion airport for 16,70 euros. At the resort, it was 4 times that price.) While the dinners were satisfying, the quality and presentation didn't match the high cost. We felt our first meal was overpriced at 100 euros per person for a buffet-style meal. All staff were all positive, helpful, and kind. Personally, I would return to this resort; however, next time, I'd have most of my meals off campus and buy our wine at a local store to reduce the gap between quality and cost.