Cayo Exclusive Resort and Spa

I had a wonderful experience at the Armonia Spa at Cayo Exclusive Resort & Spa. The atmosphere was peaceful, elegant, and the perfect place to relax and unwind. A special thank you to my therapist, Chrysi, who was absolutely outstanding. She delivered the massage exactly as I had requested; deeply relaxing while still being highly effective. Her technique, professionalism, and attention to detail made the entire treatment exceptional.

I left feeling completely refreshed and rejuvenated. I highly recommend Armonia Spa, and if you have the opportunity, be sure to book a treatment with Chrysi. She is truly exceptional.

We are just home after seven blissful nights at this wonderful hotel. We booked an executive suite and it was worth every penny, beautiful interiors and outside space to take your breath away, a private good sized pool, sunbeds, a outdoor dining set and sofa and - my favourite - the egg chair. Our room description did say minibar and I would have expected a fully stocked mini bar with a range of drinks and snacks but it's just an empty mini fridge. The welcome wine and fruit was much appreciated. The view over the sea and Spinalonga was just exceptional. This is hotel is beautifully designed, sitting perfectly in the hillside. I was glad we we on row two (room 211) good proximity to the bars and restaurants, although we did have a go in the funicular as it looked like fun! I would imagine when the hotel is at full capacity the wait could be an issue. Unfortunately we were delayed so did not check in until 1.00am but the staff were so warm and welcoming and nothing was too much trouble. Breakfast was a good variety, not sure about the laminated little menu but for five star I would expect an "allergen" area, whilst the food is all well labelled there was not any gluten free/dairy free products out or a separate toaster for coeliacs. We had room service one evening and it was really lovely and the service was wonderful too. There are some lovely places to eat in Plaka and we do like to do that, the proximity to the town is a nice stroll down the hill. Concierge were very helpful, we hired a boat from Plaka Watersports and they arranged for us to picked up by boat to their base. We didn't try the beach club - couldn't drag ourselves away from our pool, it looked quite cramped but well organised. Every member of staff was cheerful and friendly and provided excellent service, our room was kept immaculate. The hotel was very quiet though and chatting to some locals this seemed to be the case all over given the time of year. We had an amazing, relaxing week and we would definitely return. Thank you Cayo and team.

We have just returned from 9 nights at the Cayo Exclusive Resort and Spa and had a lovely relaxing holiday. The hotel feels very airy and spacious from the moment you walk in, the decor is very serene and the views across to Spinalonga are stunning.

Rooms We booked an Executive Room with private pool which was exceptional and well worth it. The room was spacious and bright with lots of storage and well set out. The bathroom had a lovely seperate walk-in shower. Would have benefited from been slightly larger to accommodate a double vanity sink unit but the space was ample. The room had every amenity you would expect from a 5* hotel. But the best for us was the pool and outdoor terrace. We were allocated room 205, which is on the end on the block. the room had direct views across to Spinalonga. The pool was bigger than just a plunge pool and the terrace wrapped around the room with 2 sun loungers and a table and chairs. Part of the terrace got the sun all day which was a bonus but there was also plenty of shade when needed. The pool was quite cold even though the average temperate was 35 degrees but was lovely and refreshing in the heat. The room was spotless and housekeeping were faultless, with nightly turndown service. Towels were changed daily if not twice daily and pool towels changed every other day.

Food We had booked B&B which was perfect for us as we like to go out and about and eat in the local tavernas and restaurants. The breakfast was more than adequate with a generous hot and cold buffet, eggs made to order, freshly squeezed orange juice The only issue we found was the quality of the coffee. The first morning we ordered cappuccino however it was cold and I noticed it was from a commercial machine. We then ordered flat whites after that which were made with the barista coffee machine and much better. i would have expected that all coffees would have been made this way. We had lunch on one of the days during our stay at the Sage and Thyme pool bar, which was lovely. Portion sizes were huge, but the food was well cooked and the service was great. I can't comment on the other restaurants as we ate out every evening

Beach This was our biggest disappointment. Having read the description of the beach and how to get there I appreciated that the hotel was not on the beach but I don't think that the description is a true reflection of the distance. The funiculars in the hotel only take you to pool/reception level, you than have a 10 minute walk or a shuttle in the form of the hotel mini bus to the beach. Last year we stayed at the Royal Marmin Bay just further round the bay from the Cayo, the funiculars there took you down to the road and then across the road was the hotel's private beach On our first evening at the hotel we walked into Plaka and passed the beach that belongs to the Cayo hotel with beach bar, we were extremely disappointed with what we saw. The photos on the hotel website have been somewhat enhanced. The beach is extremely cramped with hardly any space between the sun loungers. It didn't appeal to us at all and we were even more grateful of our room with private pool

Pools The pool areas were very quiet during our stay, they were well maintained. I'm not sure if there would be an issue with sunbeds if the hotel was at capacity but it didn't appear so during our stay. Again as we had our own pool we didn't use the pools.

Overall The hotel is well maintained and has 5* amenities. It has a good range of facilities and a good choice of bars and restaurants but it was very quiet for the end of June/July. We usually stay in adult only hotels which are generally quiet but this seemed very quiet. there were very few children and I don't think the hotel is suitable for very young children. The service is exceptional, the staff are very friendly but just a little too quiet for us and we preferred to be closer to Elounda than Plaka. Although we had a few personal niggles, it's still worthy of a 5* review.