Cayo Exclusive Resort and Spa

Stayed for a week and was an incredible experience. Had pre-booked a meal to be served in our suite and arranged flowers before the visit. Concierge service were very helpful. Presentation and preparation of the patio area was amazing by George and his service for the meal was excellent. The meal itself was off a very high standard. The couple of lunches we had were good and a wide variety and selection for breakfast. Meal at Kelari was a highlight of the week. Very relaxing and peaceful resort. Shuttle service to the beach was very useful. Service on the beach again was great. We had an executive room which was very spacious and well furnished. Never a problem getting a sunbed by the main pools if we wanted one. The whole resort is well designed and offers lots of privacy and seclusion. Rooms are not over looked. Architecture and landscaping is very thoughtful and fits in well to the natural environment. Look forward to returning.

My wife and I stayed at the Cayo Exclusive Resort & Spa on the Greek island of Crete, next to the city of Plaka, from June 5th through the 12th, 2026. We loved every minute of it! We had a room with a pool, which was great. It really was something we loved having during our stay. The accommodations were very nice! Our reservation was half-board. They do not offer all-inclusive. Breakfast and dinner were included. We ate dinner at the resort, but did eat at restaurants in Plaka, Elounda, and Agios Nikolaos for lunch. The food in those cities was always fresh and, I have to say, ALWAYS very good! Fresh seafood was incredible. Great vegetarian/vegan options were available at every restaurant we went to. I was really surprised at how good breakfast and dinner at the resort were. So much to choose from, and everything was of the best quality.

                                                  Whatever you do, stop by the spa at the resort for a massage! You have to meet Konstantina! She is the spa's manager and an amazing and fascinating person we were lucky enough to meet there, and hope to see again on our next trip back.                                                                                                                                                                
                                                   My wife and I had a massage given by Alma. Alma was, to be honest, one of the best, if not the best masseuse I have ever had. Truly professional. She asked if there were any specific areas of concern that she wanted me to tell her about. I told her the left side of my neck was an area that needed some attention. She concentrated on that area and absolutely gave me relief from soreness and stiffness that I had not felt in quite a while. The entire massage left me completely relaxed and feeling so much better than when I came in.  Ask for Alma when you go to the spa, and you must go to the spa!                                                                                          

                                                     I highly recommend a boat trip to the island of Spinalonga. An incredible experience. The trip also included a trip to the secluded Kolokytha Beach for about 90 minutes of swimming and relaxation before you get back on board for lunch and a trip back to Elounda, where the trip originates. You can get off the boat at Elounda and take a rent-a-car or a taxi back to Cayo Resort, or stay on the boat for a trip to Agios Nikolaos, where you are free to explore that beautiful port city. You had to provide your own transportation back to the Cayo Resort from Agios Nikolaos, as that is where the boat trip officially ends.                                     
                               
                                                        Bottom line, I would highly recommend a stay at this beautiful and fairly new resort next to the town of Plaka on the island of Crete. Great service, great food, beautiful scenery in a truly beautiful place.

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.