- Greece Holidays
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- 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.
Hotel Information
Relax at the full-service spa, where you can enjoy massages. After dipping into one of the 3 outdoor swimming pools, you can spend some time at the private beach. This Mediterranean property also features complimentary wireless Internet access, concierge services and gift shops/newsstands.
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 Excellent3,083 reviews
Excellent
59%
Very Good
24%
Average
11%
Poor
4%
Terrible
2%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
This hotel is the best for a relaxing getaway for two on Crete.
We really enjoyed our stay at this hotel! It was our post-wedding getaway, and we never once regretted choosing this particular hotel. The room was comfortable and beautiful, the food was delicious, and the staff were incredibly pleasant! There is a guest beach right next to the hotel offering a wonderful view of the island. I would like to make special mention of the staff's kindness and professionalism. I accidentally injured my leg on a rock, but when we went to the reception, they helped us immediately—calling a doctor and then a taxi to take us to the hospital. Mrs. Kosmadaki was incredibly kind and welcoming; she provided first aid, offered support, and even prepared a package for us with sandwiches, juice, and everything else we needed to take to the hospital. The hotel paid for the taxi, and Dana from the guest relations team accompanied us. She helped us at the hospital to communicate with the staff, and stayed with us the entire time. Overall, we are very grateful to Dana from the guest relations team; we turned to her repeatedly, and she was always helpful from the beginning of our vacation. She is not only a true professional but also a very pleasant and wonderful person. We will recommend this hotel to everyone we know and would happily return ourselves! We are left with nothing but pleasant, positive impressions! Thank you!
Review by liudmyla_loik Ukraine
Weather was good but very disappointed with hotel
Was so looking forward to this trip and hotel with our friends. It was sold as a 5* platinum which it certainly was not! I would rate it between a 3/4*.
The rooms were very small and when you have a shower it totally floods the bathroom so you then have to spend time mopping up! The beds/pillows are very comfortable so at least you do get a good night's sleep.
The service at the bar was poor having to queue for a long time to order your drinks and them waiting another 10+minutes for you drinks to be delivered to your table. We did complain to customer relations at the time. It got slightly better through the week but they are basically very under staffed.
The food was not to a good standard by any means. Poor choice, warm and lots of things over cooked, even on the special meal night's and not just the buffet. Most certainly not 5*.
We did have to complain when we had the Meze meal..... again to customer relations.
Our room door was not closed properly by the cleaner so anyone could have just walked in. Again another complaint to customer relations!
Ive stayed in 4* hotels around the world that are far superior to this hotel and certainly didn't expect this from a Hilton hotel, and so was so very disappointed.
On the last day customer relations did approach my husband and I and said they would like to give us a pass for the cool living area for us to have the experience, which we made use of. Unfortunately our friends had gone home by this time so they were unable to see/use it. It was so lovely up there, small kitchen with the chefs cooking food fresh and so we actually had a hot breakfast and a lovely hot 3 course meal in the evening. This was definitely the 5* bit of the hotel.
On reflection as much as it was a goodwill gesture, it basically just rubbed our noses in it with 'this is what you thought you would be getting'.
Its such a shame as I've never had to complain whilst on holiday like this.
On a positive someone made us smile every day was George who runs you up and down the hill to your room. Lovely man and a credit to the company!
So lovely here
You know somewhere is fabulous when you still enjoy it when it's raining. It's so lovely here - clean and tidy, everyone is so helpful and so friendly and it smells amazing. We are all inclusive and the food / drinks are plentiful and really decent. We are still exploring all the nooks and crannies here and loving it.
Review by Pippa D Cardiff, United Kingdom
Fabulous!
Just got back from this fabulous place! Just had 4 nights with my wife for her birthday, we were greeted by Valentina, who is just an exceptional young lady, she organised my wifes birthday surprise which was special in the Amphitheatre restaurant, where the delightful Mary runs the bar, with Champagne and birthday cake, all free! The Hotel is on the side of what can only be described as a mountain, which I was concerned about, however, no fear, you are ferried about in buggies and cars, George who looked after us was brilliant, nothing was too much trouble, and we had a great laugh with him when he took us to the top of the mountain one night! Panos, in the Blu Bar is also superb, and a very good Greek dancer! Dora and Dimitris in reception are also great and will go the extra mile All the staff are excellent and just make the whole holiday a wonderful experience, one which I hope we will repeat next year!
Review by timmonsey55 Boston Spa, United Kingdom
Decent stay but not 5* luxury we expected
As we come to the end of our stay at Domes Aulus Elounda in October 2026, we wanted to share an honest review of our experience. Overall, we have enjoyed parts of our holiday, but unfortunately, we do not feel the hotel lives up to a 5-star standard, particularly when it comes to the Cool Living upgrade.
We paid for a Sapphire Zen Suite, which included access to the Cool Living area and the ability to dine at the hotel’s à la carte restaurants. Having experienced similar premium upgrades at other resorts, we expected a more exclusive, relaxed and luxurious experience. Unfortunately, this was not what we received, and we felt the upgrade was misrepresented in terms of what it actually offered.
The Cool Living experience
Our experience got off to a disappointing start when we had to move rooms because our original room flooded. Resolving this took two nights, which was frustrating and not the start we had hoped for.
The Cool Living breakfast was essentially the same as the main buffet restaurant, while the lunchtime snacks were no different from those available on the beach. The bar was also significantly understaffed. This is not a criticism of the bar staff themselves, who worked incredibly hard, but it was clear that there were not enough people working in the Greco Levante area to provide the level of service you would expect from a premium offering.
The infinity pool advertised as part of the Cool Living experience was another disappointment. Despite visiting out of season in October, it was overcrowded and dirty, making it difficult to enjoy the more peaceful, luxurious atmosphere we had anticipated.
Restaurant reservations and drinks
We had hoped the access to the à la carte restaurants and the drinks offering would make the upgrade worthwhile. However, during our seven-night stay, we only managed to secure three restaurant bookings. We made our reservations on the first day and tried repeatedly to book additional meals, but there was no availability. When we raised this concern, we were simply told that the restaurants were full. If the hotel cannot accommodate the number of guests paying for this upgrade, the dining experience should be reviewed.
The drinks offering was also underwhelming. While some branded soft drinks and spirits were available, cocktails appeared to be dispensed from a machine. This did not feel consistent with the premium, five-star experience we had paid for. Furthermore, the drinks were essentially the same as those available at the main bar to all-inclusive guests, which made it difficult to understand the additional value of the upgrade.
We were also disappointed to discover that a number of guests had received complimentary Cool Living upgrades, often including swim-up rooms, while those of us who had paid for the upgrade were staying in some of the more basic rooms within that category. We are genuinely pleased for guests who received a complimentary upgrade, but it felt unfair that paying customers did not necessarily receive a more premium room or a noticeably better experience.
What we did enjoy
Despite our disappointment with Cool Living, there were positives to our stay. The beach area is lovely and provides a relaxing place to spend time. The location is also excellent if you enjoy a traditional harbour village, with local shops, tavernas and the opportunity to take a boat trip to Spinalonga.
The rooms were generally clean, and the housekeeping team were great. We also felt that the standard all-inclusive offering was reasonable, with food and drinks available across the main buffet and snack bars. For those considering a standard all-inclusive or potentially half-board stay, the hotel may still be a decent option, depending on expectations.
Overall verdict
Unfortunately, we would not recommend paying extra for the Cool Living upgrade based on our experience. The benefits did not feel sufficiently exclusive or luxurious to justify the additional cost, restaurant availability was inadequate for the number of guests, the pool area needed better cleaning and the service levels were affected by understaffing.
The hotel has genuine positives, particularly its location, beach and standard food and drinks offering. However, the Cool Living experience fell well short of what we expected from a premium upgrade at a five-star resort. We came away feeling that the standard all-inclusive package offered much the same experience, without the additional expense.
