Elounda Gulf Villas and Suites

We are a family of four and recently stayed in the Seafront Villa at Elounda Gulf Villas. The villa itself was beautifully renovated, spacious, very comfortable, and had excellent air conditioning. One thing to note is that this villa is the only one not located on the main resort property. It’s in Tsifliki, about a 10–15 minute drive from the hotel’s breakfast area and facilities. We didn’t mind the drive at all—in fact, we sometimes walked (about 2 miles and some hills) —and enjoyed having a little more privacy.

The location worked well for us. It’s about a mile from Plaka and roughly 30 minutes from Agios Nikolaos. We ended up changing a few dinner reservations from Agios Nikolaos to Plaka because of the distance, but that turned out to be a great decision. Plaka is a beautiful little village with a relaxed atmosphere, and we found ourselves spending a lot of time there.

The villa has a private pool, which management kindly heated for us, although it never got quite as warm as we expected. In hindsight, with the beach literally steps away, we probably wouldn’t bother paying for pool heating again. The beach is somewhat rocky when you first enter the water, but it quickly becomes easier underfoot. We didn’t find water shoes necessary but some people had.

We also really enjoyed the beach club. It’s fairly small, but that was part of its charm—it was never crowded and always felt peaceful. Both Georges at the beach club were incredibly accommodating and made us feel very welcome throughout our stay.

A special thank you to Despina and Stella from reservations and concierge services. We had to make numerous changes to our plans before our arrival and during, and they were always quick to respond, patient, and helpful. Louise at the front desk was equally wonderful and helped with anything we needed during our stay.

The breakfast was good with many options including fresh squeezed orange juice and Prosecco. The bread offerings was good as well as the choice of eggs. The breakfast team was responsive and accommodating. Shout out to Georgina who deserves a mention for making fantastic flat whites every morning, along with some of the best iced lattes we had during our trip.

Overall, we had a wonderful stay and loved both the villa and the surrounding area. The combination of privacy, beautiful scenery, excellent service, and proximity to Plaka made for a memorable family vacation in Crete.

We booked a return visit to this superb Hotel and found it to be even better than our stay 9 years ago. There were minor issues caused by the age of the property but anything reported to Reception was dealt with promptly and efficiently. All the staff without exception were friendly and so helpful, nothing was too much trouble! We ate in three nights and found the meals excellent. Breakfast offering was superb with every taste catered for. Our suite was perfect for us with a large open area, totally private pool and a view to die for. We would certainly recommend and will be coming back.

We spent 15 days at Elounda Gulf Villas, 9 nights in the Presidential Villa (Minos) and 6 in an Imperial One Bed Room Spa Villa. The villas are very spacious, the view is breathtaking and the private infinity pool is very large. Inside, the chairs and sofas are uncomfortable and the mattresses of the bed were too hard for us. The housekeeping and the maids tried everything to make them more comfortable for us. The whole staff was very friendly. Our sincere thanks go to George who is an excellent restaurant manager and his crew in the restaurant Argo. Nevertheless, we wouldn't go back! The all-inclusive-package is only a "light" one. The worst was that the menu and the meals didn't change at all!!! Neither for breakfast, nor for lunch AND not for dinner! Therefore, we would have to eat always the same meals during our 15 days of stay. As we didn't like to eat always the same every day, we had to leave the hotel for dinner in Elounda or Agios Nikolaos. The next negative item was the so-called "upgrade" which was offered to us after our arrival. The upgrade to the Presidential Villa was valid only for 9 days, afterwards we had to move to our initial booked villa. It's not very relaxing if you had to pack the bags during your holiday. Furthermore, we're disappointed at the "late check out" which was also included in our "VIP package". The late check out that Elounda Gulf offered us was 1 p.m. instead of 11 a.m. even though we've announced in advance by email that our flight will leave at 7 p.m. and we've additonally requested for a late check out when we arrived at the reception desk. They told us one day before that it's not possible to stay longer in the villa than 1 p.m. as other guests will arrive the same day. However, our maid told us that the next guests will arrive the next day by noon. We felt kidded!!!