Elounda Residence

This holiday was fantastic! The staff are extremely attentive. The room we had was exceptional. The food is great! Happy family and happy children. Elounda is beautiful.

We stayed at this resort from 16 July 2026 for six nights, and unfortunately our experience did not live up to our expectations.

Our first impression was that the resort looked a little tired and in need of refurbishment. Check-in was smooth, and we were taken to our room by golf buggy. We were fortunate to be allocated a room close to reception and the restaurant because this is a very large resort with lots of steep hills and many flights of steps. If you have mobility issues or struggle with walking, I would not recommend this resort.

The room itself was comfortable and mostly clean, although one of the towels had a large yellow stain on it. One thing worth noting is that you cannot flush toilet paper, so all used tissue must be disposed of in a bathroom bin.

The pool areas were mixed. The upper pool had green staining around the edges and what appeared to be some exposed sharp metal edging in places, which didn’t inspire confidence. The main pool was a decent size, and my son really enjoyed the water slides. However, the water was extremely salty, leaving salt residue on our skin, hair and swimwear, and it stung our eyes. Also, be prepared for a workout—there are 81 steps down to the pool, which also means 81 steps back up again.

The biggest disappointment was the food and the handling of allergies. My children and I all have coeliac disease, and despite informing the hotel, we experienced repeated issues with cross-contamination. I personally suffered with a severe stomach upset for six of the six days we were there, and my son also became ill with stomach pain and vomiting.

I personally witnessed the chef using the same tongs to handle gluten-containing chicken nuggets, then mixing gluten-free chips with those same tongs before returning to cook chicken that was also supposed to be gluten-free. I reported this to the restaurant manager, who unfortunately didn’t seem to understand the seriousness of the issue. We were then referred to the operations manager, who was extremely helpful and took the complaint seriously. Sadly, I later witnessed the chef cross-contaminating food again later in the week. Anyone with coeliac disease or serious food allergies should exercise extreme caution when eating here.

Another incident that concerned us happened during breakfast one morning. Staff were mopping up what appeared to be sewage coming up through a drain in the middle of the restaurant floor. The smell was unpleasant, and towels had been placed on the floor to absorb the liquid while guests continued eating around the area. Shortly afterwards, maintenance staff lifted a floor tile and inserted a long pipe into another drain, apparently attempting to clear the blockage. I was later told they carried the pipe back through the dining area while people were still eating. In my opinion, the restaurant should have been closed temporarily for health and safety reasons, as sewage and food service simply should not mix.

The staff throughout the resort were friendly, and the operations manager deserves particular praise for his professionalism and willingness to help. However, it did feel like the resort mainly catered towards French guests. Much of the entertainment was in French, the football matches shown were broadcast with French commentary, and many of the animation team and reception staff were French. We have absolutely no issue with this, but it did make us feel that other nationalities were somewhat overlooked.

On our final day, we asked whether we could extend use of our room because we had an eight-hour wait between checkout and our airport transfer. Unfortunately, this request was declined. Under normal circumstances this would have been manageable, but there are no air-conditioned public areas, so we spent eight hours sitting in an extremely hot restaurant. We couldn’t leave to explore because my stomach was still unwell and I needed to remain close to a toilet.

Overall, I do not believe this resort meets the standard of a four-star hotel. It has potential, but it needs investment, maintenance and better food safety procedures before it can justify its rating.

The most disappointing part is that this was our first family holiday in six years. We spent almost £5,000 for four people for six nights, hoping for a relaxing and enjoyable break. We did our best to make the most of it, but illness and the issues we encountered meant it simply wasn’t the holiday we had hoped for. The experience has certainly taught us to do much more research before booking our next holiday.