Domes Aulus Elounda

We spent two weeks at Domes Aulūs Elounda Resort for our honeymoon, and honestly, we couldn’t have asked for a more amazing stay. From the moment we arrived, everything was beautiful, relaxing and made our honeymoon feel so special.

The hotel itself was absolutely immaculate. Everywhere you went was beautifully maintained and incredibly clean, from the rooms and restaurants to the pool areas and surrounding grounds. You could tell that a huge amount of effort goes into keeping the whole resort looking its best.

We paid extra for Cool Living and booked one of the Whirlpool Rooms, and we would 100% recommend looking into both options if you’re considering staying here. They really did make our stay even more incredible. The extra benefits, service and having our own whirlpool made the experience feel that little bit more luxurious and special.

We were also really impressed with how quiet and peaceful the resort was. We couldn’t hear a thing from the other rooms or from any of the evening entertainment, which was honestly perfect for a honeymoon. The only time we could really hear other guests was if they happened to be sitting on their balcony at the same time as us, which is completely understandable. It made our room feel really private and peaceful.

One thing to be aware of is that the resort is built into the side of a mountain, so there is a fairly steep hill between the main hotel areas and the lower parts of the resort. Thankfully, there is a transfer service to take you up and down, which was really convenient. All of the drivers were lovely and incredibly pleasant, but Jason deserves a special mention.

Jason was absolutely remarkable. His English was amazing, which meant we were able to chat with him and get to know him throughout our stay. He was always so polite, friendly and respectful to every guest, and you could genuinely see how much effort he put into his job. He always went above and beyond and made every journey feel like a little part of the experience. We genuinely really liked him and looked forward to seeing him!

The whole resort was absolutely stunning, the staff were wonderful and the atmosphere was perfect for a honeymoon. There was such a lovely balance between feeling luxurious and being able to completely switch off and relax.

Two weeks went far too quickly, and we genuinely didn’t want to leave.

We would 100% return to Domes Aulūs Elounda and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful, luxurious, peaceful and relaxing honeymoon destination. 🤍

Thank you to everyone at Domes Aulūs for making our honeymoon so unforgettable! ✨

The location of this hotel is its best feature. The views from the pool and the main restaurant are amazing. We didn’t pay extra for a sea view but still had a great view of the sea from our bedroom. The cleanliness of the whole resort could not be faulted. The hotel has a private beach which was small (partially sand and partially gravel) but there is a road between it and the pool which negatively impacts the noise level of both. The small beach and pool area quickly fill up and after 10am on most days it’s impossible to find a lounger to sit on. The staff are very friendly but on occasions are more concerned with maintaining the amenities that they are with the guests: for example one of the pool life guards was insistent on lowering most of the parasols on a hot sunny day because he thought it was getting windy. Eventually, an appeal to the management allowed some exceptions which lead to all the parasols being up. On another occasion I left my table in the restaurant to get more food from the buffet. The staff removed my hat from my chair, cleared my table and seated other guests by the time I returned - a simple mistake but indicative of their focus.

By far the biggest disappointment (and the reason that I would not return to this resort) was the food. The breakfast buffet offered no smoked fish, no eggs Benedict or Royals, no made to order omelettes (or any personalised service), which in my experience is rare in 4+ star hotels. For lunch at all inclusive buffets I often choose a charcuterie/ deli style plate but here there was one type of ham, one type of hard cheese, no salami/ chorizo/ sausage etc, limited pickles, chutneys.. so this type of meal was not an option: again, unusual in a 4+ star buffet in my experience. Dinner I thought was impoverished. In the week that we we there, lamb made a appearance once - in a stew (which was quite good), beef likewise was mostly absent (two appearances in the week), as was seafood (one plate of prawns in the week). Some nights the only meat available was fried chicken thighs, wings and drumsticks. Again, less than I would expect in an all inclusive buffet. On the Italian themed night only vegetarian pizzas were available and the only pasta sauce was tomato. It looks like the kitchens do their best with cheaper ingredients.

On the whole: beautiful location and views, excellent room and cleanliness, friendly staff, good but crowded amenities but let down by less choice and poorer than expected food.