Domes of Elounda

We recently stayed at Domes of Elounda and, while there were certainly some enjoyable aspects of the resort, I came away feeling that a few details did not quite live up to the expectations I would have for a high-end property.

What We Loved: -The views are amazing. The resort's setting is beautiful, and the scenery around the property is one of its biggest strengths. -The beach is also fantastic for families with young children. The water is very shallow and the waves are minimal, which made it easy and comfortable to enjoy the beach with our kids. This was particularly valuable for us with a 3-year-old and 6-month-old. -One thing that really stood out was the availability of beach chairs. We never felt like we had to wake up early or race down to the beach to claim a chair. There were plenty available throughout our stay. This may sound like a small thing, but anyone who has stayed at a busy resort knows how frustrating the morning beach-chair competition can be, so this was a genuine positive and made our beach days much more relaxing.

Areas That Could Be Improved: -Room furniture: The sofa in our room had a metal support bar that was noticeably uncomfortable. Every time you sat down in a particular spot, the bar pressed directly against you, making the sofa difficult to use comfortably. -Bed comfort: Unfortunately, we did not find the bed particularly comfortable. After each night, both my spouse and I found ourselves with achy backs and necks. Obviously, mattress preferences are subjective, but this was noticeable enough throughout our stay to detract from the overall experience. -Golf cart transportation: The resort's golf cart service is a nice amenity given the size and layout of the property, but in practice it was not always as timely as we expected. There were several occasions when we found ourselves waiting and ultimately having to call or ask when the cart would arrive. With young children, including a baby, reliable transportation around a large resort is particularly helpful. -Towels at the family pool: On one occasion, the family pool had run out of towels. This may have been an isolated incident, but it was particularly frustrating because we had a young child who was left cold and wet while we waited for towels to become available. -Dinner reservations: Every dinner restaurant required a reservation, which the resort explained was because they were fully booked and wanted to space out diners. I can understand the reasoning, particularly at a busy resort, but it did take away some of the spontaneity of the vacation. With two young children, there were times when we simply wanted to see how the evening went and decide when and where we felt like eating, rather than having to plan around a dinner reservation every night. That said, we ended up eating at the buffet restaurant every night because it was the easiest option with our two little ones, and the food spread there was actually fantastic. There was a very wide variety of choices, which made it easy to find something for both adults and children. -Beach Club food options: The Beach Club menu was fairly limited, particularly when it came to options for children. We noticed a significant difference when we spent time at the family pool, where the menu had much more kid-friendly choices such as chicken fingers and pizza. By comparison, the Beach Club's chicken cutlet was one of the more obvious options for children, which felt limiting. Given that this is a family-oriented resort, having more simple, kid-friendly choices at the beach would have made the experience considerably easier for families. -Checkout communication: The day before checkout, reception called while we were at the beach with our family to ask whether we needed transportation when leaving the resort. Since we had arrived with our own rental car and the resort was already aware of this at check-in, the call seemed unnecessary. At a high-end resort, I would expect that information to be noted in the guest profile and for the team to avoid interrupting guests with questions that could have been answered from information already on file.

None of these issues individually would have been a major problem, and some may have been isolated incidents. However, taken together, they were noticeable because Domes of Elounda is positioned as an upscale, luxury resort. At this price point, I would expect a higher level of attention to detail and consistency in the guest experience.

Overall, we enjoyed our time at Domes of Elounda, particularly the beautiful setting and family-friendly beach. The shallow, calm water and plentiful beach chairs made spending time at the beach incredibly easy with young children, and the buffet was a pleasant surprise. There is a lot to like about the property, but I think there are several relatively small operational, dining, and comfort-related details that could be improved to better match the resort's high-end positioning.

We arrived just after midnight to find falafel wraps waiting in our room, along with a note from the kids club for the children. It was a lovely touch and set the tone for the rest of our stay.

Food: As a vegan family, we were blown away. Breakfast had chia pudding, daily smoothies, a granola and nut station, breads, jams, tahini, peanut butter, and even vegan chocolate and lemon cake. Alternative milks were available on request, and on top of everything on the buffet, the kitchen made us tofu scramble and vegan pancakes.

We ate at the buffet every evening, so I can't comment on the other restaurants, but Sophia the chef and Giorgia the manager were exceptional. Each night they walked us around to show us what we could eat. Anything containing cheese, like the salads, they brought out from the kitchen without it. They also made us special dishes: moussaka, bolognese, risotto and pizza. Our waiter Dimitra went above and beyond, and was so kind and playful with our children. Dinner was a joy every night.

Kids club: Fantastic. It's Montessori-based, and the children came back with crafts they'd made. At one pick-up my daughter was playing chess with one of the childminders. They loved it so much they asked to go every day.

Pilates: Hotel fitness can often feel like a token gesture, but not here. The classes with Sophia and Mathilda were well thought out, used interesting props and were a genuinely good workout.

Spa: I had a mum and daughter massage, which was adorable. They treated my daughter with such care and she loved it. I rarely book treatments at hotels because I often find them disappointing, but these were proper massage therapists. My therapist Alex was great. My only suggestion is that 50 minutes isn't really long enough for a full-body massage (not the therapist's fault at all), so a 50-minute treatment might work better focused on the neck, back, shoulders and head.

Housekeeping: A big shout-out to the housekeeping team, who were so friendly and kind, and always chatted with our kids.

Room: Our family suite was beautiful, overlooking Spinalonga. What a view to wake up to every morning. It could do with a bit more storage for a family of four, but otherwise it was gorgeous.

Location We had a car and made the most of exploring some of Crete. We went to Agios Nikolaos for the last night of a local festival. Dinosaur Park in Heraklion - great for kids! Kolokitha beach, only a short drive from the hotel but such a stunning place to visit. Of course the ferry to Spinalong too.

If you're a vegan family with young children, this is a fantastic hotel. We'd highly recommend it.

We booked 3 rooms at Domes for our family of 6, in May 2026. We stayed for 10 days and on reflection, a few months on, we would not stay again. We had booked two Core rooms for our grown up children and a Premium Spinalonga View room with balcony and jacuzzi, for ourselves. Be aware, the Core rooms are at the top of a hill, but are great. Really well equipped, modern and contemporary. Delightful spaces to be in for 10 days. Our three daughters and son in law were very pleased. Our room (105) was close to reception and was a massive disappointment. It was drab, dated, poorly maintained with a tiny enclosed balcony, with some very tired and uncomfortable chairs and a very old and shabby whirlpool. The room did have a great view though. However, there had been a sandstorm the previous week and our window was not cleaned during our 10 days, so we peered at Spinalonga through a thick film of dust. We had arrived late, so spoke to reception before breakfast the next morning to say how disappointed we were with our allocated room and the raised the fact that it in no way resembled the advertised images, on either the Domes website, or the Jet2 on line brochure.. We were told the hotel was full and they could do nothing that day. We went back over the next three days and got the same message. However. one of the advantages of having a room near reception is that you see guests coming and going all the time. So, there was regular turnover and if guest services had wanted to address our concerns I believe they could have. Instead, we had no communication, no sense of our concerns being taken seriously and after raising a significant complaint within 8 hours of our arrival, we left 10 days later with the same problem. Having said all that, the resort overall is very good. We used most of the restaurants. Tholos buffet was very good ( go early for breakfast and late for dinner for a quieter experience). The Italian restaurant was very good, we ate there three times. On one occasion the food was stone cold, but the staff dealt with it very quickly and professionally. The restaurant by the beach was excellent, but we weren't that taken with the 'street food' offering. It felt more gimmick than gourmet. We really like the beach and pool areas. Lot's of loungers and brilliant place to hang out, with some really great staff. It is short walk to Plaka, which is a fantastic small village with some good shops and restaurants. Kitsa and Kritas Gorge also well worth a visit as is Vai beach (deserted in May). Spinalonga really interesting and thought provoking and Agios Nikoloas for Easter celebrations was amazing. So, in short this part of Crete is fantastic. However, having paid a lot of money to stay at the Domes, it really wasn't worth the money, as the quality of our room and guest services were both so poor.