Elounda Residence

We stayed here in August , family of four . Arrived around midnight and was told we are very lucky the rooms we have they are beautiful. It was awful. Under the sink smelt of sewers . The shower was mouldy and had no power. It was dark and dingy and really high up at the top of the hotel. I didn’t want to say anything because I was worried this was the best I was told . We stayed in this two bed apartment for 4 nights. One wardrobe and you couldn’t walk around the bed . Our suitcases were balancing on chairs. We met other family’s that had moved rooms and also families upgraded for no reason. A lot f people had told us a if you turn up late they give you the awful rooms for full occupancy as you are to tired to complain .

I looked in the website and couldn’t find what we stayed in anywhere . So we complained and we were moved. We saved so long for this and when we went to our new apartment I was absolutely furious. Because it is what we should have got in the first place. 4 days we waited being miserable and they would have let us do the whole 2 weeks .

The food and staff are lovely but they should NOT put people in awful rooms and tell them they are the best .

Our honest opinion of our 14 day stay here. We are a family of 4 with two young children. We had a two bed apartment which was on two floors and modern, with two balcony’s facing a lovely view of Elounda the upper balcony was larger and had a handy hanging rail for swim wear to dry. Downstairs room was spacious and we had two bathrooms both with showers which were both at good pressure. Beds were all comfy and both rooms had AC units. We had to call reception a few times to get white towels changed which was frustrating especially when all sandy from beach days, dirty ones were hung back up.
Cleanliness was iffy the floors are not swept well if at all upstairs. Toilets were clean however. Top bedsheets are changed once a week, bottom sheet and pillows every other day, now, one day they were changed but our daughter’s pillow case had blood stains, which is not on. The cleaners came quick to change but why they put it on in first place we have no idea there was splatters all over it. The pool areas-the water is more salty than the sea, no joke, goggles or sunnies are a must be prepared for swimwear to be ruined so don’t bring your best, we hand washed ours after and it’s all yellow even black goes a tinge of yellow. Would suggest the hotel really checks the salt level. The three water slides are fun, and aqua gym was good, would be nice if was varied a bit as same every time. Am an avid gym goer and this is not available until the gates to main pool area are opened at 10, but on looking the equipment is really grubby so I passed, however there are so many steps and slopes around you will get your work out! There are plenty of sun-loungers but if you want to be near the shallow end to see your little ones then you got to be quick! Staff- a big shout out to Bianca at the main pool bar she was so accommodating getting lacto free milk for coffees worked her socks off all day, the lady in the shop is so lovely and friendly, also Joanna in the main buffet area was the only person to welcome you and say hi, reception staff got anything sorted quickly but seemed rushed off their feet 24/7. Not to be welcomed at the buffet area isn’t very welcoming for a 4 star. The rest of the staff seemed shattered and miserable, which is sad to witness. Their living quarters where outside of our front door was which is like temp office blocks that made us feel uncomfortable as they look very hot! Accessibility- this hotel is not for anyone with mobility issues! There are a lot of steps and steep slopes. Yes there is a buggy that can take you around but will need to book or wait. To get to main buffet there are no lifts, it’s up a flight of stairs or steep slope where you have to walk a fair way around the block to access. There is a stair lift by the main pool which is completely blocked by old sub beds and a fence at the bottom. Why these haven’t been sold off or removed so that lift could be used baffled us. Play area-is tired looking and the bouncy area could do with a good scrub, but the kids enjoyed these. Towels- the hotel does provide pool towels that are brown in the room at no extra charge, would recommend you also bring your own as I have no idea how these would be changed if you used them every time at the pool. Other 4 star resorts stayed in had a towel booth where you had tokens and could get a fresh one or could change at reception. Entertainment-our eldest enjoyed the mini disco and we loved the Greek bands that came but apart from that we didn’t attend any others as was quite late in the evening for our youngest, but could hear from our balcony. Drinks- this is where it got really disappointing going forward.. there are no water bottle filling stations, you can not fill bottles up at buffet area this really should be looked into the plastic waste on cups is very high. Water is provided on arrival in room but that’s it. We resorted in buying a lot of bottled water. Kids enjoyed the tuti fruity juice but the others were cheap tasting the coke was like rola cola great if you like it… The cocktails were not great, might be better from a machine like other resorts stayed at. Beer was okay quite weak, and other alcoholic drinks are also weak and very sweet. Food-now this is what drove us to eat elsewhere a fair bit which is super disappointing and extra expense we did not want to spend. We had one reserved meal at the Meze but we had no idea what was going to be served, perhaps a menu on the table would be handy, there was nothing young children would eat and was surprised at how non Greek the Meze was no olives no pitta no Humous etc, the prawn curry was nice but that was it. The main we were given was battered fish pieces and chips, the fish was very dry. We ended up leaving and going to buffet so kids could eat. We have stayed in many 4 star resorts/hotels in Europe and this was the worst. Bar the salad, cakes and bread everything was well over salted, greasy or overcooked. Yes we understand everyone has different tastes but all our belly’s were not good after eating here. If we ate out there was a vast difference in how we felt. This is what has made us feel so utterly disappointed. Our experience of our 14 day stay has left us deflated in the food, drink, staff attitude, super salty pools and cleanliness after spending so much on our well earned family break. Even the kids had enough of the pool after a few days and they are proper active pool kids, that’s sad. Our saving grace was having a hire car, this is a must, the Elounda square and beach are lovely (bit of stone & shingle as you enter the sea) but the best beach we visited 4 times was Alymros, stunning, perfect for kids all sandy and shallow water for a good stretch, 14 min drive away, plenty of showers toilets and great club sarnies, cocktails & coffees at the food van. To top it all a set of beds, umbrella and table 10Euro, same as Elounda beach, bargain! This is a proper honest review, there is so much potential to this hotel but it’s not a 4 star. To just top it off on checking out there was no ‘thank you’ or ‘hope you had a good stay’ just ‘that’s all’ from reception. Will be fair to say we were delighted to get home and will not return. Couple photos of the views from balcony, bouncy kids area and blocked up access lift provided, should have taken more photos but didn’t think at the time.