Domes Aulus Elounda All-Inclusive Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton

Don't write off this beautiful place because of some of the negative reviews. This was a return visit to Aulus Domes Elounda for us having been before, 7 years ago (albeit when it was the Elounda Blu). Having loved the place so much the first time, we chose to come back to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. With a celebratory card and a small box of Greek Delight and a bottle of fizz, the hotel made us feel very welcome from the start. Since our last stay the hotel has been refurbished with the new part (Cool living) at the top of the hill. But whilst the new part is sharp and modern and 'shiny', the older, original hotel really hasn't changed and could therefore perhaps do with a spruce up. The food is great. Plenty to choose from each day. Loads of varied fresh fruit. Service in the main restaurant was good. Very attentive waiters and waitresses. The main bar (in my opinion) was under staffed which occasionally meant we could wait for five minutes to be served, but we were on holiday (on Greek time) so no great issue. We had a little pool of our own so didn't use the main pool or beach but both seemed well used and so I would assume were also met with good service. The hotel is on a hill. Everywhere you look or whatever you read, the information is clear that this is the case. To accommodate this, there are golf buggies and a shuttle bus regularly ferrying folk up and down the complex. I think the longest we waited for a buggy (but we were on holiday and not racing to a meeting) was 3 minutes.... We'd recommend the jeep safari tour. Pick up from the hotel with a full day seeing some of the sights of Crete up in the mountains. Traditional taverna lunch included. Remember, it's a jeep safari and not an air conditioned Mercedes limousine safari.... We also took ourselves off to Spinalonga. There are organised tours from Elounda and Agios Nicholas but we felt a little rushed on the island so ordered a taxi to Plaka from reception and then got on the half hourly ferry to the island and investigated at our leisure and returned to Plaka when the next available boat arrived. Plaka is a beautiful village, so we watched the world go by with a well earned drink for a lazy hour and then got a taxi back. We also walked into Elounda town (about 44 minutes) a couple of times loads to see and buy and eat!! My only negative would be that since our last visit there appears to be a DJ and Disco on a couple of nights of the week. Very loud and in my opinion not in keeping with the hotel. Please don't turn this little bit of perfect into Malia - it doesn't need it. So, thank you Aulus Domes Elounda. You made our anniversary very special

I want to start by saying this was the best holiday of my life! I never normally leave trip advisor reviews but feel that I have to share how wonderful my experience was here. My partner and I came to Domes Aulus Elounda in August for a week (non cool living). At first, we were unsure whether we should have booked cool living but we definitely didn’t need to! We had the pleasure of being upgraded to a shared private swim up pool room which was fantastic. The hotel left us food, wine and a lovely message along with rose petals to congratulate us on our anniversary in the room. This was a strong start. The main pool was lovely and had plenty of sun beds. As did the beach. Both bars were good but you have to go up, they don’t serve you from your beds. Don’t expect plastic or glass cups, but this didn’t bother me. The wind off the sea was lovely and refreshing - sometimes a bit much but that’s Crete for you! The À la cart restaurants were lovely but we only managed to get booked into one as they were fully booked which was a shame. The all inclusive buffet restaurant was great and the servers were amazing! My glass was never empty. I am veggie and the options were limited but I always found something tasty to eat. Nice fresh salads and various hot foods. The amphitheatre bar was amazing in the evenings and the drinks were strong and delicious. All of the staff were so happy to help and even gave us extra drinks to take back to our room. Some evenings had music entertainment but some were quieter with gentle background music. The hotel vibe is quiet and chilled which was perfect for us. We made some good friends and had drinks in our private pool with them one night but received a noise complaint for music even though we weren’t playing any. The guests didn’t seem to stay up late or want anyone else to - but the staff were happy for us to continue drinking in the pool as long as we didn’t start playing music. Elounda is a 5 minute taxi ride and has nice bars and boat trips to Spinalonga. We also did a luxury yacht sunset cruise which was booked via the concierge - this was stunning. On the whole, we felt extremely relaxed, well looked after and full of beautiful Greek wine. We’d come back to this hotel tomorrow if we could and still wouldn’t bother with the cool living part. One couple we met said they were cool living and it didn’t feel any more exclusive or better than the standard hotel which we were in. They even spent most of their time in the non cool living areas. It’s right at the top of the hill so you wouldn’t even know it was there. The views from every part of the hotel were incredible and the hotel itself is beautifully decorated with high quality finishings. I would recommend this hotel to everyone - you will not be disappointed! Thank you so much for making our stay so amazing. Matt and Chris

We have now visited Domes Aulus Elounda a total of 5 times over the last 10 years, and the hotel has gone from strength to strength. It is quite an expensive stay, but you do get a 5-star all inclusive experience, and the ONLY extra expenses are if you want the room minibar restocking and getting a massage in the Spa area. All other drinks (including table wines and bottled water) are cost included. The meals are mainly buffet-style, with good and varied choices, with some à la carte bookings available for traditional Greek, Italian and Asian cuisines. Our room this time was further up the hillside in the Cool Living area, and these newer rooms are very well appointed, with great bathroom facilities, super-comfortable bed mattresses, good lighting arrangements and more than adequate a/c). There are now 3 swimming pools, the better 2 of which are in the Cool Living area. The shuttle service to get people up & down to these rooms is frequent. The staff are exceptional, a special mention to the "regulars" Georgos P, Nikos K, Manolis M and Maria K, and many others besides. The surrounding area is beautiful, and we would recommend hiring a vehicle (a local bike rental we have used many times previously supplies us with a quad bike) to explore, although the hoteldoes have a private beach with its own bar which is part of the all inclusive system. All in all, an experience that will keep us coming back for more!

Stayed here 14th - 24th May 2024 we had a great time and the weather was fantastic. My wife and I didn’t stay in the cool living area. Room double standard was spotless excellent room. Main buffet restaurant food good service ok. A la carte restaurants poor 1 served street foods and the setting was not A la carte. The other served Chinese and Japanese food which was excellent but again not A la carte setting it was the snack and lunch area where we ate at lunch time a few times by the pool area. Pool area plenty of sun beds but some where broken bottom of pool was painted black or dark grey which we didn’t like. No pool bar you have to walk to the only bar in the lobby. Private beach was ok but difficult to go for a swim nice snacks and drinks available. Lobby bar in hotel in the evening was not easy to get served due to one barman serving the one waitress and customers waiting too long to be served. Entertainment was terrible unfortunately made our own with the great people we talked to at the bar. Overall not a bad hotel but never felt we were staying at five star hotel.

Food was not five star. Some hot food was cold. Salad bar would have been nice if it was the same as cool living kept in a cold room with doors on .location is amazing, spa really good. The hotel is really good. Pool area needs a make over. Snack bar food is amazing. Also it’s a shame you have to pre/ book restaurants as we really struggled to get the nights we wanted. We would return but would book cool living. Also would like to say a big thank you to Aubrey the fixer. An amazing guy & sorted a great suprise for our 31st wedding anniversary. Also all break staff we amazing too.

Wow. Incredible views. Infinity pools. Fantastic hotel. My husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary in a Zen suite with shared pool, (818). This hotel and the local town of Elounda surpassed our expectations. We can’t wait to go back.

The view to Spinalonga is amazing . Why because its on a steep hill. Rooms had great shower and water pressure plus worldwide TV channels. Nice touches of tea and coffee making facilities, a bottle of water and a bottle of red wine plus fruit basket in the mini fridge. The main buffet restaurant had plenty of choices. It is all inclusive you can have wine ( poured in 125 ml glasses pretty slowly ) and cocktails. Impressed by ' grab and go ' water and soft drinks fridge and self pour beer units. They put on one disco night by the pool and one live Greek music night in the Amiphitheatre. They do try hard. The staff are friendly and helpful. Def the best thing about Elounda Domes. So what's wrong with it ? They have two speciality restaurants Amiphitheatre Greek and Yellow Fin Asian plus a speciality set lunch restaurant. We were only there 4 days 3 nights and could not get in any if them on their booking system. We did eventually secure a place at Yellow fin but had to pile on pressure. Shame. We also were handed a free 30 min massage voucher. Excitedly I headed to the spa to book in / upgrade to a full massage. No chance. Again it was booked up for days. Strangely enough I'd never even thought of booking in the spa until I was given the voucher. So felt unnecessarily aggrieved when they did not deliver! The beach is a small scrap of pebbly land down the drive. The pool area ( up a steep hill drive) is dismal. The rooms are up a hill again. Make sure you are fit. The only sign of a buggy is when you check in. The hotel is 2km out of Elounda...too far to walk. The concept is great, I should be enthusiastic. Maybe it was just an August thing ....

We just spent a perfect week at Domus Aulūs. From the moment we arrived into the fragrant, ice cold Reception then saw the view from our room, everything was wonderful. Pros: stunning location, excellent food choices, super-friendly staff, comfy beach sunbeds Cons: (trying to think of something here) we wish the wine/cocktails served by the beach came in reusable plastic glasses. Not quite the same drinking Prosecco from a paper cup! One tip - make sure to try the Gastro lunch menu at Vatanee - delicious!

After reading a number of negative Tripadvisor reviews post booking, we almost cancelled. But… there is a happy ending to the story… (skip to the end if you don’t have time!!) This resort has the most spectacular views of anywhere I’ve ever stayed. The views, not just of Spinalonga Island are breathtaking. Carved into an elevated rock face so ingenious that you wonder if the Greek Gods themselves catapulted this resort into the rock bed that dominates its features. The VIEWS, from every room are breathtaking and, every public area is positioned to maximise them. I even said to hubby on arrival, ‘If I’d to eat porridge every day I’d be happy here’. Not at all true - I’m a foodie… read on… We upgraded to ‘Cool Living’ when we booked - we weren’t sure exactly what it offered in addition but it was our 10th wedding anniversary and it didn’t cost a lot more. The promise of the hot tub on the balcony and a bigger room as well as access to the higher up pool swung it. I requested (based on a Tripadvisor tip..) a room in the 700s. It was stunning. Spacious, heaps of storage - as a dress designer I travel heavy… ha! A sumptuous walk in shower and separate toilet / dressing area. The large bed on a platform, all very lush (air-con a little too noisy for me…) Sting in the tail … night one, we were unable to book a restaurant (kind of understandable and we’ve had this experience at many’s the 5-star hotel on Day 1). The only option to eat was in ‘The Island’ buffet restaurant. We arrived late in the service (too much time in the jacuzzi!?), we were very disappointed. The food was tepid, the meat tough, the salads un-replenished after the earlier diners - as a foodie, I thought - ‘where’s the porridge’? And I expected it was our lot for the week… But… not so… Day 2, all our restaurants were eventually booked (the app had broken but the F&B team immediately responsive, it was working by Day 3). Of our own volition we decided to eat out in Elounda one night and Plaka another (each about 20-40 min walk away and £7-10 taxi in a lovely air conditioned taxi (btw - top tip - instead of getting on a crap coach post flight or paying for private transfers, the hotel will pre book this for you €105 door to door) Back to food… We don’t like sushi or seafood so we stick with the Greco Lavante (they kindly allowed us 3 nights there, you’re permitted 2 but taking into account our food preferences, an exception was made). It was really lovely. Different theme nights though, as you’re only permitted 2 nights it worked out we repeated one menu twice. No biggie, we ordered something different and you’re really only supposed to be there 2 nights… We enjoyed the Amphitheater street food too the other night. It was really tasty - the pizza is particularly good (rustic, homemade, fresh & super hot!). The kebabs were a bit small but I got the impression you could ask for more. Amazing views, atmosphere & service (Angel you’re an Angel!) Btw, we returned to The Isla