Elounda Peninsula Luxury Resort (ex. Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel)

Total knock out. Amazing views, the food and the hotel staff are authentic and genuinely welcoming. Honest opinion? Beats our stays at Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons. Can genuinely recommend if you’re looking for a great stay.

Our family holiday at Elounda Peninsula Luxury Resort was honestly a dream from start to finish. From the moment we arrived, my husband, our two girls, and I felt completely looked after. The staff are amazing—so warm, friendly, and genuinely happy to help with anything. They really made us feel at home. The food was fantastic every single day. Lots of variety, always fresh, and so delicious. We especially enjoyed the breakfast with a view :) But the absolute highlight for us was our villa. It was gorgeous—spacious, comfortable, and came with a heated private pool overlooking the most beautiful bay with crystal-clear water. Waking up to that view every morning felt unreal. We spent so much time in the pool, it was just perfect. Our girls also loved the kids club. The team there were brilliant—super kind, fun, and full of great activities each day. It gave them something to get excited about, and it gave us a bit of time to relax too! The whole resort is stunning and so peaceful. Everywhere you look, it’s just beautiful—sparkling water, immaculate grounds, and such a calm atmosphere. Overall, we had the best time at Elounda Peninsula. It really is a little slice of paradise. We’re already talking about when we can come back. Highly recommend for families looking for a luxurious, chilled, and memorable holiday in Crete!

Excellent suite (a beachfront junior suite with private pool). It was spacious and well-furnished, with a sitting are inside and table and chairs and loungers outside. Roomy walk-in wardrobe with plenty of drawers and coathangers (proper hangers with hooks) too. Nice bathroom. The hotel in general is quite nice though a bit bland. Lovely sandy beach with a grassy shore and plenty of well-maintained sunbeds. We enjoyed sunbathing and swimming there every day. So all this was good. However the dining options were very poor. We stayed in the last week of the season so although this hotel and its neighbour Elonda Mare have several restaurants, only two were open, which is fair enough. The restaurant at the Peninsula, the Il Borro, was a decent Italian restaurant, but very pricy – we paid 300 Euros and 280 Euros for our two dinners there (including a cocktail each and three glasses of wine between us, each time). The restaurant at the Elounda Mare, the Old Mill, was terrible. Really boring food, with terrible vegetables. The desserts seemed likely to us to be bought-in factory made ones – my cheesecake was like the cheapest of supermarket cheesecakes. These experiences impelled us to decide to get a taxi to dine out for the rest of our stay – but on the first morning when we planned to do this we were told that there was a barbeque on offer so we opted for that. It was a dreadful barbeque – lamb and pork chops cold, burger dry and tasteless, boring salads. I would have been disappointed in a neighbour’s back garden, but at 65 Euros a head in a 5 star hotel absolutely appalling.

We had an amazing stay at the Elounda Peninsula. From the moment you arrive and are handed a glass of champagne while you sit on a sofa to check in, thank you Natalie, it is clear this is a luxury resort. The reception and cleaning staff were exceptional. The suites are very impressive with stunning views, beautiful closets, comfortable beds, luxurious bathrooms and products and huge rainfall showers. We were upgraded to a 2 bed suite which was wonderful and a huge treat however the second bedroom is so tiny with only one bed and you could hardly open the ensuite bathroom door to get in. We squeezed in a camp bed for our second child and then had to jump over one bed to get in the door, so it just seemed an odd design in general and certainly not set up for a family of four. One gripe was there were no hooks or anywhere to hang anything to dry which seems bizarre in a sustainable hotel as it meant our cleaner had to change them daily, sometimes twice. Perhaps as it was so late in the season usually people dry things on their balconies but even then there’s nowhere to hang anything and this would be quite unsightly, so I’m at a loss on this one. We also had a private pool, again what a treat, however the sun never reached our pool or balconies, and we lost the sun altogether at 4pm behind the hills, which was a shame (again, perhaps because late in the season? Otherwise, once again, an odd design concept as most of the suites are on that side of the building) so we didn’t use either. So, some things in our suite seemed not quite thought through, which is a shame (and if you’re paying full whack then probably would be an issue). The pool and beach areas are exceptional, beautiful. The pools are heated which is great at this time of year. The sea crystal clear. We could see the children at all times wherever they were which was very relaxing for us! The pool bar and restaurant, and being able to order from your lounger, were also brilliant. The food was delicious. We also ate at a few other of the resort restaurants, all of which were very good. Breakfast isn’t a buffet which is fine as there’s so much wastage with those, but somehow it was a little disappointing. Waiting/bar Staff were tired and less than enthusiastic, it being the end of the season, however service was generally good. We would have used the water sports or taken a boat trip but it was very over priced. The indoor pool, sauna, and Kids Ark were great for the cooler end of season. Aspa at the Ark was so lovely. We had a wonderful time at this resort and it felt like a real treat and a lovely last blast of sunshine.

We can't begin to say how nice of stay we had at Elounda Peninsula. Everything from the welcoming when we first arrived, to our great room, the service, cleanliness, and just overall friendliness of the staff. Maria our housekeeping service was excellent, and provided everything we needed from special pillows, to extra blanket, and bath accessories. The front desk staff (and I did not catch everyone's names) Natalie, Poppi, Manos, Stavroula, and all the rest, were so helpful and attentive. We stayed in a villa with a pool, and it was clean and the views from our outside lounge area was amazing. Breakfast ala carte was very nice as we are not big fans of buffets. We will definitely be back as we already miss swimming in the beautiful sea!