What can we say, superb hotel, superb staff, superb setting.
As a couple who both work hard, day in day-out, we decided to take a week out to relax and recharge our batteries, we can honestly say this is the place to do it. The food and services are out of this world; our room/Bungalow which was one in seven positioned out in the grounds with a shared pool was very clean and kept clean with the maid visiting twice daily. The bed linen and beach towels were changed daily, the bathroom towels twice a day what more could you ask for.

The biggest downside for us was price of drinks, as I stated earlier, we both work full time but who in their right minds would pay 4x the price of a drink compared to the local harbour bars? Not me! I know we were at the beginning of the season but the Hotel bars were empty both during the day and evenings. You would think that the management might realise that if they lowered the price you would fill up the bars and make more money! Rather than relying on the odd couple having more money than sense and buying expensive drinks.

This is the only reason for marking the hotel 4 out of 5 as the rest of the place is spot on and we would highly recommend it for a quiet, chilled out break with beautiful and quiet, relaxing surroundings.

We met some lovely people in our week of luxury and we were both extremely sad to say good bye.

R&R x

Fabulous hotel. Our room was a private suite with a pool, not huge, but stylishly furnished and clean. To be honest, we thought the hotel was far to expensive to use the resturants! Plus, we were worried we'd run out of money! about 42 euros for a couple of sandwiches and beers! (We walked 15 mins into the main Elounda Square most nights, especially as family were staying in various (much cheaper but nice) locations around Elounda. Elounda Palm Hotel in particular was excellent value, and nearly as luxurious. (5min walk away)

We paid for an additonal wedding package, an extra £900, which was worth it just for the location, whitewashed chapel with a blue domed roof within beautiful gardens. The wedding was very relaxed, the hotel were very laid back about it, which initially worried me, but everything ran smoothly. Had a great time, staff helpful, however, we felt a little looked down upon cos were didnt eat there much, (just the occcasional lunch time snack) You pay via bill at the end of your stay so it felt like there were keeping tabs and made more of an effort with the big spenders!

Overall i would recommend it, but watch out for the hotel prices!

We stayed a night at the Elounda Bay Palace in April and were very happy with the hotel and the surrounding area. We arrived before the main tourist season and as a result were two of only a handful of guests. The staff was extremely helpful and the location beautiful. We took a ferry from Athens and bus from the port city of Heraklion on Crete. The bus transfer was very easy and cheap (6 euro each) and took about an hour. As there weren't many guests we were upgraded to a suite with an ocean view and made-to-order breakfast was complimentary.
As the hotel had only been open for 2 days, some of the facilities were not open yet, though we did experience the pool, the private beach, and the sun decks and enjoyed them all. I can imagine it is very busy during the bulk of the tourist season but the layout of the property with many private villas and the demeanor of the staff suggest that even during the busy season it would be a great place to stay. Of five nights in Greece, this was the cheapest room by far (124 euro) and definitely the highest quality.
The only problems we had were the availability of the activities as we were so early in season and the price of food if had not been included in the room rate. (An average dinner looked to be about 25-30 euro each.)

I visited this hotel in October 2007 and it was a wonderful experience!
The staff are terrific and the basic rooms are more than comfortable, with good amenities.
One idea for those of you that were concerned about prices of food/drinks at the hotel is to swap your half board from an evening meal to a lunchtime meal. The food is cooked fresh, the portions are huge and the dishes delicious - three courses were on offer and you can sit in one of the outside restaurants to enjoy it all. Then you can head into Elounda itself in the evening for drinks and snacks.
I'm writing this review whilst looking to see which companies are offering this hotel for my 2008 holiday - you cant help but want to go back....