- Greece Holidays
- Elounda
- Domes Aulus Elounda
1/100
View 100 Photos
Domes Aulus Elounda
Greece, Europe
Elounda
Ideally set in Mirabello Bay, our central location offers a tranquil escape near all the city's top attractions. The beautiful coastline, shaded beaches and crystal clear seas is mere steps from our front door. Our peaceful retreat offers onsite dining, spa, two pools and breathtaking views of the Aegean Sea and Cretan landscape.
Facilities
- Tennis*
- Billiards*
- Massage
- Steam bath
- Sauna
- TV lounge
- Sun loungers
- Luggage room*
- Sun terrace
- Multilingual staff*
- Please note some facilities may incur an additional fee
The Local Area
Tripadvisor Reviews
4.5 Excellent2,957 reviews
Excellent
59%
Very Good
24%
Average
11%
Poor
4%
Terrible
2%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Nice hotel in a beautiful setting but some areas for improvement to make it truly 5*
The hotel is set in a stunning location and the staff were generally friendly. The room was lovely and well equipped (swim up room was nice!) although bathroom was on the small side.
Food options were good, with varied buffet choices each night and a few à la carte restaurants you can visit once per stay. Entertainment was enjoyable, though everything wrapped up fairly early around 10/10.30pm. Some activities available, we loved the sunrise yoga in the morning.
The pool and beach areas are nice but very crowded, and there is an issue with guests reserving loungers with towels. It would be great to see the hotel do more to manage this.
The resort is extremely steep and hilly. Buggy assistance was provided at check‑in but we were never offered this again, even at check‑out, so getting heavy luggage down the hill was a big struggle.
Overall, a nice experience in a beautiful setting but would expect slightly more from a 5* Hilton.
Review by igreen1111 London, United Kingdom
Five Stars, Four-Star Experience
I’ve travelled to many countries, and I rarely leave long reviews. I also own a business myself, so before criticizing a company, I try to understand why certain decisions were made.
Overall, I had a good holiday. The staff were genuinely kind, Guest Relations were excellent whenever I needed help, and the service itself was never the problem.
However, for a five-star Hilton at this price point, I expected the experience to feel effortless. Instead, I often found myself dealing with small inconveniences that gradually took away the feeling of luxury.
To me, luxury isn’t marble floors or expensive cocktails. Luxury is simplicity.
Luxury is arriving somewhere where someone has already thought about the details, so you don’t have to.
⸻
🧘 Reservations Everywhere
The spa recommends booking treatments several days in advance.
The à la carte restaurants also require reservations.
For guests staying only six nights, it felt like I had to organise my holiday almost immediately after arriving.
Perhaps this system works well during peak occupancy, but during my stay the resort never felt particularly busy.
The result was that I simply skipped experiences I might otherwise have enjoyed.
⸻
🏨 The Room
The room is modern and clean. I was in room 3XX.
However, storage space is surprisingly limited for a week’s stay.
The shower is also very compact, making it less comfortable than expected in a five-star hotel.
Neither issue ruined my holiday, but both affected everyday comfort.
⸻
🍽️ Buffet
The food was good, fresh and well prepared.
Each day at each meal you could find some local Greek dish, which I really enjoyed.
I, personally would completely removed the pasta and pizza from the buffet. I saw many guests going after pasta or pizza and unfortunately didn't even try great Mediterranean cuisine. Which is the best!
⸻
🌊 Beach & Pool
The beach is beautiful. The beach bar cocktails and snacks are great!
But, if you enjoy sleeping in, be ready to stay without your sun bed by the pool or on the beach. It gets occupied pretty quickly. Be early.
⸻
💕 Adults Only… Mostly Couples
The hotel is genuinely adults only.
However, it also feels very much designed around couples.
As a solo traveller I didn’t meet another solo guest during my stay, and after being asked several times whether I was dining alone, I started joking that I had become a rare species.
Not a complaint—just something future solo travellers may appreciate knowing.
⸻
🛍️ The Unexpected Highlight
Ironically, my favourite experience wasn’t inside the hotel.
It was a tiny leather shop in Elounda run by an elderly Greek lady. She spoke only two English words:
“Cash?”
“Card?”
I bought a beautiful genuine leather backpack for €30.
It remains my favourite souvenir from the trip. You will not see any sign, you will just smell the leather when walking by.
⸻
⭐ Final Thoughts
Crete is beautiful. The nearby village is lovely.
The staff were friendly and professional throughout my stay, and Guest Relations genuinely did everything they could whenever I needed assistance.
For me, however, the hotel missed something more difficult to measure.
Luxury isn’t only about facilities.
It’s about making life feel easy.
Here, many small inconveniences—from reservations and room layout—gradually distracted from the relaxing experience I was hoping for.
None of these issues were major on their own, but together they made the holiday feel less effortless than I expected from a Hilton.
Fabulous stay, amazing views, very friendly
Everything about this hotel was fabulous from start to finish. We stayed in a Sapphire Zen Suite with a shared pool. We had a fabulous view overlooking Spinalonga (which you should visit). The cool living area was great, the pool area had wonderful views, we never struggled to get a sunbed. The food was delicious, in all of the restaurants - get booked in straight away with guest services to ensure you can get in. The cocktails were fabulous and all the bar staff lovely and friendly, nothing was too much trouble. Shout out to Antonia in Yellow Sea for being so delightful and bubbly. Also Christopher, Jason & George for driving us numerous times to/from our room safely, they were all very chatty & welcoming and always remembered our names! No need to walk up/down the hill as there is a shuttle bus or golf buggies/cars. Amphitéatro had amazing Italian food and Gyros and the atmosphere was really fab when there was entertainment on, lovely to have a drink up there or watch a movie at the outdoor cinema. Dora on reception was very helpful and chatty. The beach is also lovely to visit with food, water & a bar down there for use. Probably need to be to the beach by about 9am to get a bed. It’s about a 25 minute walk into Elounda which is worth a visit. Plaka is a gorgeous fishing village and again well worth a visit, the path disappears so best to get a taxi which was €12 we ate at Ocean Restaurant there which was delicious. We would definitely return to this hotel, thank you all for an unforgettable holiday! Also special thank you to Amanda Wass from Travel Counsellors for booking our holiday for us! Nic & Rick 🥰
Review by Nickiwatstan Cleethorpes, United Kingdom
Magic happens at Domes Aulus
Magic happens when all the key ingredients are in place. And that’s certainly true with Domes Aulus Elounda and the reason that we keep returning.
The location is fabulous overlooking Mirabella Bay and Spinalonga and the views are amazing – a beautiful panorama as far as the eye can see. The hotel’s facilities are first class – the private beach is great for those that love swimming in the warm waters and lazing on a sunbed sipping a cooling drink (and we’ve always been able to find a sunbed), the pools all have great views whether you are in the main part of the hotel or at Cool Living with the bars and the Grab and Go all really handy.
We love having a cocktail on the terrace at the Amphitheatre watching the moon rise and dining at either the Island, Yellow Sea, Meze or Greco Levante. The rooms have everything you need and the beds, pillows and linen are super comfortable. The housekeeping ladies that call in the early evening are always happy to top you up on extra towels, toiletries, water or whatever you need.
What sets the hotel apart for us though is the staff – the genuine warmth, passion and friendliness of each and every member of staff who go out of their way to make sure that you have a very special experience with them. Our advice, if you need something or have a query, is to speak to the guest relations team who will do their upmost to accommodate you if they can. The culture of a hotel always stems from the top, so huge credit to Georgia, George, Chrisa and the whole team for providing such a fantastic experience. True Greek - or should that be Cretan, hospitality at its best.
If you love a sophisticated, yet relaxed and chilled holiday, then Domes Aulus Elounda is for you. Highly recommended.
Amazing views and Excellent staff. 🍾
We stayed for 2 weeks in June after our original holiday was cancelled. So it was a quick look on the tui website, and it was booked. So we didn't really have time to read any reviews. We arrived just after 1 o'clock in the morning and were surprised at how steep the road was up to our room. When we got into our room, we were both very impressed with the room. It wasn't until the morning that we realised how good our room was. We had amazing views of Spinalonga and the bay. From our hot tub. We were staying in room 815. Which was ideal because it was right opposite the "cool living" area, and it was where the shuttle bus picked up from. I won't go on about the food or the sunbeds. Because we found the food drinks to be really good and we managed to get sunbeds every day. If you want to lay right next to the pool, you do have to get up a little bit earlier. It's worth it because the views are amazing. Looking over the infinite pool to the bay. To finish off, I would just like to stay how good all the staff were. Especially the two girls in the cool living restaurant and all the bar staff. And if you're really nice, and say please and thank you. You might get a bottle of champagne from the general manager. Is the "cool living" worth booked....Yes. Would I stay here again.....Definitely 😎
