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

Wonderful friendly hotel set in a fantastic location. No children so heavenly and peaceful. The staff are superb throughout. Kristina in the swish Vatanee (reservations only) restaurant could not do enough for us, explaining each sublime dish and keeping an eye on my depleting wine glass, ensuring it never actually was empty. I cannot recommend this hotel and its four different restaurants highly enough. Many thanks Kristina and co, we’ll be back again very soon 👍

This is a lovely hotel, built into the hillside, between Elounda town and Plaka village, with glorious views over the bay and towards Spinalonga. However, what sets this hotel apart is the staff who are absolutely fantastic. I apologise in advance for the length of my review, but wanted to give my honest and constructive opinion on this hotel and its facilities. There have been mixed reviews on Trip Advisor and obviously some of those depend on what type of room you have booked. However, what is very noticeable is that when the General Manager responds he does not address the issues raised, just picks up on the favourable comments. There were issues whilst we were there, most of which were addressed by Chrisa Chazden, but the General Manager needs to seriously take on board the points raised by various guests in order to make the hotel an even better place to stay. We arrived 1st May 2025 shortly after the hotel had re-opened for the season, some of the facilities did not appear to have opened yet (including the Spiritzeria Bar), there was limited staff and it was relatively quiet and peaceful. Guests were encouraged to download the QR code to obtain hotel information and you could also make reservations at the various restaurants. Unfortunately, the restaurant booking system was causing problems particularly as some of the restaurants were not open yet partly due to the mixed weather. Towards the end of our stay, there was a dedicated desk and laptop near reception which seemed to resolve many of the issues. We were more than happy to eat at the main Island restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed our breakfasts and evening meals there. There was always a huge selection of hot and cold food, fresh fruit, pastries, salads and the dishes were regularly replenished. We cannot comment on what was available to eat during the day as we chose to only eat breakfast and dinner. In fact, we ate at the Island restaurant every day except for one evening when we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and were very fortunate to eat at the Greco Levante. The various rooms are provided in 10 separate blocks which are on different levels as you go up the hillside. The hotel provides a shuttle bus, cars and golf carts to help guests get around the property but obviously there can be a delay due to heavy demand. We were fortunate to be in block 5 so could walk using the crazy-paved pathway but it was still quite steep and didn’t get any easier throughout our 2-week stay! We spent most of our days around the main pool which was deep cleaned early every morning (we would watch this taking place whilst we enjoyed our leisurely breakfast) and the pool man would return later with his net to catch the various insects/leaves/debris which had accumulated during the day. There are two showers by the side of the pool which guests are asked to use prior to going into the pool but weren’t widely used, which meant that the cleaner had to scrub extra hard at the water line l

The hotel on paper and in photographs looks amazing. But I was bitterly disappointed by our stay. It wasn’t a cheap holiday and we were expecting a little more than we got. We booked all inclusive plus. But to be honest I really don’t know what the plus was. There are three specialist restaurants at the hotel. Asian, Italian, Greek. You can only book two per visit. When I tried booked I was told it’s not in my package. I had to be on the cool all inclusive. I personally did not have that option when I booked. The he main restaurant is small so you will have to wait at busy times for a table. The staff were excellent though and always cleaned the tables quickly. In the specialty restaurant however, the service was ok, but they are giving you a bill to sign before the main course had arrived. Talk about feeling like your being pushed out. The bar also struggle with the amount of guests. There is large queues often and with this being advertised as a 5 star it’s something you don’t expect. There are about 70 sun beds located around the pool. With a hotel with a capacity of I would guess 300+ There is clearly not enough space gif everyone. We did see lots of guests putting towels down early in the morning and not returning until late afternoon. There is a sun bed policy of no return with 30 minutes and your items get removed. We did not see that happen once. There is a beach at the bottom of the hill. That does belong to the hotel. This also has sun beds. I didn’t come on holiday to get up at six am to ensure I get a sun bed. There are lots and lots and lots of steps. The hotel is on a hill so be prepared. We were ok with it but again we did see some older customers who were struggling, as it is very very steep. We spoke to a lady who had asked reception if they could have a lower room and was told no. Another guest asked reception if they could help them move the sun beds as they were all moved due to the previous nights entertainment. Reception said no. But feel free to do it your self. The guest replied that it wasn’t her job to love the beds. And reception replied. Sorry nothing they can do. It’s advertised as a boutique hotel, and I did not feel we had that experience. The final straw for me is we asked for a late check in as we’re not getting picked up until the evening. We asked three days before our departure, and every day we were told come back tomorrow. The final occasion we were told sorry Nobody can as the hotel is too busy. Having worked in hotels for many years, surly reception could have just checked the arrivals list for the date and told us straight away it was not possible. But as I sit writing this, the couple opposite me have just said that they have got a late check out tomorrow. Even though we were told that nobody was having one 😡. In summery the food was ok. The weather was lovely. The drinks available were good. But it’s just seems that there is little organisation, and I’m really disappointed as I was expec

On arrival we were impressed at the warmth of the welcome. We had booked the Cool Living, and were very happy with our room which was opposite the Levante restaurant and pools. Views are wonderful and we looked forward to a lovely, relaxing 5* break. HOWEVER, this was not what we experienced. We had arrived early evening, so once unpacked etc, we had a later dinner, taking the transport to the buffet restaurant, which was fairly quiet and the food average. As advised, the following day we tried to book for dinner at the other restaurants, only to find nothing available for the next 6 days. Although we could have lunch at the Manetee restaurant that day (which was absolutely delicious and the staff were excellent). Dinner that evening in the buffet restaurant proved to be the turning point for us, it was dreadful, there were men barging around with overloaded plates of food and the table manners of chimps, that is once they had sat at any empty seat the saw. The poor staff (who were absolutely lovely) were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and did their best in awful circumstances. We left, retreating to the bar area. BIG MISTAKE, this was awful too, it was as if we were on something between “boys holiday” and a stag party. Again the poor staff were overwhelmed. We came to learn this was a booking of 120 Slovakian men who drank the bar dry on their first night, partying into the early hours in their rooms (other guests unable to sleep), and skinny dipping in the pool. We were very grateful that we were not in the hotel area where they were staying. The remainder of our relaxing holiday was marred by having to fight to get better quality food in a civilised environment, being sent to a “sister” hotel and also to a lovely restaurant in Plaka. All in all, it was not a 5* experience, and that is a dreadful shame for the hardest working hotel staff from the lady who cleaned our room, the drivers, waiting staff in the restaurants and the bar staff who I cannot praise enough for their cheerful perseverance and warmth. A big thank you to you all. Perhaps whoever thought it would all be fine to book in 120 men to a couples hotel, and none of the actual couples would find it unacceptable, might like to reassess that decision, or perhaps they don’t care.

The hotel has the potential to be fantastic but is let down by a few issues. The hotel is essentially two different properties with some shared facilities. We stayed in the cool living section at the top of the hill. The cool living area is located a 5 min drive up a very steep hill. There is a mini bus up and down every 30 mins or you can call a golf buggy to take you. There can be a little wait, drivers are helpful and friendly. You can walk it but it is a tough climb. I wouldn’t recommend the hotel to anyone with mobility issues. We stayed in a Sapphire zen suite with sharing pool. The room is five stars with all the facilities you’d expect. There plenty of seating options with outdoor sofa, chairs and sun beds on the patio. The pool is great with excellent views. It looks a better option than the private pools which looked very small. The only downside is that the rooms are north facing and the patio is mainly in the shade, which is probably a bonus in the height of the summer. The rooms were cleaned daily to a high standard. The pool in the cool living section is stunning. There are two long infinity pools with fantastic views. At the end of May the water temperature in the pool was rather cold. The sea was much warmer. The terrace around the pool had very comfortable sun beds but there is a major issue with capacity. There are only approximately 60 beds which by 8.30 are all taken. This despite the hotel only being 80 per cent full. The main problem with the hotel is the food and the ability to book any of them. You need to complain to be able to book. We were staying nine nights and originally the first booking we could get was on the sixth night. The hotel website describes itself as Choosing the Cool Living Selection suites means you get special access to an extra private restaurant, a VIP bar, and premium brands. Click below to discover this Ultra-Premium All-Inclusive gastronomic journey. The reality is different. The restaurant in the cool living section is now basically a pizza/pasta restaurant, it’s nice but no better than a pizza express. The buffet restaurant is ok but the selection of food is limited and often only lukewarm but nicely cooked. The options are also very similar everyday. The Amphiteàtro rooftop is advertised as to options lie under a canopy of stars! Tesoro Mio | Trattoria the Italian and a pita kitchen. When we were staying the only option was from Yellow Sea the sushi restaurant. The Italian is now in the cool living section and the pita kitchen is often closed. The sushi in Yellow Sea was good. The only restaurant that really was special was Ventee. The service and the food here was amazing. This was level we had expected throughout the hotel. It is unfortunately only open at lunch time. The bars are ok but nothing special and certainly not a VIP bar. The drinks around the bar are served in a paper coffee cup which are not recyclable which seems very environmentally damaging as well as not being nice t

We arrived on private mini bus transfer as there were 6 of us on my big birthday family trip. We were allocated 3 rooms but one of them was VERY musty and we asked to change it. She said she'd arrange for it to be re-cleaned but it but it wasn't that type of smell so we insisted on a different one. All of this took about an hour in total and we had to move our bags etc. It was annoying as I've read other reviews about this room so they knew about it. We wasted all of the time we had saved on our private mini bus transfer! Most of the staff were some of the hardest working i've ever come across in a hotel. Special shout out to Jordi at the beach bar and the bar man in the main bar who were amazing (sorry I didn't make a note of your name!) They worked solo most of the time. Eleni was also very helpful and Angela in the restaurant very sweet! We absolutely loved our classes of yoga and pilates every day with the gorgeous Alkistis. The best teacher, she was so patient and her love for the job shone through. She is one of the best instructors and a lovely person🧘‍♀️ Deck chairs were very nice and thick and the beach was pleasant. We never struggled for a deck chair anywhere. The problem was when we came to try and book all of the restaurants promised in the description of the holiday! A NIGHTMARE! (this is the main reason we had chosen this hotel for the variety of food). Hardly any bookings available as we realised most of them had limited staff until the weekend. We ended up making a complaint to the management and we were shipped to the sister hotel down the road for a meal. Food was nice there but a lot of hassle in getting it! We eventually got a table by the skin of our teeth in the Sushi bar which was also excellent. The man who ran it at the weekend was a true pro. The food was nice everywhere and buffet good quality. Views from there were beautiful. I would go back if they sorted out the restaurants but not until then.