Elounda Mare

An exceptional 5-star hotel in Elounda! We had a wonderful stay, with outstanding service, elegant surroundings, and excellent hospitality. Every detail was thoughtfully taken care of, making the experience truly special. The beautiful location, relaxing atmosphere, and warm, attentive staff made our stay unforgettable. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a luxurious and memorable getaway in Elounda Mate Hotel!

First off, there is no disputing that the location in Crete is wonderful. We were drawn here by that and also its affiliation with a luxury brand we know well and respect—-Relais and Chateaux. Thus I reluctantly write to warn others about our experience here. We booked a three night stay in a luxury private pool unit. It looked beautiful at first glance despite the impending wet weather. We never expected the unit to leak whenever the rain was falling! Normally we might laugh this off, call housekeeping and carry on. In this instance the rain flooded into the marble floor bathroom and in the middle of the night, entry in the dark was ultra hazardous. Sitting on the toilet with water on the floor when you got there, was not enjoyable. Housekeeping responded and used a bunch of towels to dry the floor. All good??? Not quite. Repeat the second day with even more water invading the bathroom. When housekeeping responded the next time, they told us that this happens all the time in room 48. Lucky us! Why would managment put guests into this suite knowing this and knowing that rain was forecast for the next couple of days. When I complained at the front desk, I was contacted later and we were offered a free lunch. Since we had plans during the day to be off resort, we requested a dinner at a specific restaruant on site that we had not been to. After consulting the manager we were told that dinner on them would only happen the in the restaurant where we had our first dinner. (a 90 Euro pp buffet. That was not a good dining experience (food cold, the special dish ordered from the menu was from the buffet etc.) We both agreed not to go go back there. On the third day, sunny and dry. Time to enjoy a deep soak in the lovely bathtub. Shockingly, the tub leaked like a sieve and really flooded the bathroom with a quarter inch of water. No one ever explained why this happened and housekeeping responded yet again to dry up the floors. Not the way to end a hot soak in your room! Never during the stay were we offered compensation or another comparable room or any other room that did not leak. On a positive note, we loved the spa (although it is also in need of some TLC upgrade) and my wife enjoyed a massage. On checking out I noticed they charged us for the water we had with our free dinner. I thought that 17 euro charge was rich given our water complaints and they did take it off the bill. My comment to the desk clerk remains true—-you have created unhappy customers in a place and with a brand where that simply should not happen. I will contact Relais and Chataux also because this place should not be using that brand until the managment recognizes they need to invest in the space and to learn to treat customers who come from across the globe to stay there thinking the experience would be FIRST CLASS.

Beautiful property and wonderful views, but not quite a five-star experience We stayed at Relais & Châteaux Elounda Mare for five nights with our family. Overall, we had a very enjoyable stay, but unfortunately there are a few areas that prevent us from giving the hotel five stars. Although the hotel is relatively old, it certainly does not feel outdated. The property is very well maintained, the rooms are comfortable and the hotel offers an impressive range of facilities. We were fortunate to receive an upgrade to a beautiful room with a private pool and an absolutely phenomenal view over the sea. A real highlight of our stay. There are, however, two areas that seriously need improvement. The first is food and beverage, particularly breakfast. For a hotel of this standard, the quality of some of the breakfast products simply isn't good enough. More importantly, the breakfast room is far too small for the number of guests. This results in queues in the morning and tables being positioned much too close together. Instead of starting the day in a relaxed atmosphere, breakfast can feel unnecessarily stressful. We were also disappointed by the price-quality ratio of the restaurants, especially the buffet restaurant. At this level and these prices, we simply expected considerably better. The second issue is the gym. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near the standard you would expect from a luxury resort. The equipment is old and, during our stay, there were two large buckets positioned in the middle of the gym to catch water from leaks. That really shouldn't happen in a hotel of this calibre. There is a lot to like about Elounda Mare: a beautiful property, fantastic views, comfortable rooms and a huge range of facilities. We genuinely enjoyed our five nights here. But considering its positioning and price level, the breakfast, restaurant offering and gym need improvement before we could consider it a true five-star experience.

What a wonderful gem of a hotel. The location, right on the sea with fabulous views, is spectacular! The hotel itself is wonderful - all the facilities you could possibly need for a relaxing or active stay as you wish. We chose relaxing! Staff were exceptional. Food was wonderful especially the Old Mill and the Yacht club. Highly recommend!

The Elounda Mare is a wonderful hotel but it's the staff that make your trip special! We spent 7 nights in a superior suite on the 5th floor which was bright, airy and had amazing views! Every member of staff we came into contact with was helpful, friendly and did everything they could to make our stay memorable. Thank you for a great stay. We had a wonderful time and...we will be back! xx