Domes of Elounda Greece Review: Restaurants, Rooms & Pools

As part of our honeymoon in Crete, we looked at a variety of hotels that we hoped would fit into our criteria. We wanted a luxury five-star hotel in Crete that we could spend our days exploring and lounging around in. We also wanted great food, and a mix of beach and pool to dip between. Excellent weather would be a bonus. Domes of Elounda Greece, hit the nail on the head in every single category that we desired and has left a favourable impression upon us that we’re already considering a repeat visit next year.

Domes of Elounda is spread across a vast site and being collected by buggy was a particular highlight for getting around from place to place. The location of the hotel is absolutely gorgeous, built into the Cretean hills and selecting tones where the buildings seamlessly blend into the arid landscape, it’s hard to find a single fault with the design.

The professionalism of the staff is a particular highlight at Domes of Elounda. Warm, welcoming and seeking to ensure that their guests have a wonderful time, you’ll encounter smiling staff who are happy to provide guidance and assistance on booking restaurants or offering suggestions on what to do. The staff of Domes of Elounda embodies 5-star service, and it shows in every single member of staff. The housekeeping staff were fantastic and very sweet, as were the buggy staff who whizzed us around the resort.

We spent five nights in Domes of Elounda Autograph Collection Greece, and loved every second of our stay. We booked a Core Open Plan room that sat at the top of the resort and had breathtaking views across to the island of Spingalonga. The Core Open Plan room was truly spectacular, and we spent our evenings on our gigantic terrace reading our books and admiring the view across to Spinalonga and the nearby town of Elounda. At the entrance, there was a private whirlpool that we used once (and wasn’t that much of a selling point for us, to be honest). The large bedroom had ample space, and the bathroom was almost as large as the bedroom. When we moved to our next accommodation, we were really disappointed with our hotel room as we had been completely spoiled by the size of the rooms in Domes of Elounda Crete.

Who Is Domes of Elounda Best Suited For?

Domes of Elounda Crete is perfect for everyone. Although we were a couple, we saw families of multiple generations enjoying the resort, as well as numerous solo travellers. I messaged my girlfriends and highlighted to them and their young families how perfect Domes of Elounda would be for them, with a Kids Club, child-friendly meal times and transport buggies to get around; it appeared heavily family-focused.

That doesn’t mean that the adults-only Domes of Elounda sections are ignored. In fact, I thought that the hotel balanced both aspects really well. It was nice to be able to have two adults-only pools to choose from, as well as a section of the beach that had beach beds.

Domes of Elounda Restaurants

At Domes of Elounda, there is a variety of restaurants throughout the resort. There are five restaurants across the Domes of Elounda resort, and although we didn’t eat in every single one, you could split the duration of your stay exploring the various menus and offerings around the resort. The restaurants do require a reservation, and the staff will advise you to plan your bookings at the various restaurants to avoid disappointment. At reception, there is a daily restaurant concierge who can help with bookings.

Antonio’s

An Italian-style restaurant serving pizzas and pastas, Antonio’s is located at the family pool. There is a small store here to pick up extra water and snacks. The location of our room meant that we had our breakfast in Antonio’s every morning, and it was really lovely.

Tholos

Tholos, during the evenings, serves the hotel’s dinner buffet. With views across the water to the island of Spinalonga, I found the food in the buffet to be surprisingly good. The items change every night, so buffet fatigue doesn’t seem to hit. The quality of the food was consistent, and it was only on our last night, which happened to be the busiest, that the buffet appeared to be running out of food, and the attention to detail slipped. For the most part, the staff were incredibly attentive and the food was really solid. I don’t have anything to compare against, as this was my first buffet half-board dining option that I’ve ever done.

Vilebrequin La Plage Beach Club Elounda

Serving lunch on at their gorgeous beachside location, Vilebrequin La Plage Beach Club has a long pier to dine on, or under the canopy of the restaurant. The menu at Vilebrequin Beach Club is slightly varied from the other restaurants at Domes of Elounda, and you can also order some items to your sun lounger on the beach. I thought the food at Vilebrequin La Plage Beach Club was very good, albeit expensive. The portion sizes are substantial, so that does make up for the prices. The setting of the restaurant is gorgeous and it’s a shame that it is so windy, otherwise it would be a perfect evening setting.

CORE

An open concept food truck space with themed nights, such as a BBQ night, CORE is close to the nearby family pool at Domes of Elounda. There are a couple of food trucks serving different cuisines, as well as cute little stores to shop in. We didn’t dine here, but it looked really cute and a great choice for families with live entertainment and themed nights.

Makris

Makris is Domes of Elounda’s fine dining restaurant. With a menu created by a Michelin-star-winning chef, Makris promises a culinary journey that will make your stay at Domes of Elounda even more memorable. We had a booking for the restaurant; however, there seems to be a glitch in the system, and our reservation was lost. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to try Makris, but it did look like a fabulous experience.

Half Board or Full Board at Domes of Elounda Autograph Collection Greece?

When booking, you’ll be offered a range of options, from a standard breakfast plan to options that include half board or full board. This was my first time staying at a hotel where we had purposefully selected a half-board option. In our stay at Domes of Elounda, our plan included a daily buffet dinner at the Tholos restaurant, as well as breakfast. We were also given €20 off the à la carte menu in Makris restaurant, as well as CORE.

Is Domes of Elounda Autograph Collection Greece adults only?

No, Domes of Elounda is not Adults Only, however, they do have two adults-only pools at Domes of Elounda Autograph Collection and a section of the Vilebrequin La Plage Beach Club Elounda, which has dedicated beds that are adults only.

The two adult-only pools are located quite a distance from the family pool, and both offer table service to order drinks and food from.

The adult pool at the main reception is not heated, and there are around 20 beds to choose from. This is a good spot if you don’t want to go down to the nearby Vilebrequin La Plage Beach Club, or fancy a break from the family pool.

The second adult pool at Domes of Elounda is located beside the Makris Restaurant, and this section of the resort if exclusively adults only. The accommodation in this area of Domes of Elounda has adults-only private pools and uninterrupted views across to Spinalonga. It is a little further from the ‘main resort’, but a quick call to reception to send a buggy and you’ll be collected shortly later. I loved this adults-only pool because it had cabana beds, a pool bar, and, more importantly, it was heated.

Facilities at Domes of Elounda

With its spread-out resort, you’ll constantly be discovering things around every corner. We stumbled upon the outside Gym on our last day by chance. When you check into the hotel, you’ll be given a brief overview of the Domes of Elounda resort, restaurants and features. And there is a LOT of information to take in. We came away slightly frazzled at the sheer amount of information, and had to call up reception once we had checked into our room and ask where exactly we were located in the resort.

With a spa, outdoor gym, kids club, tennis courts and activities to enjoy throughout the day and evening. We went to a talk organised by Domes of Elounda that explained the history of the area and that of the island of Spinalonga.

Where Is Domes of Elounda Autograph Collection?

Located on the island of Crete and situated between the towns of Elounda and Plaka, Domes of Elounda Autograph Collection Greece sits in the perfect spot, almost opposite the famed former leper colony of Spinalonga. The views are wonderful, and it’s worth picking up Victoria Hislop’s The Island for a fictionalised account of life on the island during its time as a leper colony. It was pretty fun to read the book as you’re sitting facing the island and envisioning life on the island and nearby towns.

Domes of Elounda is around a 1-hour drive from Heraklion Airport and 20 minutes from the larger town of Agios Nikolaos.

Day Trips from Domes of Elounda

One of the biggest draws to the area is the island of Spinalonga. A former leper colony from 1903 until 1957, Spinalonga was seen as a scourge to those who lived in the area around Plaka and Elounda. The fear of contamination was prevalent until a cure was found in the 1950s and the island shut down. It’s a beautiful island and was used as a naval base by the Venetians when they controlled the island. Nowadays, those who have read Victoria Hislop’s The Island flock to Spinalonga and examine the remains of the inhabitants’ lives and homes, and reimagine life as a leper on the former colony.

Boats depart for Spinalonga from Plaka every 30 minutes and is a 3-minute drive from Domes of Elounda. You can also book a boat to take you from the hotel’s pier to the island, bypassing the tourist boats and other passengers.

Domes of Elounda Review Wrap Up

We loved our five nights in Domes of Elounda. I’d like to think we have quite high standards when it comes to staying in five-star hotels. One of the cons that we experienced if we needed to find something to judge against is the limited buggy service. There were often times at reception when we were waiting for buggies to come down for around 10 minutes. And whilst that’s not a long time, we stayed in Domes of Elounda Crete during the month of May when it was fairly quiet around the resort. That was our only gripe that we had.

Our stay was fantastic, with warm, friendly staff, delicious food and adult-only options. I’m confident that we’ll be returning in years to come.

If you’re looking for a five-star hotel in Santorini, check out my in-depth review of Canaves Oia.

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Disclaimer: Real-life human experiences. Written by a human. Created for humans. (Travels at Missy does not use AI for our articles. All posts and information are 1st hand experience. AI data-scrapping tools are expressly forbidden from using Travels with Missy content for AI Training).