More Traveller Reviews of Elounda Residence Apartments
Better than expected
from LAIJones
Having read the reviews about this Appartment complex I was relieved to find that my expectations were exceeded and the issues other clients had experienced were not experienced by me. We arrived in the early hours of the morning and were shown to our room, the next morning we found that any view the appartment might have had was obliterated by bushes and parked vehicles. However the response to our request to change rooms couldn't have been better and we were offered two choices, which were upgrades ,though we did have to pay E150 we were pleased to do so as our daughter now had a room of her own and was not sleeping on a bed settee. The appartment and facilites were spotlessly clean and the staff very pleasant . My only critisisms are that the food was of poor quality and a kettle and microwave in the room would have been useful, all that was provided was two electric rings and pans for boiling water. The bedding was changed three times in the week and the towles every other day. I would go back to these appartments if returning to Elounda despite it being half way up the mountain, the views are fantastic.
terrible residence
from JamesOsterberg
Stayed for one week at this hotel. Initially the room was woefully inadequate. We booked a self-catering double room. What we got was a very small pokey room with no catering facillities, not even a kettle. After complaining they would not move us to a decent room and thought they could remedy the situation by putting a camping stove and a kettle in the room...Only after 4 days of complaining they tired of fobbing us off (the managers not here, he here later, you come back then etc.....) and moved us to a better room. Admittedly this room was far better. However the hotel is still in a rubbish location up a hill, some way from a decent beach and quite a walk to the town. There must be loads of better places to stay on Crete than this, don't waste your money. Oh and Olympic the travel company were pretty useless in resolving our situation. I wrote a long letter of complaint on our return, no response, I'll never use them again.
leaky hell
from daisypane
Was not told hotel was on a hill so dark when walking back at night.Swimming pool a long way from our department, but worst of all water leaked through our ceiling when bath was empted in appartment above.Hotel were very un helpfull very unfriendly and would not move us to another room.I would not go there again!!!!!!!!
First class Elounda
from cayenne1996
A thoroughly enjoyable holiday made so by the excellent staff, outstanding views from the hotel, lovely & relaxing resort closeby and great for eating in or out! Hotel lays on a shuttle service at 10am & 3pm daily for those who don't want to walk the ten minutes from the resort to the hotel due to a short steep incline and taxis are freely available in the evening anyhow. A nice pleasant location in an A+ resort. Elounda Residence...I'm missing you already!!! Pat Givnan (38) Liverpool - UK
Elounda Magic
from CaptainCook1
My wife and I have visited Crete on holiday every year for the last 17 years and although we are well travelled throughout the world, our most relaxing and wonderful times have been spent in Elounda. We have grown to love the island of Crete. It has a magic all of its own which haunts when you leave and draws you back. For the last six years we have stayed at Elounda Residence situated high up on a hill providing magnificent panoramic views of the whole bay of Elounda from Spinalonga featured in the best seller ‘The Island’ to Aghios Nikolaus and the pink mountains beyond. Our accommodation is a two bedroomed villa with comfortable lounge/kitchen area, bathroom and private plunge pool. We arrange our accommodation direct by fax with the owner, Mr Yiannis Kardoulakis, a warm affectionate character with a great sense of humour. An excellent dinner buffet service is available if required with entertainment once or twice per week. The patio of our villa is spacious with several deck beds for sunbathing next to the pool. A daily maid service is provided and towels and bed linen are changed every second day. The Residence provides good facilities for the whole family including a play area and swimming pool for children. Comfortable apartments are also available. The town of Elounda is at the bottom of the hill providing an excellent range of little shops, supermarkets and tavernas and the whole island of Crete awaits your exploration. We thoroughly recommend the villa accommodation at Elounda Residence but please don’t request Villa No. 5 in September. It is ours for the whole month! And we love it!
Great Holiday
from JHSH
I have to agree with the last review, We were very wary of this hotel after reading the reviews, how ever once we got there we could not have stayed at better place for the money we spent. Our room was clean and spacious. Yes the first week we stayed it was very windy but to blame the hotel for this is ridiculous! It did not disturb us at all and we actually missed it on the calm days. All the staff were friendly and helpful. We had a night flight home and they allowed us to keep our room until we were due to leave for an extra cost but it was worth it. As to the hill issue. My husband and I are in our thirties we went down to the beech every day and walked back up. The first attempt proved how unfit I was; by the end of 2 weeks I had muscles in my legs and managed to get to the top without stopping. There are some people who do not like walking for all of you I would suggest a Taxi anyone else I would recommend the walk not just for the fantastic views but also for your health!!! I would recommend this hotel to anyone who is looking for a relaxing holiday. Julie Harrison
Refreshed and recharged
from Sunsandseaandsex
My girlfirend and I booked to stay for two weeks at the very last minute. We paid 240 quid each and flew from Birmingham overnight. I was very apprehensive of what we might find particularly as I was knackered from the flight and transfer during the night and just keen to have a kip. I had read the reviews after I had booked and was worried about what the residence was going to be like -- I feel that these reviews do paint a fairly bad picture of the place; albeit one member has moaned about the wind -- what a twat; the elements have nothing to do with the hotel. I think that some people are forgetting that each holiday-maker is different, with regards to what they expect. We just wanted a cheap holiday with good weather and good food and that is exactly what we got. I mean no disrespect, but Greece is not exactly notorious for having amazing hotels and top places to stay is it? Our room was ok, apart from the couple shagging next door all night, but that stopped when the girl got injured. She fell out of the bed and broke her ankle, oh, we laughed! The village itself is very quaint, scores of pretty colourful boats are moored along the seafront and coupled with the excellent choice of top-quality restaurants, the evenings were always good fun. The people are friendly, not like in Egypt where they are all pervs and you don't feel safe. The shop-owners do not harass you to try and get you to buy things which made a refreshing change. The hotel is situated very high up on a hill, but after a day of lounging around by the pool and getting fat, a 20-minute walk with fantastic views to the village is lovely; great for working up an appetite. We did, however, get a taxi back to the residence, which was fairly cheap at 5 euros. Overall, we were happy with the holiday and were not dissapointed. We are both in our mid-twenties and although we would not go back, came home feeling refreshed and recharged. I would recommend the Elounda Residence to anyone with an open mind.
Hill and views
from CobblerDave
We stopped at the Elounda Residence for the last 2 weeks of July and had an enjoyable holiday. We booked with Olympic a couple of weeks before departure and got a great value holiday. We were pleased with the room, it was large and clean and everything worked. The maid came every day and mopped the tiled floor and emptied the bins. Towels were changed regularly. The Elounda Residence is different because it is halfway up a very large hill. The walk up the hill could be a bit of a pain at times. The views from the pool area, Restuarant area and our balcony were magnificent. There are 2 roads that lead up to the Residence. The path from the Elounda village square starts off steep and then levels out where as the one from a bit farther along the seafront starts off gradual and finishes steep. Both have a very steep stretch of about 150 yards. It takes about twenty minutes to walk up the hill and about 15 minutes to walk down. A taxi from the village to the residence costs 5 Euro and this is a must after dark as the paths are not well lit. The pool was clean and good size with the surrounding area kept clean. I liked the bar area with the American pianist in the evening, what a character, he worked with many famous hollywood actors on silent movies when he was younger. In the restaurant it was around 7 or 8 euros for a large main course meal off the Carte menu. Much better value than the buffet at 20 Euros. The staff seemed pleasant enough to me. I think 2 of the bar staff who worked very hard were Polish. Elounda is a lovely place with a good beach and harbour plus many Restuarants and quiet bars. We are reasonably fit but nevertheless in our early 50's and we managed to negotiate the hill OK although it was hard work when we once walked up in the midday sun. If you dont fancy the idea of a steep walk to your accommodation then obviously avoid the Residence. For us the views and star gazing were a good reward for the steep climb.
living in a dump
from maltesedustman
On arrival at elounda residence, my wife and myself were shown to our apartment. Having made several trips to Greece in the past ,we understood that the accommodation would be basic, unfortunately a whole lot more basic than we were expecting. The cooker was a dirty old, two ring electric hob . No sign of a kettle, toaster, or bread knife. The bath had been damaged in the past,and had been repaired with fibreglass of some sort. When running the hand held shower(have they not heard of shower brackets), water would proceed to flood the bathroom from a drain in the floor. Drawers in the wardrobe were broken , the bed was akin to sleeping on rough ground because of the lumpy mattress. All this aside, the view from the balcony was fantastic. This was due to the steep climb to get to the apartment. After nine days we decided it was about time the floor of the apartment was cleaned, so i complained at reception whereupon I was offerred a mop so I could do it myself. I declined this most generous offer and indicated it might be a good idea if the cleaners were to attempt it the following day, as "there was nobody available to do it now". At the same time I asked if something could be done about the hundreds of ants that were crawling everywhere, I was immediately given a can of insect spray. I wondered, do they have a recurring problem here. (better ants i suppose than the huge rat one inmate found in her room). Finally, on the last day,I enquired about the availability of a courtesy room as we weren't leaving for a further twelve hours and would need a shower before we left,"you can have shower at side of pool"came the reply. I pointed out ,the sight of a forty five year old ,sixteen stone hunk taking a shower, naked at the side of the pool, would be a sight fit only for my wifes eyes. After much debate(ten seconds)it was decided we could take a shower in our own room as long as we didn't use they're towels or any other part of the room. What a releif......... After speaking with other "guests"it became plain they had also experienced many of the same problems. Four young girls hadn't had clean towels for the duration of their two week holiday. Having said all this I would recomend Elounda to anybody as it is such a pretty place with excellent restaurants and bars, with a very clean beach,Just don't stay at Elouda residence unless you have a masochistic side to you.
Great Time for the $$$
from Spedalker
We stayed at the Residence for 1 week (July 14-21 2006) as part of an Olympic package, and we chose the hotel knowing it would be on an 'incline'. Turned out to be a massive hill but my cardio improved a tonne! It was the first week of our honeymoon so we wanted something nice, but budget. To sum up our experience, Pros: Amazing view Helpful staff Clean room Got a lot of exercise Nice Pool Food was good (only ordered from Kafenion, ate in town most nights) Cons: bugs - not a major issue, but you need to realize you're not in a traditional 'apartment', there is outside access, there are bugs poor self catering facilities (i.e. no kettle, no toaster) It was excellent value for the money, the town was friendly, restaurants abundant, all in all a great week. OK, not a 4 star more like a nice 2 star, but my husband and I have already said we'd go back and stay there again.
More hotel photos
We have recentley returned from the Residence and the best i can say is it has a nice pool. The whole place is in much need of upgrading, our bath (not bathroom) had been painted inside?????? which they had manged to get over half the tiles and this is only one example,... more