Elounda Aqua Sol Resort

We have just returned from our holiday at the Aqua Sol Elounda, we booked it with Libra holidays which we found to be the cheapest (not a bad company to book with) we travelled with XL Airline from East Midland Airport, XL Airline are the worst airline that I have flown with, the legroom is extremely poor and uncomfortable, the inflight meals were poor and we had a six and a half hour delay when we returned home!!! I have travelled with many Airlines and XL Airlines are definately the worst so far. The Aqua Sol Resort was a good hotel, we had the all inclusive package, the food was ok but as it was buffet style it was like being in a canteen, there was plenty of choice at breakfat but the lunch and dinner appeared to be a bit repetative. The staff at the hotel were very friendly and helpful. We went into some restaurants in Elounda, there are some goods ones there especially Magaro(excellent food/service) next to the floating restaurant. We had a sea view bungalow(these are not bungalows as we know them in England but they are like an apartment ) this had a good sea view, room 4307 was clean and spacious. This hotel had many nationalities staying there but mainly French,all the entertainment was spoken in French. There isn't a lot to do for children. The down side to this hotel is that you have to walk approx 15 mins to the nearest beach which is stony,due to the expensive hotels claiming the sea front. The hotel is a good base to travel from but transport is needed.(car or bus). The local bus service is regular to various parts of the island and is also cheap. Aghios Nicholaos is 12 euros and elounda is 6 euros by taxi. We went to Spinalonga - 10 Euros from Elounda port. Also we went to Santorini with the tour company we set off at 5.15a.m. and travelled on a big ship called the Golden Prince this took 4 hours to get there and the same coming back we got back to the hotel at 11.30p.m. this trip cost 94 euros (it was a good trip to do ). I would say this is a nice place to go to if you don't mind that there isn't a lot of British people there and very little entertainment (the entertainment they do at the hotel is spoken in French). I would rate the hotel as a 3*+ not a 4* as stated. although I would go back as Elounda is a lovely place. . . . . .

The good points. The hotel was lovely and had been recently refurbished. There are now two pools + a childrens pool. The hotel rooms were of a very high standard and air conditioned - which is provided free of charge. The food was great and there was enough variety for all of us. Some people complained as chips are not available every day! Try some of the speciality dishes as these were superb. The staff were friendly and helpful. Note if you are are on an all inclusive basis and arrive after midnight if you do not have a snack on arrival your AI lasts until you leave and not until check out time. The downside The resort is a good 20 minute walk out of Elounda however its an ok walk or taxis are very cheap. There is no complimentary bus even though some tour operators say there is. We had hired a car so this was not a problem. The guests at the hotel are predominately french so the entertainment is provided in french. This was disappointing. The kids club is also predominately french however, they do make other nationalities very welcome and my 4 yr old had a good time. I would definately recommend the hotel as a good value for money .

After booking a bungalow at this hotel, I then found this website and read the reviews. I was a bit worried after reading that this hotel wasn't really family and child friendly. My husband, me and our 6 year son arrived quite late to a friendly welcome. We had out first meal in the restuarant and after a very tiring day travelling we were very happy with the choice of food. We were half board and we couldn't fault the breakfasts and evening meals one bit. The variety was excellent and even found something each day for our very choosy 6 year old to enjoy!! All the staff were very pleasant and helpful. I read another review as to the dress in the restaurant, we had no problems wearing shorts and even flip flops, so maybe that strictness of dress has eased a bit. We were there for a relaxing holiday and that is just what we got. Our son was quite happy in the pool and the beach at Elounda where we snorkled and found lots of fish, so the fact that the kids club was all in french was not a problem for us. I suppose if you have more than one child and want to use the kids club it's not for you, as it is all catered for the French. We hired a car which we found essential as it is a long walk to Elounda. Overall this was a very relaxing holiday which we all enjoyed and would recommend it. We would visit again.

Surfed the net for a suitable family resort in Crete. This hotel didn't get much of a good report from previous tripadvisor members. We took the chance & booked it! Upon arrival at the hotel, (2am), we were quickly checked in, asked if we were hungry, offered some beverages & then quickly shown to our room. Took breakfast later on that morning. Everything was freshly cooked. Nice crusty bread, cereals & fresh fruit. Full english brekkie also on offer.. This continued for the whole week we were there. Friendly smiling staff, quick to say 'Kalimera'... We were on half board which was good, cos we could have a snack around the pool at lunch & enjoy the themed buffet in the evening. Plenty of ice cream on show for the kids.. They were very happy... Dined out a few nights, which was excellent. The local fishing village of Elounda a fantastic setting for fresh fish... Rcommend the hotel to anyone looking for a getaway, with or with out the kids...

We booked a last minute offer with Gulet, not knowing which hotel we would end up in. All we knew was it was going to be a category A hotel with All inclusive. The second we walked through the door I told my mom this couldn't be an A category hotel. And the worse was yet to come. We had to wait for 2 hours to get our rooms. When we got it they were a mess - light switch hanging of the wall, stains, broken furniture, cracks, dirt. And we had one of the best rooms in the hotel. The pool was more like a children's pool - way too small for this hotel. It was filthy. But we couldn't escape to the beach cause that was even worse - small pier between the walls of two de luxe hotels. Boats were parked there, no beach bar at all etc. The sunbeds were all rusty and broken. The choice of food was small but it was still the best thing about this hotel. Elounda is a 30-minute walk away - the hotel is in the middle of nowhere. We rented a car to escape to some nicer beaches and foun an amazing secluded bay just a few kilometers away. We are still trying to get our money back for what surely wasn't a category A hotel.

The Aqua Sol was perfect for us, as we wanted an all inclusive, quiet sunshine holiday away from the hustle and bustle of the busier resorts. The transfer is a long one even from Heraklion, and the roads arent for the faint hearted! Can take over two hours! But, it was well worth the drive. This is not a beach hotel by the way - it is next to a cluster of very exclusive hotels just to the South of Elounda village and suited us fine, but the private 'beach' is small and scruffy, half a K from the Hotel itself, but boy is the water clear and warm. The 'Bungalow' rooms nearly all manage a view over the sea and are actually two stories aand not bungalows at all, more like mini apartments. We didnt spend much time in the room, which was plain and functional, everything worked fine, especially the A.C.! The guests were mainly French who didnt respond to English conversation at first, but once I'd hashed up some schoolboy French with a lot of pointing we all got along fine. The food - ah the food..... What an excellent and tasty choice - so many great Greek dishes as well as French and international - I could go on about the food all day -but for gods sake dont wear shortsand tee shirt for dinner - you will be turfed out immediately - you do need to dress smart casual in the evenings and we advise you to pack some long trousers and a couple of smart shirts / tops as it's the same in the bars. Some of the guests were a bit snooty, but I learnt to ignore them. You can walk into Elounda, but it's a fair way and if you walk there on your first day, do slap the factor 50 on your neck, calves and extremities as you will seriously burn - even at 5 in the evening. Elounda is quite alright for bars and restaurants. I was glad we were All In as they were quite expensive - but looked great if you can afford it, especially the seafood ones. I can recommend the 4WD Safari into the interior - its a must if you dont mind being thrown around in the back of a landrover - if you want to go to Heraklion or Knossos, bus it or hire a car for the day - dont do the excursion as you will spend 4 or 5 hours of your day picking up and dropping off the others!! We would definitely go back - great staff - very helpful and the Manager was a Gent. Hope this review helps. Richard

We didn't get off to a good start - our luggage was dumped at the end of the (long)hotel drive in the middle of the road leaving us with 3 cases, 2 children & various bits & pieces in the searing afternoon heat. Our "well furnished and spacious bungalow" was a room not big enough to swing the proverbial cat, with 4 beds squashed into said space. We had to wait 3 days for a room change - this time a "luxuriously furnished suite", which meant to say sparcely furnished rooms with 1 bed in one & 3 in the other, which we took as we are quite adept at moving furniture! Unfortunately this suite had no water if you wanted to shower before dinner, the loo took a noisy half hour to fill the cystern so best not flush it if you took a wee in the middle of the night, the hairdryer was held together with plastic tape, not nearly enough storage for 4 people,etc.,etc. The entertainment was geared wholly to French people - in fact you couldn't get in the pool some days for aqua gym/volley ball/aqua gym/volley ball - all conducted in French and accompanied by music all day. There was nowhere quiet to get away. The evenings were much the same - in French for the French apart from an amateur cabaret and a Greek evening - introduced by the aforementioned French! Oh yes, the mini club - French-all day; English-1 hour, and heaven help if your children were any other nationality. Bars - only ever 1 open at any one time. The beach bar was non existent because they didn't have a license for it. Restaurants - not an abundance as described in the brochure, but basically 1 that served stuff from breakfast at the poolside bar, then again from lunch if you were all inclusive or you could pay for a different menu otherwise. Another restaurant near reception was never open because it apparently didn't even belong to the hotel! There were also so many stairs to get from one place to another, this would be a no no for anyone with walking difficulties. The up side? Our 6 & 9 year olds had fun, the sun shone and we eventually came home!!

We stayed at the Aqua Sol in mid September 2003. It is a lovely hotel, newly renovated clean rooms (small) with air con, TV & Fridge. We got put in a ground floor room originally with garden views but got moved to a higher room with fantastic views of Elounda Bay after a small complaint due to the Hotel also not being too full. Pool area was lovely, we found the tennis courts easily, don't know how the other person didn't. We were half board, plenty of choice for breakfasts, cooked food, cereals, greek yoghurts, fruit etc. Evening meals very nice, don't expect all English food though and I would say this isn't geared up for children either, a hotel for couples. The resort was about a 20-25 minute walk or 5 minute taxi ride away and was beautiful and picturesque with a small beach, not for people wanting a lively holiday, but a few bars and restaurants, lovely for relaxing.

About the 'resort', the Elounda Aqua Sol Resort is a nice, clean, basic hotel. I was only disappointed because I was expecting so much more having looked at their website. The lounge, reception area is really nice (just like the photos), but the rest of the hotel is quite basic. The rooms are clean and comfortable, but the bathrooms are very small. There are no coffee/tea facilities in the room.My main gripe is as follows. The resort advertises several restaurants: an outside cafe (which was closed due to weather it was beautiful outside! I say it was closed due to lack of staff/business), the pool restaurant (nice, but expensive. And the one day we ate there they werent serving from their menu, but only serving what was suspiciously similar to the previous nights buffet), the beach-side restaurant (again closed the entire time), and the main restaurant. The main restaurant was really THE only option as the other places were closed and the pool bar was only open for lunch. I was not happy about this as the deciding factor for choosing this hotel (other than the Blue Bay Resort) was the choice in restaurants hmm. Having said this, the main dining room served excellent food every night and the staff was fantastic!There were little things that bothered me about the hotel too. For instance, the pool table (that you paid to use) was missing balls, the tennis courts could not be found, the pool was not fresh-water as advertised (but salt water), and the drinks were pricey. The hotel was newly renovated so it was very clean and nice, yet stark. The hotel really lacked any charm or atmosphere as it looked like a newly painted house with no paintings, plants, or decorations.Now the good things. The staff was absolutely fantastic, the food in the only restaurant was great, and the rooms were clean. Is this a resort I dont think so. Dont expect luxury and you will be satisfied. It is a nice, clean, basic hotel Id rate it a 2-3 star.