Aquila Elounda Village Resort, Suites & Spa

This is a lovely hotel built in the style of a Greek village going down a hill to the sea. Our room was modern with a lovely sea view. The buffet breakfast and evening buffet meal in the main restaurant were very good as were the other restaurants. The staff were excellent and went out of their way to make out stay enjoyable.

This was our second time at Equila Elounda village and it was amazing, slightly cooler (high 20's) than our visit last July which meant we felt like doing more than just lounge by the sea. We traveled with Jet2 from Bournemouth and stayed in a Deep Blue waterfront bungalow suite for 2 weeks. This is a great hotel, adults only, always feels peaceful, beautifully maintained and just so relaxing. The care and hospitality from all the staff was outstanding, such lovely people who made us feel at home. The location is excellent, Elounda village with boats to Spinalonga, shops and places to eat is a 40 minute walk or a 10 minute taxi. We also went to Plaka (beautiful) and Agios Nikolaus which has lots of shops and places to eat. Taxis are an excellent way to get around and good value. Most days we spent time by the sea, reading, snorkeling and relaxing, lazy but much needed! One day, we did a 4x4 day trip into the mountains, with stunning views and wildlife, a fantastic way to see the real Crete and highly recommended. We had a massage in the hotel Spa with Sofia and Maria, thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing. Evenings were spent eating in one of the restaurants and enjoying the late September weather. We booked a VIP transfer with Jet2 but I'm sure a coach transfer would be fine, just perhaps take a little longer. A top tip is to book the VIP lounge at Heraklion airport for the return flight. Heraklion is due to be replaced by a new airport in 2027/8 and is very run down. It was relatively quiet in September but in July it was hot, crowded and unpleasant. The VIP lounge cost around 60 Euro a head and for us, worth every penny to avoid queues. Jet2 and Bournemouth airport were both excellent, would happily use both again. We can't wait to return which I guess is the best recommendation you could have

Maria and elina and Vaggelis were brilliant as we're all of the staff. We had 3 treatments during our stay and they were very professional friendly and experts at relaxing us

Beautiful hotel. Our second visit and the perfect retreat for a couple to relax!

Our first visit, but hopefully not our last. The hotel is set on a hillside in a beautiful location. The food is great and the hard working staff, who are all so friendly, can't do enough to make sure you're having a good time and all your needs and wants are met. Thank you so much to everyone.

Recently returned from Aquila Elounda following a 7 night break and my first observation is that although advertised as an All Inclusive hotel that is not the case. There are three A la carte restaurants, Mirabello, Symposium and Chef’s Grill. In the Mirabello and Symposium there are some basic choices that are included but the majority of dishes you have to pay 75% of the cost, such as Ribeye steak 29.3 euro or Grouper 8.3 euro per 100grams. In the Chef’s Grill none of the main courses are included, all items are charged per 100gram at 75% of the full price. In the Buffet restaurant the choice of main dishes is limited but the spread of salad and desserts was impressive. They make a thing about the Fish Night and the Gala night, we found there was less fish on the Fish Night than on a normal evening, with nothing like prawns or choice of fish offered. The Gala night was held outside the Mirabello restaurant and was well laid out but the food was similar to the Buffet. The majority of the drinks are also not included and again are subject to 75% of the bar price. There are only two bars, The Lobby bar and the Beach bar. They are never open together, the Lobby bar is only open 18.00 – 00.30 and the Beach bar is open 10.30 – 18.00 which means that if you’re in the hotel during the day there is nowhere, except at the beach, to get a drink ! The hotel is perched on a cliff over the sea and the steps to get down to the Beach bar are steep with more steps that need negotiating to get down to the tiny “beach”. The App (Aquila Hotels) is needed to book any of the restaurants and is useful to see menu’s and get info about the hotel. Taking all the points above into consideration we still had a good holiday, we fortunately booked a Mythica Junior Suite with sea view and had a great room, because some of the other rooms around the hotel looked a bit restricted for both view and privacy. The staff throughout the hotel were brilliant with a smile and good cheer at all times which must be difficult.

Last day and honestly I think we’ll be back! The location and service from many of the staff make this place pretty special. Ok, it’s not perfect and there a few things that would have made it 5 star (for us!) namely a gym with free weights and maybe fresh bedding every..But anytime we had an issue they were on hand to help or sort it quickly! Other than the suggestion above they really could do With welcome packs! We only realised it had a pool table and darts board for those quieter evenings on our last evening! People lovely! Place lovely and location stunning!

So many things about this hotel are wonderful . Unfortunately there are some minor frustrating little things that could be easily sorted , but become quiet annoying on a holiday . The rooms, gardens and food are great , and the staff are super friendly and helpful . I would question whether the staff struggle to cope with their workload and how busy the restaurant and bars are , as so many things , like attention to detail seem to suffer. Long waits for drinks to be served . Tables only partly set , with items of cutlery missing ( we had to ask for spoons , forks or teaspoons everyday ) Tea and coffee in your room , but no milk left when replenished, so we had to go down to reception and ask nearly everyday . Other things that seem to cause long queues- one toaster for over 400 guests ! Not enough sun beds by the pool or beach , resulting in guests reserving sun beds at 7am in the morning ! All fairly minor things, but they do tend to spoil an otherwise fabulous hotel

I visited the spa today and had a Cretan body scrub and also a deep tissue massage. Vagelis was my therapist and he was extremely professional and the massage was amazing. Thank you so much.

Spa treatment organised by Eleanna was a delight. The private spa area at this hotel is a real gem. The Cretan massage with the gifted therapist Vaggelis was really exceptional. A professional and kind person with excellent healing hands. The welcome drink and tea served afterwards were much appreciated. Thoroughly pampered.