Elounda Ilion Hotel Bungalows

Six of us stayed- four adults and two children - in September 2023 for ten days. Fantastic place to stay, family owned and run, friendly staff, views to die for!, big pool and really nice, clean accommodation. We spent many days lounging around the pool as it was so relaxed, but when we did venture out, Elounda village had plenty to do and was a short five minute drive or pleasant 40 minute walk and the larger town, agios nikolaos, was a twenty minute drive away. The buffet breakfast and dinner was also excellent and great value for money-we will all be back in the future!

Positives - Amazing balcony and sea view. - Good breakfast. - Clean. - Nice pool area with lovely views. - Staff who work in the restaurant and bars are lovely and friendly. - Clean room everyday and fresh towels. - Greeted by a lovely man who took are suitcases to our room while we checked in. Negatives - Upon arrival there were three adults staying in one room and the single bed was more of a sofa with a sheet on made to look like a bed. It was uncomfortable and shouldn’t be advertised as a three bed room. - Not enough subbed for guests. - Every time we came up for dinner there was no space for all the guests and when we found a table there no food all the pots were empty. - Food choice not great often the same things every day. - No labels on any of the food choices which makes hard if someone has allergies or intolerances. - No fresh food such as pancakes in the morning as it states an ‘American breakfast’. - Snack choice during the day was extremely limited with 8 sandwiches brought out a time and all have meat in. - On arrival we had a private transfer which I would recommend. However when talking to people who had a coach transfer they were dropped at the bottom of the massive hill up to the hotel and expected to walk and push their suitcases up this hotel is not suitable for less mobile people. - The location of this hotel is very out of the way with the only way to get into the town being a taxi which is €10 there and back unless you want to walk which will take 1 hour. - No beaches around the hotel even though it’s advertised as 200 meters away. Closet beach is in Elounda village which is 2 miles away. - Have to pay for premium spirits and different cocktails. - No card machine to pay for the room tax so bring cash. They like cash! - Advertised with entertainment. Absolutely no entertainment what so ever! At the end of May the most you get is a quiet speaker paying the same 5 songs on loop. - Pool doesn’t open till 10am. - Dinner doesn’t open till 7pm not ideal for children. - Understaffed the poor waiters and waitress are doing 3 people’s jobs and being pointed around by the manager. You can feel the stressful atmosphere at dinner time. - Drinks machine weren’t working on three occasions, no fizzy drinks, no juices, no coffee.

Hotel is somewhat off the beaten track but a nice 30 minute walk into the resort of Elounda with a great selection of restaurants to suit all. Buffet food selection was limited with not much selection to choose from. One important awareness is this hotel is on the side of a hill and is no use for anyone with mobility issues. Entertainment is almost non existent.

What a pleasure it was come back to the Ilion. We had a great 2 weeks of chilling out. We met many of the staff from our visit last year and this made our trip even more pleasurable. Everyone one was so friendly, the food was excellent and the Ilion cocktail was a treat! The big hill is still there but the views are fantastic. We had room 27 again and it felt like coming to our personal holiday home. We have just book next year to celebrate our anniversary again. Thankyou Anna and your team.

In response to general manager, on arrival the gentleman was unaware there was 3 in my party. He was very flustered with checking rooms as if the original room booking was not correct. I did not and repeat did not ask for a change of room on arrival.

It's a lovely hotel but it's definitely not one for anyone who isn't fairly fit. The climb up to reception from the coach drop off point is exhausting although we weren't told of the telephone in a box near the drop off point to call for a ride. The hotel is built on the side of a hill and so either going to breakfast or the pool involves a lot of steps up and down. Reception was very helpful in booking taxis into nearby towns at around 10€ each way. The food was good and the evening buffet was 20€ each. We had a lovely holiday but I probably wouldn't return.

We arrived late and a bit damp as our holiday started with us landing just after a big thunderstorm.. not quite the start to our holiday! The transfer was just about 1hr 20mins. We were dropped off at the bottom of a hill and told to phone reception. A few minutes later, we were picked up and taken to reception.. good job too! It wasn't a long ride but all uphill! Then we were taken to our "bungalow"..which just happened to be the first block from the entrance Lovely room, clean, spacious, plenty of cupboard space, fridge and wonderfully a kettle! Big bed..none of that pushing 2 beds together BUT as with a lot of hotels, guest houses etc, there was a protective lining on the bed beneath the sheet.. it did make the night quite sweaty, and i found that turning over in bed woke me up as i got stuck ‍ There were nearly some puddles as i extracted myself to go to the loo! that aside, bed linens and towels were exchanged every couple of days with rooms cleaned daily. We stayed B&B as we like the choice to eat in different places for lunch and evening meals. Meals were buffet style although i did see that there was an a la carte menu available. Food was excellent. Breakfast choices included 4 different egg options, boiled, fried, scrambled (not that powdered stuff either!) Or in an omelette. Usual continetal with loads of fresh fruit and yoghurt. There was also a corner for those that wanted to try the home country start to the day, which my best beloved had on several mornings.. a dark rusk (dakos) smothered in olive oil, tomato salsa,feta and oregano. Lunch could be had at the pool bar..good menu choices from spaghetti/pizza to fish etc..great club sandwiches fabulous chips.. Evening meals had a pasta dish, meat, fish , various vegetables, choices of salads and wonderful sweets. The chef and kitchen staff put on a series of great xhoices. We asked for a wine recommendation and had that for the rest of our stay. Evening buffet was 25 Euros each. Water and alcohol not included. The pool area is immaculate, plenty of sunbeds and parasols - i spied a pool table and easy chairs in the shade, there is a lovely area to sit and look at the stars at night too. All the staff we met were fabulous, open , friendly, lovely smiles and nothing was too much trouble. We did have to pay for a safe key and to hire beach towels, but those costs were minimal.. better to pay 3 euros a towel than not get everything you want in your case! I would say that this is not somewhere to stay if you struggle with mobility. The hotel has an amazing outlook as it is built on the side of a hill. So a quick work out for the glutes and hamstrings before our walk into Elounda or to the bus stop daily! There are steps from the path to reception, the restaurant and pool. It took me over a week to be able to walk from our room to the restaurant without stopping.. but he, the views along the wsy were stunning.. The walk into Elounda is 2km to the sign, with a further 1/2km to the

A really welcoming, immaculately clean hotel far enough away from Elounda that is is really peaceful and quiet. But near enough (10 Euro in lovely, air-conditioned friendly taxi's) to a lot of reasonably priced, good quality restaurants. The staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about the area. We had a sea facing bungalow and the view across the gulf of Elounda are breathtaking. Rooms are spotless and the housekeeping team are just lovely. We ate breakfast and an occasional evening meal and were really impressed with the food. Fresh, tasty and excellent quality. It has the feel of a small, family run hotel. I will definitely be returning to the Elounda Ilion. Thank you to the whole team for a wonderful holiday.

Our stay here was everything we had hoped for and more being first time visitors to Crete . The views from the hotel and our sea view balcony were absolutely breathtaking and the staff amazing, so friendly yet professional too in everything they do. We were made to feel most welcome on our arrival and with it being 9 pm the staff made sure we got something to eat and prioritised this before we checked into our room. The food was always delicious and plentiful, we stayed half board and were not disappointed , credit to the chef . One thing I was a little worried about prior to our visit was the distance into Elounda,we needn’t have worried it was 25 minutes pleasant walk for us to the outskirts of the village and the views more than make up for not being in the centre. Cannot fault the hotel on any level they just get it right in every way . As my husband and I said it’s just so special and we will be back as soon as possible