Elounda Gulf Villas
Elounda Gulf Villas is a small five-star villa-hotel set on a steep hillside above the Gulf of Mirabello in north-east Crete, looking across the water to Spinalonga island. Thirty-three suites and private-pool villas, a childcare team for young children and a private beach club reached by shuttle make it a quiet, spread-out base for a family that wants its own space and its own pool.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who it suits, how it's laid out and the facts to skim first.
Elounda Gulf Villas is a small, private sort of five-star, where the draw is your own villa and pool over the scale and buzz of a big resort. Thirty-three suites and villas share a steep hillside above the sea, so the grounds stay quiet and you rarely queue for a sunbed. In return you accept two things: the beach is a short shuttle ride away rather than at the bottom of the garden, and the terrain is steep, managed by a golf buggy that carries you around the site. Dining is bed and breakfast with one restaurant, not all-inclusive, though villas come with a full kitchen. It suits a family that wants space, privacy and a pool of their own, and would rather have that than a beachfront and a run of restaurants.
Best for
You want a villa with its own pool, sea views and room to spread out, a quiet base rather than a big resort, plus childcare for young children.
Maybe not for
You want to walk straight onto a beach, you need flat ground with a pram, or you're after all-inclusive dining and a lively resort.
Best ages
Babies upwards. A paid crèche takes one to three year olds, a free club runs from four, and villas add a kitchen and a washing machine.
What stands out
Thirty-three suites and villas only, most with their own pool and a view across the gulf to Spinalonga. Guests single out the staff by name.
What to check
The villa pool's heating and a toddler pool fence at booking, plus whether a two-floor villa's internal stairs suit your baby.
Where is it?
On a hillside above the Gulf of Mirabello in north-east Crete, about 40 miles (65 km) from Heraklion airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where it sits, how it's spread across the slope and how you get around it.
Elounda Gulf Villas sits on a steep hillside above the Gulf of Mirabello, on the north-east coast of Crete, with Spinalonga island in view across the water. It's a small five-star hotel: thirty-three places in all, made up of eighteen private-pool villas and fifteen suites, so it never holds more than thirty-three sets of guests at once. That's the point of it. The pools and grounds stay quiet, and families regularly have the main pool more or less to themselves.
The suites are in the main hotel building near the communal pool and the restaurant. The villas are terraced down the slope, each with its own pool and outdoor space. They're well separated, but they share walls rather than standing fully alone, so a noisy neighbour can occasionally be heard. Most villas are on two floors, with the living room, kitchen and pool on one level and the bedrooms up a flight of internal stairs.
The hillside is the thing to plan around. It's a real gradient, and in summer heat the walk up from the lower villas is hard work. The hotel runs a golf buggy, a small electric cart, on call from the front desk to carry you and your bags between reception, your villa and the pool and restaurant. A pram or pushchair is manageable with the buggy doing the climbs, but the internal villa stairs and the slope both take thought if you're travelling with a baby and a lot of kit. Disabled access is listed among the facilities, though the hotel doesn't set out which rooms or areas are adapted, so ask directly if step-free access matters.
It began as a family-run hotel and is now part of the Sandglass collection. For the wider island, its beaches and when to go, see our Crete guide.
Every restaurant and bar
Where you eat on the hillside and down at the beach, and how the board works.
Eating here is smaller than at a big resort. There's one restaurant, Argo, its poolside lounge bar and the food service down at the beach club, so variety over a longer stay comes from the menu rather than a choice of restaurants. A second restaurant called Daphni still appears on some booking sites and older reviews, described as an evening-only fine-dining option, but it isn't listed on the hotel's own website alongside Argo. Plan around the one restaurant, especially if you're staying more than a few nights and want variety, rather than counting on Daphni being open when you book.
Argo Restaurant is the main place to eat, on the terrace by the communal pool with a sea view. The cooking is Mediterranean and international, built around organic Cretan produce, local fish and herbs. It serves a breakfast buffet from 08:30 to 11:00, all-day dining from 12:00 to 16:00 and an à la carte dinner from 19:00 to 21:30, with a smart-casual dress code in the evening. Breakfast is one of the things guests praise most. There's a children's menu and high chairs, and tables sit among olive trees, lit by candles at night, which suits an early sitting with young children. Some dishes carry a surcharge on top of your board.
Argo Lounge Bar is next to the restaurant by the pool, open all day for coffee, juices and smoothies, cocktails and light nibbles.
The beach club has its own tavern-style food and drink, with lunch and refreshments and staff bringing drinks and fresh fruit to the sunbeds. It's the lighter, more casual option for a day by the sea.
How eating and board work
Bed and breakfast is the standard basis and there's no all-inclusive option. Room service is available across every room and villa category, not only the villas with their own kitchen. Because every villa has a full kitchen, villa guests can also self-cater, and the hotel can send a private chef to cook in your villa instead. Restaurant tables, in-villa dining and chef hire are all arranged with the hotel directly rather than through an app, so contact them to set these up.
Rooms and suites
Every suite and villa with its official size, the pools across the slope and the beach below.
There are ten room types, from suites in the main building to standalone villas with their own pool and, at the top, in-villa spa facilities. The table is the full line-up with official sizes and how many each sleeps; the guidance below it is which work for a family with a baby or toddler.
| Room | Size | Sleeps | Pool and kitchen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1BD Deluxe Suite | 60–75 m² | 3 | Sea or garden view; no private pool, use of the main pool |
| 2BD Deluxe Family Suite | 100–120 m² | 5 | No private pool; near the main and children’s pools |
| 1BD Sea View Serenity Pool Suite | 30–45 m² | 2 | Private infinity pool with hydro and air-massage jets; no kitchen |
| 2BD Elounda Pool Villa | 100 m² | 4 | Private pool with Jacuzzi; full kitchen |
| 3BD Sea View Prestige Pool Villa | 115–140 m² | 6 | Private pool with Jacuzzi; full kitchen |
| 1BD Imperial Spa Pool Villa | 100–150 m² | 3 | Private pool with jet; in-villa spa and kitchen |
| 2BD Executive Spa Pool Villa | 150–200 m² | 4 | Private infinity pool with jet; in-villa spa and kitchen |
| 3BD Presidential Spa Pool Villa | 180–250 m² | 6 | Private pool with Jacuzzi; in-villa spa and kitchen |
| 4BD Royal Spa Pool Villa | about 350 m² | 8 | Private pool; in-villa spa and kitchen |
| Elounda Seafront Villa | 250 m² | 8 | Private pool; direct beach access |
The official site lists the 3BD Sea View Prestige Pool Villa two ways, as 115–140 m² in the room details and 120–150 m² in the page's own title, so treat that villa's size as approximate.
For a family, the suites and villas do different jobs. The smallest suite, the 1BD Deluxe Suite (60–75 m², sleeps 3), has either a sea or a garden view depending which you book, with no private pool, just use of the main one. The 2BD Deluxe Family Suite (100–120 m², sleeps 5) is the most family-minded suite: two bedrooms, a sea view and an easy walk to both the main pool and the children's pool, though it also has no private pool of its own. The 1BD Sea View Serenity Pool Suite (30–45 m², sleeps 2) is the smallest private-pool option, its infinity pool adding hydro and air-massage jets, and suits a couple with a baby better than a family needing more space. If you want your own pool and room to spread out, the 2BD Elounda Pool Villa (100 m², sleeps 4) is the entry-level villa, with two bedrooms, a private pool and a full kitchen. The larger villas add bedrooms, floor space and, in the spa villas, a private gym, sauna and steam room.
Two practical points with young children. Most villas are on two floors, so the bedrooms are up internal stairs from the pool and kitchen. A transparent safety fence can be fitted around a villa pool for toddlers, but you have to ask for it when you book, as it isn't there by default. Every pool villa and spa villa has a full kitchen with a dishwasher and a washing machine, which helps with a baby's laundry and bottles. Pets up to 8 kg are allowed in the villas. Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out is 11:00.
Pools and water features
Every villa has its own private pool with a built-in Jacuzzi, all eighteen of them including the Seafront Villa, which is the main reason families choose a villa here. The communal centrepiece is a large infinity seawater pool with a Jacuzzi and a cascading-waterfall section, next to Argo Restaurant, and it's heated in season. There's a separate children's pool near the Deluxe Family Suites; the hotel doesn't publish its size or depth. There's no splash pad, so the children's pool is the water feature for little ones. The spa villas' pools add a counter-current jet, a current you swim against for resistance.
Heating depends on the villa. The standard villa pools, at the Elounda and Prestige villas, the Seafront Villa and the Serenity suite, are heated on request for an extra charge. The spa villa pools, at the Imperial, Executive, Presidential and Royal villas, are heated as standard in spring and autumn, and on request for an extra charge in peak summer. Sort it when you book if a warm pool matters for your dates.
The beach and beach club
The hotel sits on the hillside with no direct access to the sea, so the beach isn't at the bottom of the garden. Its private beach club is a short drive away, and the hotel runs a free on-demand shuttle, a minivan, that takes about 10 to 15 minutes; the beach club is open 10:00 to 18:00. The one exception is the Elounda Seafront Villa, which sits right by the beach club with its own beach access, about a 7-minute drive from the main hotel.
The beach itself is small and private, for hotel guests only, so it's a quiet cove rather than a long stretch of sand. The beach club has sunbeds, shaded loungers, towels and its bar and food service, plus staff whom reviewers single out. Watersports include windsurfing, paragliding and snorkelling. Several public beaches around Elounda hold Blue Flag awards; whether the resort's own private beach club holds one isn't confirmed. A walk of about ten minutes from the hotel to the beach is possible, but the route isn't a confirmed pram-friendly one, so the shuttle is the practical way down with a baby.
Babies and toddlers
Childcare by age, what's provided for a baby and what costs extra.
The Cool Crèche, run by the UK childcare company Worldwide Kids, takes children from one to three years, in three sessions a day. It runs six days a week in spring and autumn and seven days a week in July and August, and you need to book a place at least 48 hours ahead. It's in the heart of the hotel, so drop-off is straightforward, and it's charged per session; the hotel can give you current prices. Staff-to-child ratios aren't published, so ask the hotel directly if that's something you want to know before you commit.
The Cool Kids Club covers four to eleven year olds and is free, with sports, yoga, music, treasure hunts and open-air play run by Worldwide Kids-trained staff. Some listings put the upper age a little higher; the hotel's own figure is eleven. Babysitting is available on request for an extra charge, for an evening out without the children.
For babies, the kit is well covered when you ask in advance: cots and travel cots, infant bath tubs, high chairs, playpens, bottle sterilisers, pushchairs and a delivery service for nappies and baby food, along with children's DVDs and toys. Washing machines in the pool and spa villas help with the daily laundry. A few things cost extra: crèche sessions, babysitting, villa-pool heating, the supervised kids-club lunch and an in-villa chef. Stairgates aren't provided, so bring your own for a two-floor villa.
On the hillside and beyondThings to do
On site, a family's day can revolve around the main pool or your own villa pool, the Elixir Spa, an in-villa gym if you're staying in one of the spa villas, the Cool Kids Club and Cool Crèche for the children, and the golf-buggy rides between them that children tend to enjoy in their own right. Beyond the hotel, it arranges experiences off site: private sailing and yachting, a boat trip to Spinalonga, olive-oil and Cretan wine tastings, a cooking lesson at an organic farm with lunch, a private in-villa barbecue, golf, scuba diving and private swimming or tennis lessons. The beach club adds windsurfing, paragliding and snorkelling. These are all set up through the concierge.
The Elixir SpaThe spa
The Elixir Spa Gallery has a sauna, steam bath, massage room, outdoor Jacuzzi and a gym. Treatments run from full-body massages and aromatherapy to reflexology, facials, manicures and pedicures, with a hairdresser too, and therapists can come to your villa or suite instead. Book through the concierge. Guests in the Imperial, Executive, Presidential and Royal spa villas also have a private gym, sauna and steam bath in the villa itself.
Elounda, Spinalonga and the drive outThe area and days out
A car is worth hiring for anything beyond the hotel and its beach club. The resort is secluded, which is the appeal, though it means meals out and shopping take planning.
Elounda town, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) away, is a small Cretan fishing village with tavernas, cafes, shops, a harbour and a local beach. It's a short taxi ride, around €12 each way, and walking down is a steep hill, not one for a pushchair. Agios Nikolaos, the main town of the area, is about 6 miles (10 km) or a 20-minute drive, with shops, restaurants, a lake-harbour and the nearest hospital.
Across the water, Spinalonga is a fortified island and former leper colony, the setting for Victoria Hislop's novel The Island, reached by a 20 to 30 minute boat trip from Plaka or Elounda. It's a good half-day for older children and history-minded adults, less so for toddlers, given the boat and the uneven ground. Plaka, the pretty village opposite Spinalonga, is about 2.5 miles (4 km) away, and Kolokytha, a little island with clear water and a Byzantine church, is reached by boat.
Further afield, the Minoan palace at Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum are about 45 miles (70 km), roughly an hour by car, and east Crete has Vai's palm-grove beach, Sitia and the palace at Zakros for a longer day out. There's an 18-hole course at Crete Golf Club, near Hersonissos, about 45 minutes away. For supplies, Elounda has a pharmacy and a basic supermarket, Agios Nikolaos has a wider shop, and the hotel can deliver nappies and formula.
Loves and gripes
The praise and the gripes from our research, how it rates, how it compares and the journey in.
The resort rates highly across every major review platform, all as of June 2026: 4.6 out of 5 from around 699 TripAdvisor reviews, 9.3 out of 10 on Booking.com, 4.7 out of 5 from Small Luxury Hotels of the World, 95 out of 100 (rated Excellent) from Five Star Alliance and 4.7 out of 5 across Trustindex's aggregate of over 1,100 reviews. Service is the part guests praise most.
What families love
- The panoramic views across the gulf from the villa pools and terraces.
- The staff and service, warm and personal, often remembered by name.
- Spacious, well-equipped villas, roomy enough for a longer family stay.
- Having a pool to yourself at the villa, rather than sharing one.
- The quiet, uncrowded feel of such a small hotel.
- The breakfast at Argo.
- The kids club and the care shown to young children.
- Argo's candlelit tables among the olive trees in the evening.
Common gripes
- The beach being off site, reached by the shuttle rather than on foot.
- Some signs of wear since the change of ownership, a minority theme against mostly strong reviews.
- Limited dinner-menu variety on a longer stay with one restaurant.
- Price and value for some, at premium rates.
- Occasional noise from a neighbouring villa.
- The steep terrain and the distance from town.
How it compares
The coast around Elounda has several five-star resorts, and the choice is mostly about scale. Domes of Elounda is much larger, with eight restaurants and bigger children's programmes; Elounda Gulf Villas is the more intimate, private option, better if you want your own villa and pool over resort choice. Daios Cove has its own sandy cove with a funicular down to it and a crèche that takes babies from four months, so its beach and its baby childcare are stronger, while Elounda Gulf Villas wins on villa privacy. Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas, next door, is larger; Elounda Gulf Villas is the smaller, boutique choice, with a stronger recent review profile.
Flights, the transfer and when to goGetting there and when to go
Fly into Heraklion airport (HER), which has direct flights from most UK airports through the summer. It's about 40 miles (65 km) from the resort, 55 to 75 minutes by car. There's no fixed hotel shuttle from the airport, so arrange your transfer with the hotel in advance, or hire a car, which is worth it here for getting around. Chania, Crete's other airport, is about 130 miles (210 km) away and not a practical arrival point for this resort.
The resort is open from around April to October. For young children, May, June, September and early October are the easiest months: warm days, a swimmable sea and fewer crowds than the July and August peak, which is hottest and busiest. The hotel doesn't publish a minimum stay, so book the dates you want directly.
Month by monthWeather
The resort is open from around April to October, and the figures below cover that season. Summer humidity stays low through June, July and August, which makes the heat easier to manage than in muggier Mediterranean spots.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15.5° | 9.5° | 91 mm | 11 | 17° |
| February | 16° | 9° | 70 mm | 8 | 16° |
| March | 17.5° | 9.5° | 52 mm | 6 | 16° |
| April | 20.5° | 12° | 22 mm | 3 | 17° |
| May | 24° | 15.5° | 11 mm | 2 | 20° |
| June | 27.5° | 19.5° | 4 mm | 0 | 23° |
| July | 29.5° | 22.5° | 1 mm | 0 | 26° |
| August | 29.5° | 22.5° | 2 mm | 0 | 27° |
| September | 27° | 20° | 13 mm | 1 | 26° |
| October | 24° | 17° | 54 mm | 4 | 23° |
| November | 20.5° | 13.5° | 63 mm | 6 | 21° |
| December | 17.5° | 10.5° | 87 mm | 10 | 19° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The resort is open from around April to October.
Sustainability
The hotel lists a set of environmental practices: biodegradable, chemical-free cleaning products, natural paint, an active recycling programme, magnetic-key energy control in the villas and suites, solar panels for hot water, reused wastewater for the gardens, plus local hiring and food sourcing. It doesn't claim an external eco-certification.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
How do you get to the beach?
The beach is a short drive from the hotel, not a walk from your room, so you take the free on-demand shuttle down and back. If getting to the sea on foot matters, the one villa that has it is the Elounda Seafront Villa, which sits by the beach club a few minutes’ drive from the main site.
What ages does the childcare cover?
The crèche takes one to three year olds and the kids club runs from four to eleven. Crèche places are limited, charged per session and must be booked at least 48 hours ahead, so sort it before you travel rather than on arrival. The kids club is free.
Is it all-inclusive?
No. Bed and breakfast is the standard basis and there is one restaurant, so dinners are à la carte or, in a villa, cooked in your own kitchen or by a chef you hire. If you want the everything-included, several-restaurants model, this is not that kind of resort.
Can we get the villa pool heated?
Yes. Arrange it when you book rather than on arrival. Whether heating is included or a paid extra depends on which villa you take and the season, so check the terms for your villa and dates, especially if a warm pool matters for young children.
Is it manageable with a pram and a baby?
It is doable but it takes planning. The golf buggy handles the hillside between reception, your villa and the pool, but villas are on two floors with internal stairs and no lift. Ask for a villa pool fence when you book, and bring your own stairgate if you need one, as they are not provided.
Do we need to hire a car?
For the hotel, its pools and the beach club, no. For anything else, yes: Elounda town, Agios Nikolaos, the Spinalonga boat trips and the drive to Knossos all want a car, and there is no fixed airport shuttle either, so many families hire one for the week.
How long is the airport transfer?
About 55 to 75 minutes by car from Heraklion, the airport you will fly into. There is no scheduled hotel shuttle, so arrange a transfer with the hotel ahead of time or pick up a hire car at the airport.
See more Elounda Gulf Villas photos
Open the Elounda Gulf Villas photo gallery →Useful links
- Elounda Gulf Villas: the resort's own site for the villas and suites, the kids club and dining.
- GOV.UK Greece travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Crete with little ones: our guide to the wider island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 13 July 2026.
