Cassie55

We're here right now. There's no charge for coffee pods or tea bags. We're usually at our pool when the mini bar person comes to refill. He noticed I like peppermint tea so he gives us handfuls.

christianj

Are you on a paid or award stay? If award, can you advise if you indeed are getting free breakfast as reported earlier in the thread.

Any additional comments or recommendations you can share on your stay will be appreciated as we are there in June for 5 nights on an award stay as a Platinum member.

CALMSP

yes, breakfast is included on a paid or reward stay for the front restaurant, which has unlimited mimosa!!

Cassie55

We're not here on an award (in fact I'm not even a Marriott member). We're very happy with the resort. We were upgraded to a villa with a pool (from a one bed suite which has a smaller pool) and it's perfect for us. The villa has some minor design faults but nothing too bad.

We've eaten in all the resaurants and are very happy with the quality of food - the service has been excellent. I managed to trip getting off the aircraft and sprained my ankle so I'm confined to the hotel at
the moment but hope to try some of the local places next week.

onlysuites

Would you know what their tray charge is for breakfast in the room?

Also got the following reply from their front desk.

christianj

CALMSP.....Thanks for the reply on the breakfast question!

Cassie55....sorry to hear about your injury but with that pool I guess it at least make the injury more tolerable.

onlysuites....I think they offer the free breakfast to elite since it is offered as part of the reservation to all guests from what I understand.

jsto

Went last June (and returning this June as we loved it).
Tray charge was something like EUR 5 if my memory serves me correct (for lunch, assume same for breakfast but may be wrong)

In response to your earlier questions, half board is EUR 40 for adults and EUR 25 for kids I think - however if you contact them in advance you should be able to get a reasonable discount if agreeing to half board for the entire stay. Worked for us (with young kids) though obviously reduces flexibility. Personally I thought the buffet was excellent - inc plenty of food cooked fresh in front of you, and varied even over the course of a week.

I think we did get a late checkout last year as Marriott gold, though it appears their recognition of status has reduced over the year!

onlysuites

Currently at the resort so if anyone has any questions do ask. By the way its a lovely resort but I do feel they nickel and dime you for everything they can get. Not what I expected when I am paying $750 a night!

Coffe pods are €2 each and they refuse to give more then a 500ml bottle of water per day per person. Not a big deal on the water front as I bought plenty from the local supermarket but I don't see why they can't just charge another $10 a day and include the water and coffee for free. Would leave a better taste.

david55

If you have a minute I would be curious to ask the front desk when they usually open for the season. We are going to be in that area mid-April 2019 and I can't get an answer from the resort as to their expected opening date. Thanks.

Sam P. Goodman

Just back from a couple of weeks in Greece that included 5 nights at Domes of Elounda and 6 nights at Westin Costa Navarino (see review in SPG forum).

Arrival
We rented a car from Sixt at the airport and it was an easy drive to the hotel...almost exactly one hour on great roads. This place has arrival and departure down to a science. Upon arrival at the hotel, the parking lot attendants took our names and car keys and we were escorted to the lobby bar for a welcome drink and registration. We were then whisked to our room where our luggage had already been delivered. On departure, we were picked up and taken to the lobby for checkout and our bags loaded into our car. We were on an award stay and breakfast was included as I believe it is for all guests. For our amenity, we were given a choice of drinks and snacks. We chose a bottle of wine and fruit platter, which turned out to be pretty substantial. We chose the date and time for delivery to our room and they arrived exactly when we said. We also had a welcome plate of sweets and a bottle of wine waiting in our room.

Room
No room upgrade, but the room was nice...essentially a traditional suite layout with a large porch and a hot tub with sea views. Two bench-style sofas in the living room, one of which had been made into a bed for our daughter. Nice powerful shower, though a little dark with dim light and black tile. Round whirlpool bathtub was a little weird and probably would have looked good in the Poconos. I just used it for laundry...

The Resort
It’s very hilly and spread out and feels very much like two separate resorts. The map provided in the room is essentially worthless so it was hard to know where stuff was. Staff are always out and about in golf carts giving rides so we utilized that to familiarize ourselves with he resort. We normally prefer to walk everywhere, but ended up utilizing the carts when we were too hot or tired. The lobby pool is adults only. The kids club and family pool are on the opposite side of the resort, but the pool is fairly deep for a family pool (~50 inches) and has the look and vibe of an adults only resort. The few times we were over there, it was pretty empty. It seemed most families were at the beach (or had their own villa pool, which we didn’t). Overall, it seems like the resort does a nice job catering to both couples and families as many places had designated “quiet areas.” Most families during our visit had young kids as I imagine school was still in session for many kids. From what we saw, it seemed like most guests were European (mostly British or Russian, some German) with some Americans mixed in.

The Beach
We absolutely loved the beach. It’s not what I would call a traditional beach. It’s narrow, terraced, and lined with trees. I fancy myself a shade worshiper so I loved the fact that I could sit under an olive tree while our daughter played in the sand, which was a little coarse, but far nicer than the Blue Palace down the road (rocky). It’s probably one of my favorite beaches I’ve been to. Staff were always eager to offer towels or food/drink service. Views of Spinalonga were great. Still plenty of sunny spots for those who like to bake.

Food
Breakfast was solid. I wouldn’t call it spectacular and they didn’t have anything cooked to order, but we still really enjoyed it. We kept pretty late hours while there, tending to sleep late and be at breakfast near the posted closing time, but they were never in a hurry to shut down and always continued to refresh items even as we were leaving. We had a couple of lunches onsite. They were good and fairly priced for a resort (salads, wraps, sandwiches were about 10 Euros). We generally prefer to dine at local eateries and did so for most lunches and all dinners (more on that below).

Local Area
Plaka was about a 20 minute walk from our room (5 of which was on property). The walk is easy along the highway, though there are a couple of narrow stretches as you approach the Blue Palace that feel a little dicey after dark, especially if a car comes flying around a bend, which they frequently do. I’d recommend a flashlight both to see and be seen. We really liked Plaka and had several meals there. There are several seafood restaurants along the waterfront that all have essentially the same menu. It can be a little uncomfortable strolling the row as each restauranteur tries to outdo the others with promises of a perfect table, fresher seafood, better kid’s menu, etc., but it was all harmless and our meals were all good and reasonably priced. Our better seafood dinner was at Captain Nicolas. The guy there laid it on pretty thick, but we had a fantastic meal with lot’s of complimentary extras. We had meal that included a fish plate for two (sea bream, mullet, sardines, etc.) salad, bread with tomatoes, 2 carafes of house wine, and some pasta for our daughter, dessert for three, and it came to about 55 Euros. For a lower key experience, we liked Carob Tree (one block in from the water). The main area had about half a dozen boutiques with unique crafts, jewelry, etc. at mostly good prices. There are also a couple of small “supermarkets.” One day, we took a boat over to Spinalonga and spent about an hour. They run about every half an hour (10 Euros per adult; 5 Euros for kids). I would definitely recommend the trip.

We drove to Elounda (8-10 minute drive) for dinner one night. It’s not as charming as Plaka, but also has the obligatory row of seafood restaurants with charming/aggressive sales pitches. It was nice to see once, but we preferred Plaka. On our last day, we drove to Agia Nicolaus (20-25 minute drive) for lunch at Taverna Patriko, which we loved. It’s the largest of the three towns...nicer and more picturesque than Elounda in our book. Definitely worth a couple of hours of strolling and a meal. We normally venture out more, but the beach at the resort was so enjoyable, it was hard to leave...

Misc.
The resort had an onsite photography company that photographed some of the events onsite (beach bbq) and also offered portrait sessions/photo shoots. We usually walk right past these places, but prices were competitive compared to what we’d paid for similar services at home and their work looked good so we went for it. Photographer took a few hundred shots over about 35 minutes in 6 or 8 spots on/near the beach. We ended up with a nice collection of 25 family pics in a setting that’s a nice upgrade from the local park back home.

Our daughter made a few visits to the kids club. It’s a nice facility and had ample staff. Everything was free, which was a nice bonus.

Overall
Hard to find much to complain about at this place. An upgrade would have been great, but I didn’t expect one after reading reviews. Plus, I had to keep my Marriott 0-for streak in tact. Domes seemed to hit that sweet spot of nice accommodations on a great beach with spectacular views, yet close to some offsite places so you don’t feel entirely isolated if you don’t want to be. Staff were everywhere and were universally friendly and helpful. We’d highly recommend.

david55

Thanks for such a good, thorough review. I have been curious about the Domes for several years after a meh stay at the Blue Palace. We are returning to the area next spring and after weighing a nice B and B in Aghios Nikolaos or the Domes....we actually decided on a well -reviewed villa in hills above Elounda. Maybe the Domes for next time.

ennsy

As someone who is staying here right now I can agree with everything you said except on thing: there is made to order food at breakfast. Where you pickup the waffles, crepes, eggs, etc there is a chef who is cooking on a flat top and will make almost anything you want to order. I had an omelette yesterday with all the fixings and it was fantastic. He will also make you a fresh waffle or crepe if you wish and eggs any way you wish. Maybe you missed that? I can't see that being a new thing in the last few weeks.

Other than that, you nailed it. Staff are awesome, two great cities around for food in the evenings, we have only done Elounda right now and we love it. Eaten at 2 different restaurant and cost about 20EUR for two adults and two toddlers to eat so it's very reasonable. We haven't done Plaka yet but will check it out tonight. There are also plenty of beaches ranging frm 20-60min drive off the resort if you wish, though the beach at the resort is great.

I am Marriott Plat and did receive an upgrade (emailed ahead of time inquiring) and we ended up with the only suite (#411) with a jacuzzi hot tub on the balcony and a private pool with our own little yard/grassy area. Needless to say, we're very happy with our stay so far and we have 2 days left. This is one of the highest cpp redemptions we've ever had, probably the highest actually as nights are about $750-1,000 right now. They also gave us complimentary spa access for 4 which they said was "for Platinum Members". We haven't redeemed them yet but will report back when we go.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the two detailed reviews. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

christianj

zagguru

We cannot wait!