Elios Hill - Sun Kissed Happiness

“A fantastic family resort!”

We stayed here for a week and the end of July. After much deliberating between various hotels and a very last minute decision to book here,I’m really glad we did! Elios Hill is a smart,modern family-friendly resort with excellent facilities. Our room was upgraded on arrival, meaning our children h… more

We stayed here for a week and the end of July. After much deliberating between various hotels and a very last minute decision to book here,I’m really glad we did! Elios Hill is a smart,modern family-friendly resort with excellent facilities. Our room was upgraded on arrival, meaning our children had beds in an interconnecting suite instead of just a pull out sofa bed in the same room. We had two shower rooms and two balconies with an excellent view towards the coast. I had a coffee watching the sun rise several mornings before the hustle and bustle started-bliss! The staff were helpful,friendly and always busy doing something so everything was clean and well kept. The main buffet restaurant was excellent,with a huge choice and plenty of fresh fruit,salads and traditional Greek dishes alongside the more usual buffet offerings. Even the fussiest of eaters should find something here! My kids also loved the option of crepes available in one of the two poolside snack bars. Drinks were reasonable but don’t expect branded spirits etc. These are available however in The Cloud Bar,a rooftop lounge bar over looking the sea. A great spot for a pre or post dinner drink. There are also three other restaurants on site,we had complimentary meals in each one. The Mexican and Asian were our favourites. The four pools were great, the main pool also providing various activities throughout the day including water pool,aqua fit and games. The slides were another hit and the infinity pool had a great outlook. We never managed to ditch the kids and get to the adults only pool but it seemed a perfect place for some kid-free downtime! Evening entertainment was varied,the circus and magic shows being very popular. My only gripe was the kids club which seemed to miss the mark a little with age appropriate activities. Its range is 4-8 but I’d say it was better suited to 6yrs and under. My 7 yr old wasn’t keen saying it was ‘babyish’ so we didn’t use it but plenty did. There were a lot of children here so if that’s not your bag I’d avoid the school holidays. I would definitely recommend hiring a car if you want to get out and see more of traditional Crete than the usual tourist traps. We ventured an hour south east to Voulisma beach and Elounda and drove back across the mountains which was pretty spectacular! Taxis are easy to get but at €12+ a go just to get to the nearest beach or town soon mounts up. The hotel does run a bus service to Stalis Beach for a day trips which we did do one day. There are masses of excursions and car hire places to choose from in the town although as we only the had a car the day before we left, we used Traffic through the hotel for convenience as the hire cars are already on site. We had an evening flight on departure day but even though check out is at 12pm,you can still use all the facilities and there are showers and changing rooms to use in the basement so your last afternoon can be well spent safe in the knowledge you can get ready for your return journey despite not having a room. One final thing to note: this place is called Elios Hill for a reason-it is literally built into the side of one! This means there are a lot of steps and steep slopes across the resort. You can get golf buggies to ferry you around the main areas but be warned; unless your room is in the lower third, there is a lot of walking between rooms/pools/restaurants etc. You will be working off that buffet! Those with mobility issues may struggle. We had a fantastic stay and would come back!

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