Elounda Water Park Residence Hotel

Justin Frost

Just returned from a 10 day stay for the 3rd time. We have not been back since 2023 and the resort is even better than before! What we love about this hotel the most: - Staff: Every single member of staff you encounter whether housekeeping, reception, pool cleaner, waiting staff or management, are friendly, willing to help and often go above and beyond what is expected of them. It is a family run hotel and it shows and you feel part of it! 95% of the staff that were there 3 years ago are still there, that shows consistency in how management manage them and are valued. - Location: Elounda has to be one of, in not, the prettiest locations in Crete and the hotel being located in the "hills" gives you the most fantastic views across the beautiful bay and town. One of those "You'll never get bored of the view" places. Stunning! - Accommodation: We had a 2 bed villa, one of 7 within the immediate grounds of the hotel although there are a further 3 bigger villas just off-site that are also available. We had our own pool and a view directly across the bay. Housekeeping and pool cleaned daily. Beds super comfy! The villas are what attracted us as opposed to the multitude of different room options also available and you will be hard pushed to find villa accommodation with all-inclusive benefits! - Food: It was great 3 years ago but another thing that has improved! Fresh local cuisine with additional dishes to cater for all tastes. Couldn't fault breakfast, lunch or dinner and they also have a "snack" bar beside one of the 3 pools should you miss a meal or just feel peckish serving burgers, pizza, pasta etc as well as ice cream! Negatives - I'll be honest, we have never felt there were any. We personally had no issues but the one thing you need to be aware of (and it's in the hotel description), to get such a great location and to get the views, the hotel is built on a hill. So, has a few steep steps to access the pools which are in a cascade formation if that makes sense. i.e. 3 pools gradually falling away from the hotel with the water park at the bottom. Access to villas and other rooms if you don't feel like walking, transport via 24/7 golf buggies is provided. Perfect! Overall this is our favourite holiday destination and already booked to come back in October this year. Thank you to all the staff and see you again in 15 weeks!!

Girgis Salib

Unfortunately, this hotel didn't live up to expectations — or to the standards you'd hope for visiting beautiful Greece. The property feels noticeably outdated and in need of a serious refresh throughout. The layout is a real practical headache. Rooms, pool, canteen, waterpark, and disco area are all scattered across different levels of a very steep hill. Getting between them is exhausting — manageable for the able-bodied, but a genuine challenge with young children, elderly guests, or anyone with mobility issues. There is a buggy service, but the driver we encountered was unwelcoming — no smile, no greeting, and particularly indifferent towards the little ones in our group. The food was consistently disappointing. Everything felt cheap and low quality — bacon so thin it was almost translucent, rubbery mushrooms, and soft drinks from the dispenser that tasted watered down. Even the fruit selection was uninspiring. For a country renowned for its incredible fresh produce and cuisine, the catering here was a real missed opportunity. To top it off, there was a power outage during our stay. The already-basic food options became even more limited, and with no cooling, flies were everywhere — not what you want around a canteen. There are far better-value options in the Heraklion area that will actually let you experience the best of Greek hospitality. Just wanted to add the receptionist elderly lady was so rude on our last day, very blunt and not caring at all. Left a bitter taste. Definitely not returning here again!

Jeremy Phillips

We had an absolutely fantastic stay at Elounda Residence Hotel & Water Park, and we couldn't have asked for a better holiday. From the moment we arrived, every member of staff was friendly and welcoming, the facilities were excellent, and the whole hotel had a lovely, relaxed atmosphere. The standout of our stay was Theo. He is, without a doubt, the best member of staff we have ever come across while travelling. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and he consistently went above and beyond to make sure we were having the best possible time. His kindness, professionalism, and genuine care for guests made our holiday truly special. People like Theo are a huge credit to the hotel, and he deserves every bit of recognition for the incredible service he provides. The lady that worked in the shop was also so pleasant, and always greeted us with a smile, remembered us, and always asked about the day we'd had. The rooms were comfortable, the food was varied and enjoyable, the water park was great fun, and the views around Elounda are simply stunning. Every day felt relaxing and memorable. Thank you to everyone at Elounda Residence Hotel & Water Park for such a wonderful experience, and a special thank you to Theo for making our stay unforgettable. We will definitely be returning and would recommend this hotel to anyone looking for an amazing holiday in Crete.

Susan Wills

We had the most marvellous holiday on Crete despite there being two days of rain. The Elounda Residence is by far one of the most warm and welcoming hotels we have ever stayed in where nothing was too much trouble. The room was a double apartment with a lovely sea view. It was clean, spacious and comfortable. The bathroom was a little tired but was fully functioning. We stayed here on an all inclusive basis and could not fault the food or drinks. The food was plentiful, varied and tasty, catering for Adults and children alike, with different choices every day for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. The fresh fruit at breakfast was amazing. The facilities at the hotel are good for both Children and Adults. With two pools and a waterpark with amazing waterslides, also varies sports and kids entertainments. Whilst staying here my husband developed a problem with his knees that meant he was a bit limited on walking. They went out of their way to find him a suitable walking aid which made his life a lot easier and meant we were not limited to staying in the hotel. I have to commend the attitude and friendliness of all of the hotel staff that we met. In particular we would like to thank the reception staff for their help including Paul, Chrisa, Chrisoula, Theodoros and Eleni. We would like to recommend this hotel to anyone who would like a relaxing and happy holiday in Crete.

Ajith Vasudevan

A lovely resort away hidden away near the hills of Elounda and it was an amazing experience. The staff were amazing from the moment we arrived to the second we left. There were a few mentions that made this hotel amazing apart from the staff. The shuttle service they offered, the buggy to the rooms and food were also lovely. A few things I would recommend to make people's stay even better 1. Too much salt in the pool, felt we were in the sea rather than a resort pool 2. It would've been nice if they had a overnight food counter (self service maybe?) - I had to order food when we came back from an evening out 3. ATM 4. Rooms to be cleaned daily - not a massive issue as we left it clean but would've been nice 5. Activities at the resort for kids and adults - there is a lack of this, although dinner service was good and had a performance act, people like to stay at the resort, majority of the evenings we went out Overall it was a lovely experience and a beautiful town, with amazing people. Thanks again!