Elounda Gulf Villas

A luxurious villa-hotel hybrid: secluded suites and houses with pool views over the Med, and very attentive service

The privacy of a deluxe villa and the services of a top hotel – it’s a wonderfully indulgent combination and a rare one. It does exist though, above the bit-too-big resorts overlooking Mirabello bay, in the exclusive enclave of Elounda Gulf Villas. Its low-profile policy and discreet staff make it popular with international dignitaries and celebrities searching to escape the limelight, at least for a few days. And it is family-run – designed by dad Dimitris, run by daughter Charitini and presided over with perfection by mother Anna.

The suites and villas are swish – the marble-lined bathrooms have jacuzzis and trompe l'oeil ceilings, the sofas are covered with Italian fabrics, there are scatterings of antiques about the parquet floors. All the villas have private pools (the best ones with infinity cliff-hangers); the suites share a seawater pool with Jacuzzi and a cascading waterfall. A butler will bring your morning juice to glass-fronted breakfast rooms with, needless to say, stunning views. There’s also a poolside bar-restaurant serving creative Mediterranean cuisine and late-night cocktails, massages and beauty treatments at the spa, so not much reason to leave Elounda Gulf Villas once you arrive.

Highs

• Unique mix of outstanding 5 star hotel service (attentive but unobtrusive) with self-catering - fully-equipped kitchens in the villas but butlers and other staff are always standing by!
• Family-run and friendly, so the feeling is relaxed and not corp-resort – Queen Rania of Jordan and her children have stayed in the Royal Spa Villa
• Secluded villas and their gardens offer total privacy – so you can swim naked, sleep under an olive tree, or do whatever else the super-rich do at whim
• Spacious, light and airy marble bathrooms where you can wallow in a hydro-massage bathtub below a hand-painted tromp d’oeil ceiling, then revitalise tired skin with luscious body creams (provided)

Lows

• Technically, the villas are not separate dwellings with their own grounds, but a series of well-designed terraced houses separated by walls
• Some of the views are spoiled by telephone wires and unattractive hotels on the scrubby hillside, while the view from the main pool is drastically spoiled by a couple of hotel rooftops in the foreground, partially blocking the would-be magnificent sea view
• The beaches (20 mins away) are not the best, and the town of Elounda (2.5km) may be too resorty for some, but you could happily stay put and avoid it altogether
• The main pool lies immediately in front of the bar-restaurant, so one can’t help feeling a little exposed to diners (going topless, for example, seems a no-no here)