Eleonas (Crete)

This is our second visit to Eleonas and we have had a wonderful time. The staff are so very attentive and go out of their way to make every guest feel welcomed and special. The food is of excellent quality with good variety and plenty of choice, particularly at breakfast. The cottages are wonderful. They are well equipped, roomy and have everything you need, offering peace and tranquility and privacy if you choose, or you can mingle at the poolside with other guests. There are walks in the countryside or you can just chill peacefully here. I recommend this place so very highly as it suits all ages and is small eneough to retain that very special customer service, care and attention vital to a good holiday.

Excellent customer service and a very warm welcome including good suggestions for visiting the local surrounding area and walks. Some walking requires good shoes but not essential to enjoy the immediate area. Well done to everyone especially the owner.

This spot met our expectations by way of courteous service, relaxed atmosphere with kids, great food and lots of information on surrounding area, yet never imposing. Kids still talk about this spot and compare with Elia as to which one was the best. Very happy.

Eleonas holiday village is simply a jewel of a place for a holiday, for a family or a get away as a couple. It is impossible to find any weakness. It is, I think, the best international holiday location we have ever experienced. It is that good. The management and staff are excellent and exemplary, so helpful and friendly. The facilities, food and hospitality are superb and affordable. The location is picturesque and easy to find, with options for either car rental or airport pickup/drop off.

Manolis and his team are simply brilliant. We had a wonderful time at Eleonas - a fabulous haven in which to unwind!

This place is awesome! Beautiful scenery, fabulous service, and delicious food. It's about 1.5 hours from Heraklion. The drive is beautiful with several switch-backs. You go through lots of picturesque small villages. Due to flight delays we arrived at 2am. We were greeted by a staff member and shown to our room. Even though we overslept breakfast the next morning, they served us food. Our departure was at 4am for an early morning ferry, they packed us breakfast to go. Delightful and so thoughtful. I want to get back to Crete; it was amazing.

Fantastic place in the mountains, the staff are wonderful, friendly and helpful. Everything is very well thought out and it is clear that great care is taken in providing everything that guests might need. This includes excellent advice on day trips to places that we might otherwise not have found, as well as great signposted walks in the surrounding area. We highly recommend a hike up the Rouvas Gorge which is extremely beautiful (and quite a tough climb). Lovely Greek food. We stayed in Room 21 which is quite a hike up from the pool and restaurant - there are closer options so worth bearing in mind, but it helped us walk off the meals. Thanks for a lovely stay.

Could not fault a thing with the room, the restaurant the setting or the infectious energy and passion of the owner Manolis. We had a wonderful week of of long walks in the stunning countryside, trips to unspoilt beaches, vineyard tours and eating lovely food. Good for families and couples alike.

My husband, two boys (ages 3.5 and 1.5 yrs) and I had a wonderful holiday at Eleonas. It is located in a beautiful and peaceful location just outside the small village of Zaros. We stayed for 9 nights and opted for half-board which turned out to be brilliant. The on-site taverna was lovely - the food was delicious - big portions and a varied menu of Cretan food. The serving staff were wonderful and so helpful with the kids. In fact - that is one of the best things about Eleonas - the staff. They can't do enough for you - nothing is a problem. It makes for a very relaxing holiday! We hired a car through Manolis which was brilliant - they met us at the airport and gave us directions to drive to Eleonas which were extremely useful as I'm not sure we would have found it the first time otherwise. The onsite playground, soft play and pool are perfect for the kids. We also did day trips to Phaistos, Gortyna, had a morning at a nearby farm (wonderful - a must do with kids!) and drove to Kommos and Kalamaki beaches - all less than one hours drive away. You can also do hikes from Eleonas into the beautiful countryside - our 3.5 yr old managed the shortest one (about 1.5 hrs with a stop for ice-cream). I can't recommend this place enough. Thanks Manolis and team.

From the outset, we were treated with remarkable hospitality at Eleonas… first meeting Manolis the owner as he guided our two taxis into the hotel car park at 1am! I should mention that these were taxis that Manolis had arranged himself to pick our family up from the airport (once I’d told him that we did not fancy driving ourselves through the mountains at night) and as a result, our late arrival could not have been smoother. Over the week we stayed at Eleonas, it soon became apparent that this degree of consideration towards guests is the norm. Nestled within the craggy foothills of Mount Psiloritis as though cradled in a giant’s palm, this is a magical place to unwind and recharge. The food is fresh and oh so delicious. The staff are genuinely warm and chatty. The gardens teem with olive trees and orange trees as well as myriad herbs and flowers. The heated pool was joyfully splashed about in almost every afternoon but it was the games room that was the real revelation! Here, my parents rediscovered their passion for table tennis, my husband and I changed back into the competitive pool sharks of our uni days and our six year old played so much table football, he completely forgot to demand the IPad! Occasionally, we left the hotel to walk in the hilly environs or to pootle about in the hire car that Manolis (of course) had organised for us. We visited the extraordinary palace ruins of Knossos and Phaistos where we learned about kickass Minoan women and our son tried his best to track down the Minotaur. We also chilled on the beach in the lovely hippy resort of Matala. On our last night, Greek Orthodox Easter kicked off and as we followed the candle-lit procession of villagers making its way around Zaros, we knew the spell this sleepy, serene corner of Crete had cast over us was complete.