REVIEWS
DOMES OF ELOUNDA Crete
Anyone who has read Victoria Hislop’s novel The Island probably has this quiet corner of Crete on their radar already. The tear-jerking tale – of a family split apart when one is sent to a leper colony on a tiny island just off Crete – doesn’t sound the most obvious way to attract visitors, yet Hislop’s heart-warming account is full of charm and old-fashioned hospitality that will stick with readers long after they’ve put the book down. Like Captain Corelli’s Mandolin on Kefalonia and Mamma Mia! on Skopelos, it is a great advert for the area. With a scattering of high-end resorts
between bustling town Elounda and fishing village Plaka, it’s not overrun with tourists. Yet hilltop resort Domes of Elounda feels like a secluded hideaway, with the pretty Moorish-style domes of its low-rise suites and villas spilling down towards the sea. It’s an easy 45-minute drive from Heraklion airport, and the resort manages to bridge the divide between being romantic enough for couples and sufficiently family-friendly for kids not to feel out of place. Since last year’s addition of
28 luxury residences to the existing 78 suites, four villas and eight private houses that opened in 2008, there is more family accommodation. The new two- bedroom residences have a sophisticated family feel, with dark wood accented in lime, a cleverly concealed kitchenette, spacious living room and private pool, and an option to interconnect if grandparents fancy tagging along. New buffet restaurant Mesoyios, a pool
84 — aspire september 2015
complex, shop and a kids’ club were also added to this side of the resort. Yet couples will be just as at home in the spacious suites (bigger than my entire London flat – and I don’t have room for one Jacuzzi, never mind two), and the attention to detail is impressive. There’s a high-quality buffet for
half-board guests, plus gourmet restaurant Anthos and beachfront eatery
4
Topos 1910. With a relaxed vibe and unbeatable location on the resort’s private sandy beach, the latter celebrates classic Greek cuisine, with fresh fish filleted at the table and a wine list that starts with Cretan varieties, follows with the rest of Greece, and only as an afterthought lists a few international wines.
There’s a weekly barbecue night and
Sunday wine-tasting, a food festival each June, and activities such as sailing, yoga and star-gazing. I skipped all that in favour of a sunny spot by the adult-only pool and a good book – The Island it is.
A one-bedroom sea-view suite starts at £150 with breakfast and taxes
DOMESOFELOUNDA.COM Katie McGonagle
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