We spent our entire week in Crete at two Marriott Luxury Collection properties — we spent our first four nights at Domes Zeen Chania, and we spent our last three nights at Blue Palace Elounda. In this post I wanted to review the latter hotel in detail.
Continue reading: Review: Blue Palace Elounda, Marriott Luxury Collection
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Have you ever tried Elite breakfast at Rossini, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok, also Luxury collection hotel?
Fond memories of my stay there...great to see that Marriott hasn't yet corrupted many of the best legacy Starwood Lux Collection properties
We loved our stay in 2015, the only hiccup was they lost our keys to our car on the morning of our departure for about an hour. It was a tight drive getting to the hydrofoil to Thera on time
I had an awesome time at the hotel and loved the local town where a greek salad, fresh fish and house wine was under $20.
And I just had a regular room.
Crete is awesome and two price notches below the rest of the popular Greek islands.
Talk about service? I got a parking ticket that required paying in person to get the lower fine, and they hotel sent someone to pay for me and put the fine on my bill, without service charge!!!!
That's a lot of pools!
Ritz Carlton Kyoto also deserves a special mention, for being the only Ritz Carlton (AFAIK) that offers free breakfast to Marriott Elites, and an excellent one at that.
This place looks great, but the rolls in that fusion Asian restaurant looks pretty bad... The rice got pressed so hard (and are so soft) it looks more like a rice paste.
If you're not going to Greece for the beaches then you're going to the wrong islands!
"...you typically don’t come to Greece for the beaches (there are exceptions)". That's like saying "...you typically don't come to Japan for the sushi"...! The best beaches in Europe are in Greece, and some of the best in the world.
We went there a few weeks before you I guess. Check-in was ridiculous, even beyond what you have encountered. It took about 45 minutes for us, with no other guest around: we had to wait for someone to shop up at every step. And above all, the person who escorted us to our room got lost in the building with us following and coming back on our steps, with our luggage and all (because since it all took so long, we didn’t want to wait for our luggage for hours at 10pm). Our stay was OK: great room upgrade, great breakfast indeed. The rooms would need some refurbishment however. Dining was just OK (on the expensive side, considering what you get). But the definite worse part of our stay is that they wanted to kick us out at 12pm because they needed the room for someone else. I get it’s a resort and late checkout isn’t guaranteed but this is hardly justified when the property is as empty as it was (I’d say 10% occupation). So, no, I would’t say our stay was as good as yours; definite lack of professional service.
The breakfast at the Marriott Hotel Hacidena Belen in San Jose, Costa Rica is amazing! And the staff are lovely.
I remember the RC Kyoto had an awesome breakfast as well, which I believe was served with some kind of vinegar shots?
Debating a to Crete or Bodrum... would be interested on your comparison of the two. Also these properties vs. the Bodrum Edition (although I guess the Edition's in a different price tier).
In Europe, yes, maybe, in the world, man where have you been. These beaches would have been suicidal to the resort if you see one in the Maldives. Even beaches I came across in the Caribbean trounces this.
This looks like a terrific property all around. I might have to put this on my bucket list! Thanks for sharing your review.
I stayed there with my family 3 years ago for 7 nights. The hotel was fantastic and we got the same suite you got which was perfect for a couple and two kids. The staff was extremely friendly and I my kids still talk about that fantastic breakfast. I would highly recommend this place. Also, there is another small village 5 minutes by car from the hotel which is very nice at night and also has some great restaurants, ice cream shop, souvenirs stores, etc… I was one the best places we have been in Greece.
I'd highly rate Domes of Elounda over Blue Palace, both in terms of space/decor and amenities. A shame you missed out! Aside from frequenting the on-site restaurants, I hope you enjoyed some nice meals in Plaka and surrounding small towns, some of the quaint local restaurants in a 10 km radius serve brilliant food.
We've stayed at the BP and the Domes and the Domes is miles better from a service as well as elite treatment perspective. Next time try the Domes and you will regret having picked the BP for your first trip. We sure did!
"You don't go to Greece for the beaches" . Hmmmm perhaps you should forget the hotel beaches get on a car and drive a bit. Create has quite a few examples easy to find (Elafonisos, Mpallos, Palaiohora) . If course God forbid you could also look more rare diamonds. It might also get you a whole new level of food at a fraction of what u ve paid for run of the mill food.
Take care A
Really interesting and helpful review. Thank you. Am going to Blue Palace for the first time in a couple of weeks and can't wait. I've previously stayed at Domes and Elounda beach villas.