Porto Elounda Golf & Spa Resort

We had a wonderful time in Porto Elounda. Health and Fitness Travel really understood what we wanted and everything was just perfect. Members of staff are all professional and friendly – nothing was too much trouble for them. The Fusion Fitness programme was just what we needed and I highly recommend it. The personal trainers are amazing, as well as the Yoga teachers. Make sure you pick a Yoga session from the Fusion Fitness list – you will not be disappointed. We are definitely returning next year, and probably to following year too.

The perfect healthy break for sports and spa enthusiasts, Porto Elounda Golf & Spa Resort in Crete is a five-star luxury spa holiday with outstanding facilities and open from April till October. On arrival to Elounda, the first view from the hilltop is a panorama of the Bay of Mirabello; after checking into my deluxe sea view room and a light supper, I went straight to sleep as it was late.

I had a great time at Porto Elounda and can say that my holiday was faultless. The Spa and the Fusion Fitness programme were perfect for me, with enough time for fitness and treatments. Food was delicious and members of staff were friendly and accommodating with everything I needed. I met other people staying by themselves and ended up with very nice new friends.

The hotel and spa were wonderful. What was out of this world was the spa! Honestly, and I've travelled a great deal, that was the best spa treatments and facilities I have ever experienced. 

All the staff were fantastic, friendly and professional. 

I would certainly return, even in winter. 

I hope to be book another relaxing holiday with you at some point in the near future.

The holiday was perfect. Really good help, advice and support from you all at Health and Fitness Travel throughout (it took a few iterations to finalise our programme but that was understandable..) - starting with Rachel but also Paul and you, Adam. So thank you so much. 

I'd had a bad experience (and unhappy husband) last year when the hotel I booked was REALLY shabby and unkempt, as you may recall I found a website with travellers candid photos of the Porto Elounda and had a little panic that Porto Elounda may also disappoint but it was a perfect holiday, relaxing, lots of things for us all to do, and we all felt exercise, fit and healthy ... and a tiny bit virtuous (!) at the end of it. Specifically: 

* the driver who did our transfers was excellent - and his car was SO luxurious - a real treat to be driven in a high end, beautifully comfortable air conditioned Mercedes with calf leather seats, the most comfortable head-rests etc. A great start! 

* the hotel was great. Very good quality furniture and fittings - nice marble everywhere, clean, professionally maintained (especially the restaurants). Perhaps a little dated (the draylon cushions everywhere is what stood out the most for me) but not too much.. The bar in the Porto Elounda wasn't terribly inviting but Giorgio, the barman of 27 years was just lovely and his service great. 

* our bedroom was perfect. yes, perhaps a bit dated but well maintained, everything that could easily be renewed had been. The views were stunning. Only improvement points were that the pillows was extremely solid (we could probably have asked for softer ones but didn't) and the housekeepers hadn't cleaned under the beds for a while.... 

* the staff everywhere were all totally charming, smiling, friendly, and extremely professional too (we run a high end hospitality business and this reminded us that you can forgive a lot - though there was nothing really to forgive - if the staff are lovely. 

* the spa was fabulous, facilities very good and all the staff were extremely competent, professional and lovely. We have massages regularly (probably about 40 per year) and the 3 masseurs that we had at the Six Senses Spa were all among the best we have ever experienced. Marina the yoga / meditation instructor was great - we were pretty useless at the yoga (novices) but loved it and she was very "normal" - laughed with us when we got the giggles... but also very inspiring. Hopefully we will manage to get our yoga careers going now! Vassilis gave us both the most amazing (though not exactly painless) Thai massage, plus helped us both with TRX, outdoor circuit training and personal fitness (gym) work - he was very lovely and kind to my 10 year old son who got upset when he couldn't do a couple of the exercises (he struggled with the coordination). Sergiy does the best deep tissue massage (seriously, the best), and Maria gave me a good deep tissue massage - not quite as good as Sergiy's but good all the same and foot massages. They were a disappointment as we'd requested reflexology; they don't have a reflexologist on the team and so we were frustrated during the massage. But the spa gave us a complimentary treatment to compensate. 

* the food was excellent - while Michael and I didn't managed to stick strictly to the delicious meals provided on the de-tox diet we'd signed up for, the buffet was just too good, we managed NOT to put on the usual 2-3kgs that we tend to on holiday 

* Our son loved his scuba diving; Pablo the instructor was very good and he passed the course easily. He also loved the water sports on offer, the pool, the table tennis by the pool and the "Kids Ark"...and occasionally taking the buggy from the hotel to the Kids Ark area was a great treat for him too! And there were quite a few other children (mainly Russian - but that didn't seem to matter) for him to play with too. 

* the temperature was perfect, the sea lovely and clear and cool, the pool clean and well maintained, beach towels and sun beds all in good condition and plentiful, service by the pool very good... 

* the receptionists were very helpful (we booked a car for a mid-week trip to Heraklion / Knossos - they were great with that for instance) 

All in all, we can't wait to go back to Porto Elounda. And while Porto Elounda seems to offer its own packages for yoga etc, it looked as though we got much better value going through you! So I am sure you will hear from us again. 

The minute we set foot through the doors of the Porto Elounda we were greeted with genuine kindness and were instantly hit with the dramatic views down over the bay. We were quickly taken to our room (the sea view with private pool) and were given run down of the hotel's facilities and restaurants. Unfortunately we weren't keen on our room which was tucked away in the corner and had no sunlight due to it having tress down the side, and we asked if we could move. This is where the hotel showed how much they care about their customer service, as despite being busy they went out of their way to find us another room. Now we really didn't want much other than a bit more light as we couldn't actually fault the room, but they couldn't have relocated us to a better room, up on the sixth floor with plenty of light and the view down over the bay. 

They hotel itself is beautiful with all of the excellent facilities you'd expect for a five star. The beach is just right for kids and the water is crystal clear and like swimming in a sea water bath. The best bit about this resort is, however, the staff. We have stayed in some amazing resorts in most parts of the world, but the staff at the Porto Elounda at like none we have ever encountered. They are all highly professional and amazingly friendly and each and every one of them goes out of their way to help you. It would be unfair to name individuals as all of the staff are truly excellent, and the hotel management should be proud of this. Finally it is also worth mentioning that the food in the restaurants is of a great standard, but our favourite is the buffet at the Nafsika run by the excellent Nikos; great views, great staff and a great variety of food.

Overall this is a well run hotel with great facilities and staff and it has genuinely been one of the best holidays we've ever had; we will miss it.

This place is like a peace of heaven.

The crew was great ,very kind and nice everywhere ,we left the child at home and came for three days of rest and relaxation . The posting was beyond expectations ,the bay is very beautiful ,clean and Trimmed,the sea water are clean and clear ,they clean the beach every day ,the service was great ,the room was very clean and the cleaning services was at least 2 times per day . very recommended this place.