Blue Palace Elounda, a Luxury Collection Resort, Crete

There are places in this world that resonate with the soul, where the boundaries between reality and dreams blur into something extraordinary. The Blue Palace is such a place. Nestled by the eternal Aegean, your sanctuary offered us more than just a retreat—it was a journey into serenity, a dance between nature's beauty and human warmth.

Your team’s professionalism was flawless, yet it was the genuine kindness in each gesture that truly made our stay profound. In your care, we felt a harmony that is rare and precious, an experience that transcends the ordinary.

Thank you for crafting an environment where beauty, service, and spirit converge. We leave with hearts full of gratitude, knowing we will return to this magical place.

This was my fifth visit to the Blue Palace and my first under the new regime - Phaea. The service was over the top incredible. The concierge is perhaps the best and most responsive team I’ve ever dealt with. The property is much smaller since they are renovating the entire other side.
Only suggestion is to update the beach chairs and accommodations and the pool needs more sun umbrellas for shade. The pools in the room could use an update as well. I think those are carried over from the Marriott days.
Can’t wait to return next summer. An unbelievable kind and hard working staff that made sure everything was taken care of and attended to. Yassas!!

My husband and I had an absolutely amazing stay at the Phaea Blue Palace soon after its re-opening as a luxury boutique hotel. We didn't know the previous version of this hotel to compare to but we loved the "new" version, with all the thoughtful gestures towards sustainability and efforts to integrate with Cretan culture & foods, etc - whilst still maintaining the quality and personalised service you expect from a 5-star place. Yes, it's a smaller "boutique" property and OK, it hasn't got 18 restaurants and 6 pools and golf course and helipad and watersports centre with giant slide - blah-blah-blah - but that doesn't mean that the experience is any less luxurious. If anything, the smaller size means you feel like the staff really treat you as individuals (even friends!) rather than just another dollar sign with a room number attached.

The location is sublime with the views to Spinalonga Island; sunset dinners at the Blue Door Taverna on the beach are just magical and lots of local attractions are within easy driving or boating distance. You can also do daytrips to several other parts of Crete easily. We made a daytrip to the Omalos Plateau & Diktamos (Zeus) cave one day and climbed to the top of the mountains (high enough that everything was covered in a freezing mist!) and were back in time for a lovely dinner in the main restaurant.
(Yes, there were roadworks/building work for the sister site going on while we were there but it honestly wasn't that much of a hassle. You just had to look more than once each way before driving out of the hotel property onto the road and we weren't disturbed by the noise at all.)

The thing that really set the Phaea Blue Palace apart for us was the staff - all the smiles felt genuine and they really seemed delighted to help you enjoy Crete as much as possible. Lina Stratsiou, the Front Office Manager, was incredible, really going above and beyond - even months before we arrived in Crete, the level of effort & attention to detail she showed as we corresponded via email... she was so patient with my endless questions and itinerary changes, and her messages felt heartfelt and genuine, not just slick, stock responses. When we finally arrived at the hotel, we received such a warm personal welcome from her.

But all the staff were amazing. A lot of luxury hotels have perfectly trained staff but this is one of the few places where it felt authentic and not sycophantic. Unfortunately, I can't remember the names of all the people who made us feel so welcome but in addition to Lina, I'd like to say a special thank you to Stavroula, Maria & her team in the main restaurant Anthos and the charming Haris (manager of the Blue Door Taverna), who took great pride in providing top service but in a way which felt (again!) so genuine and heartfelt. (And we really enjoyed hearing his personal accounts of Cretan life...)

Really, with that gorgeous setting and the luxury amenities, it's not hard to have an amazing stay but it was the staff made it an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Our stay at Blue Palace was wonderful for everyone from our toddler to my parents. The hotel is perfectly situated just a few minutes walk to Plaka and a few minutes drive to Elounda. The hotel has multiple amazing restaurants, all of which I would highly recommend. If given the chance, definitely visit the Phaea Farmers Feast Pop Up - it was a truly unforgettable experience. The pool and beach are lovely and well equipped. The entire staff is super friendly and helpful with anything that you might need during your stay. We would definitely recommend staying at Blue Palace.

Oh, Elounda, what an amazing way to end our Crete trip. Check-in went smoothly, we got a corner room with a private pool. Although it’s heated, it felt kind of cold at night. The room looked clean overall. Room service was quick and delicious. My only complaint is that the service provided by the beach was too slow. There was only one girl working under the sun, and I could tell she was getting frustrated. You might have to come out early and reserve seats. Had a weird encounter with a family that’s been away for 2hrs come back to tell us that those were their seats and asked for us to move (weird and privileged to say the least). Second day we rode the water taxi from the hotel to Spinalonga island, and this experience was so much cooler in person! It was worth every penny. Also bring your own water, the island has one convenience store and the price is pretty hefty. Breakfast is free, and I recommend asking for seating by the balcony so you can enjoy the view. We also had a couple of drinks on the outdoor balcony in front of the hotel; the bartender was super friendly. Then, on our last night, we had a lovely dinner overlooking the island, and oh my goodness, the service, food, ambience was a top notch (Please book in advance for dinner and ask for outdoor seating). This hotel was purely magical; it really elevated the experience of Crete. I would love to come back again. Thank you for such a memorable stay.

Stunning hotel in a lovely location. Staff are incredibly friendly and attentive. The breakfast is fantastic. All the restaurants offer delicious food and wonderful service. Plaka is less than a five minute walk and while small has restaurants, coffee shops and some lovely gift shops.

Stunning location with panoramic views. Clearly high end and for a particular market. Service was ok, but slanted to more premium guests. Which was ok for us and we were happy to be pretty self contained. All staff were very friendly and happy to help with anything.

Clearly lots of rooms available because end of season. It would have been nice to have been offered an upgrade particularly as our stay was part of our honeymoon.

One of the most memorable holidays I've ever taken. 7 days at the Blue Palace felt like 14 days of blissful relaxation and rest. Not only is this place situated in a tremendously picturesque and beautiful location but the quality and service level from the Blue Palace team was exceptional. From the initial welcome to the hand shake good bye we were treated to genuine warmth, smiles and local hospitality. Special shout outs to Lydia who was a constant & friendly point of contact throughout our stay and Niki and the entire F&B team who provided a 5 star level of service and always went above and beyond to make sure we were happy and comfortable. 5/5!

Incredible luxury beach hotel. Food is very high quality, they have all of the amenities, and maybe the best beaches in the Mediterranean. Also, one of the quietest and most relaxing five star resorts I’ve ever been to. Highly recommend!