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As a Marriott Platinum guest I’m always happy to see a new property join the Marriott family. Marriott treats me pretty well, I get a good number of upgrades and they have some good hotels at which I enjoy redeeming my points – a new property gives me more options…and I like options.
Marriott’s Autograph Collection of hotels has been growing rapidly recently (I’ve covered some of their recent additions here and here) and it looks like things aren’t slowing down.
Domes of Elounda is the first Greek and Mediterranean resort to join the Autograph Collection and it looks pretty good.
The resort is located on the north coast of the Greek Island of Crete (click to enlarge)……
…and it boasts a “collection of 78 lavish suites and 40 villas“.
If the photos are anything to go by the resort is pretty spectacular…..
There are 4 different types of accommodation at the resort:
- Suites
- Private Residences
- Ultraluxe Villas
- Luxury Residences
The last category of accommodation is new and has been added as a result of a multi-million dollar expansion which has seen the creation of 28 “Domes Luxury Residences” which have been furnished with “every imaginable amenity and generous private swimming pools“.
A private pool at Domes of Elounda
If you’re not fortunate enough to have your very own private pool, one of the five pools open to all resort guests (2 salt water and 3 fresh water) will probably be ok….
If you’re anything like me (i.e someone who doesn’t see the point of swimming pools when you have an entire sea/ocean at your disposal) then the beach at the resort will probably be what you’re interested in:
The resort has 4 restaurants serving a variety of dishes from Greek seafood to steaks and international cuisine (more information here) and 3 bars (including a pool bar) round off the dining/drinking options.
One of the 4 restaurants at the resort
And if one of the restaurants or pool bars isn’t where you’d like to relax, it looks like you may be able to find a spot with a view….
So what do guest think?
The TripAdvisor reviews look impressive:
Most of the reviews are very positive but the few negatives that are touched upon are:
- The balconies/patios of the suites can be small and not very private
- Some accommodation not ideal for those with mobility issues
- Coffee capsules in the rooms are not complimentary
- Management not being very visible
If those are the worst things about the resort, I think I can live with them – although a private balcony would be preferable to one that’s overlooked by other rooms.
Pricing & Awards
Prices aren’t yet available on Marriott.com and, when I reached out to the Autograph Collection via their Twitter account (@Autograph), I found out why – the transition over to the Autograph Collection hasn’t been completed yet:
As the resort hasn’t been fully loaded into Marriott’s systems there’s no way of telling what award availability will be like…but we do know one thing – awards are not going to come cheap. The resort will be joining Marriott Rewards in their top band of hotels & resorts – Category 9 – which means redemptions for a basic room (suite) should be between 40,000 – 45,000 points per night depending on season.
Marriott Rewards gives guests their 5th night free on award stays so the sweet-spot (no pun intended) for a suite reservation at this resort will be a 5-night stay.
The resort’s website is still only showing rates for 2015 but they could be indicative of what we can expect when Marriott loads prices in October.
Additionally, the resort’s 2015 price list shows that they have minimum stay requirements (either 3 day or 7 days depending on the accommodation) so it will be interesting to see if this is something that continues or these restrictions are removed following the transition to the Autograph Collection.
The following are extracts from the Domes of Elounda Website and do not represent the full 2015 price list – all prices are in Euros
Overall
Without 2016 prices or a view on how good/bad award availability is it’s hard to say just how great this addition will be to the Marriott Collection. Having said that, I’ve been wanting to visit Crete for a good number of years (I’d love to see the ruins at Knosos and what remains of the Minoan civilisation) so this resort will definitely be of interest to me.
I’ll update this post when Marriott loads up inventory and pries into their system.
All images in this article courtesy of Domes of Elounda.
