Elounda

Elounda offers a quieter, more contemplative side of Greek coastal life. Facing the waters around Spinalonga, it combines Cretan hospitality, soft landscapes and refined resort culture in a setting of calm, sunlit restraint.

Elounda lies on the Gulf of Mirabello, a few miles north of Agios Nikolaos, in the Lasithi region of eastern Crete. Its bay is enclosed by the Spinalonga peninsula, joined to the shore by a narrow causeway near the sunken remains of ancient Olous. At the mouth of the bay stands the islet of Spinalonga, fortified by the Venetians and used as a leper colony until 1957.

The village itself remains small, with a harbour of fishing boats and tavernas and old windmills on the isthmus. From here it is easy to reach the Lasithi Plateau, the Minoan palace of Knossos about an hour away, the villages of the Mirabello hills and the gorges of eastern Crete. Since the 1970s, a series of resort hotels along the shore has made Elounda the most discreet luxury address on the island.

The season runs from late April to late October. May and June bring wild flowers, warm days and a sea that is pleasant by June; September and October are perhaps the finest months, with the water at its warmest after the summer and the light softer. July and August are hot and the busiest period, though the meltemi wind often cools the north coast.

Spring and autumn are also the best times to walk the gorges and visit Knossos and Spinalonga without the midday heat. Greek Orthodox Easter is celebrated with particular devotion in Crete, and the villages of the region hold their own saints’ day festivals through the summer. Most resort hotels close from November to April.

Elounda’s leading hotels line the shore of the bay, each with its own beach and views towards Spinalonga. Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas, opened in the early 1970s, set the tone for the coast; Elounda Mare Hotel, with bungalows and private pools by the water, stands close to the village; Blue Palace, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, climbs the hillside at Plaka facing the island; and Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel occupies its own small headland.

LVXVRY books Blue Palace through Marriott STARS & Luminous — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges the programme attaches to the stay. For the other houses, LVXVRY advises on choosing between the open gulf and the calmer inner bay, on room category and season, and arranges the stay, together with boats to Spinalonga and guiding at Knossos.