The luxury hotel Blue Palace in Greece has created a buzz locally due to its exemplary spa offerings, brand new facilities, and location directly opposite the historic Venetian castle of Spinalonga. The luxury resort is a multi-facility complex extending vertically up a steep hill from the shoreline. The upper half of The Blue Palace (holding the rooms and some restaurants) is connected with the lower half (with the spa, other restaurants and beach) by a combination of elevators and an unusual glassed-in elevator on incline tracking.
The Blue Palace is located on the coast a few kilometers north of the tourist village of Elounda, and just 500 meters south of the tiny fishing hamlet of Plaka. As such, it enjoys a more isolated – if windier – position than the other Elounda-area resorts. It’s also possible to hike along the almost uninhabited ridgeline north of the hotel for fantastic views of the sea and land.
The facilities
The first thing one notices upon entering the Blue Palace is the impressive reception/bar area, modelled directly on the medieval Venetian arsenals of Heraklio, Crete’s capital. The architects followed the original design of thick, 11-meter high rounded columns which give the hotel a grand and imposing air from the beginning.
The Blue Palace has five restaurants. The very popular Asia Blue offers a diverse and delicious mix of Chinese, Japanese, Polynesian and Thai dishes (including sushi) presented with flair. A French-Med gourmet restaurant, L’Orangerie, is located midway between the hotel’s two main sections. The Greek-specialty Blue Door offers tasty Cretan dishes and seafood, and the newest restaurant, Isola, has an Italian menu.
The luxury hotel’s main restaurant Olea has an extensive Champagne breakfast buffet, and the poolside Isola beach-bar Isola serves up snacks. The lounge bar, Votsalo, is also by one of the hotel pools.
In the evening, when its impressive columns are illuminated, the outdoor section of the luxury hotel’s Arsenali Bar is a great place for a drink. Against the back wall on the inside, the subdued tones of Moroccan lamps cast exotic shadows on the comfortable, sectioned-off couches with their own tables.
The spa is this luxury hotel’s leading asset. Massages, beauty and wellness treatments and well-known standbys aromatherapy and thalassotherapy keep guests extremely happy. Service is friendly and relaxed, and indeed having a white-robed masseuse waiting for one in a soft-lit corridor does give the feeling of what it must be like to enter heaven.
The spa centre contains an indoor heated pool, an alternative to the lively hotel pool. A clean and refreshing sea awaits swimmers, but be warned that the Blue Palace beach is rather rocky: you might be more comfortable using the luxury hotel’s own seawater pool. Water sports are also on offer, as well as tennis courts and a gym on the grounds.
The rooms
The Blue Palace’s 251 air-conditioned rooms and suites are very clean, with satin sheets, marble bathrooms and verandas with sea views. Decor is comfortable and contemporary, in fresh terracotta and ocean-blue colours. Guests have access to the internet, satellite TV and CD/DVD players.
If you want to indulge yourself a little more, stay in one of the four grand villas for private, sumptuous accommodation. All these huge spaces are decorated luxuriously, as well as boasting Jacuzzis, saunas, private gardens and barbeque grills outside. The Royal Blue Villa even has its own butler service.
Hotel hotlists
"A contemporary luxury hotel resort, with a sublime, hedonistic spa and beautiful Elounda locale."
