"We stayed at the Elysium for a week to celebrate my daughter's birthday, and overall we had a wonderful holiday. The hotel is beautiful, exceptionally clean, and set within stunning, immaculately maintained gardens that really add to the luxury feel of the resort.
One of the highlights of our stay was the pool area. Despite visiting during a very hot week, there was never any issue finding sunbeds, which made for a much more relaxing experience with none of the usual early-morning "sunbed wars." The pool itself was lovely and refreshing, and we spent a lot of time there throughout our stay.
The staff were consistently friendly, professional and hardworking. They always seemed willing to help and genuinely wanted guests to enjoy their holiday. Our room was cleaned daily, with fresh towels provided each day, and housekeeping did an excellent job throughout our stay.
The room itself was attractively decorated, comfortable and spotlessly clean. It was on the smaller side, but as we spent very little time in it, this wasn't really an issue. We were allocated what felt like the furthest room in the resort – literally the last room in the third building. Initially this was a little frustrating due to the amount of walking involved, but we soon got used to it. The reward was a stunning view of the sea, which was a lovely way to start and end each day.
The food was generally very good, with plenty of choice and variety throughout the week. My only criticism would be the breakfast buffet, which often wasn't hot enough. By the time you had collected your food and sat down, much of it had become lukewarm, which was disappointing.
The beach and sea were beautifully clean, and the water was crystal clear. However, the beach itself wasn't really for us. It's a pebble beach rather than a sandy one, and while it was very well maintained, the stones were uncomfortable underfoot and the coarse sand and gravel weren't particularly appealing.
There were a few areas where I felt the hotel fell slightly short of what I would expect from a five-star property. The main one was access to drinking water. Water was available at breakfast, but not at dinner, and there were no water refill stations anywhere in the resort. In a hotel of this standard, I would have expected guests to be able to refill water bottles easily.
Some of the hotel's rules also felt unnecessarily restrictive. There was no iron provided in the room, and guests had to call reception each time one was needed. The iron was only available for 30 minutes before it had to be returned, meaning multiple calls if you needed it more than once during your stay. It seemed a little inconvenient for a five-star resort. Likewise, on one evening we were asked quite firmly to leave the pool area at 6:30pm because it had closed, despite simply wanting to relax on the sunbeds rather than use the pool itself. While these are small points, they did feel slightly at odds with the relaxed luxury atmosphere the hotel otherwise provides.
The spa facilities looked excellent, but some of the treatment prices were surprisingly high. While you expect to pay a premium at a luxury resort, some of the costs felt difficult to justify. We also occasionally found ourselves waiting for a table at dinner despite there being empty larger tables available. On several occasions parties of two were asked to wait while four-person tables remained vacant, yet other couples were later seated at them. It wasn't a major issue, but it did seem a little inconsistent.
The on-site shop was also very expensive, although that is perhaps to be expected for the convenience it offers.
Overall, these were relatively minor criticisms in what was otherwise a fantastic stay. The Elysium is a beautiful hotel with excellent staff, lovely facilities, stunning grounds and a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere. We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and my daughter had a lovely birthday celebration. We would happily recommend the hotel to others and would certainly consider returning in the future.
Thank you to everyone at the Elysium for helping make our stay so enjoyable."
