Elea Terra

I do not recommend a holiday at the Elea Terra hotel in Crete with TUI. The stay was quite disappointing. First of all – there were no optional excursions organized from the hotel. TUI offers no on-site activities and wasn’t even able to assist with arranging anything. We also tried to get help finding a car rental, but that was a complete failure – TUI staff were clueless and unhelpful, as if they had just arrived themselves. As for the hotel itself – the standard is very basic. There isn’t even an electric kettle in the room, which is quite ridiculous these days. You can ask for hot water at the bar, but no one wants to spend their holiday running back and forth with a mug every time they want tea. In summary – this offer is definitely not worth the money, and TUI showed a total lack of engagement and professionalism. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone expecting even a minimum level of comfort and support from the travel company.

Very nice Owners of a nice Hotel. Seems the entire Family helps out. That’s makes the stay something special. Fantastic breakfast in a brilliant ambient. The rooms are a little worn, especially the bathroom is, but that’s noting severe…. everything is clean and tidy. We got our own parking space underneath grape wine. There is also a nice and tidy pool with a well kept lawn. I fully recommend this hotel!

We had fabulous two weeks in this fine hotel and the perfect surroundings of Matala. Especially we enjoyed the strong and smart personality of the owner. During our stay we had a lot of nice little encounters with her, and Maria proved to be a perfect host: she knew everything about Crete and the area in the south which we loved not only because of the good weather. She supported us, no matter if it was about the little things of everyday life, good restaurants, or human matters. She‘s perfect in balancing the private and the professional. Our room was constantly kept clean. The swimmingpool: nice, though obviously second choice for us lovers of the open sea. So, thanks to Maria‘s wonderful character, we even enjoyed one or two rainy evenings in the hotel space. The massage offered was professional and first class, the breakfast a perfect start of our days there - and we know exactly where we wil go when we return - hopefully soon! Highly recommended. Elke and Michael!

We started on the wrong foot at Elea Terra, when the lady at the reception asked us to pay extra for the air conditioning that was included in our price. Apparently there is a problem with booking .com , where it simply doesn't say anywhere that air contidioning costs extra. But after the problem was solved we had a fantastic time there. The rooms are basic, but big enough and good enough. The pool area is fantastic, with real grass, and very calm. The buffet breakfast was excellent considering the price of the rooms. We stayed at more expensive places with much smaller buffets. And the location was perfect: walking distance to the beach, but distant enough so we didn't have to deal with the crowd and noise that goes with it. I highly recommend Elea Terra! It's great value for money.

Having looked round Matala nothing comes anywhere close to Elea Terra. It oozes Greek charm and the family and their colleagues who run the hotel are the nicest most welcoming people you could wish to meet. Absolutely nothing negative to say about this hotel just lots of positives. Here are the main bits: Cleanliness - the whole place, inside and out is super clean!! Location - steady safe and accessible 10min stroll into town all on the flat. The hotel is set in beautiful well tended grounds of apricot & citrus trees and flowers surrounded by Cretian mountains. The Pool - fabulous sized perfectly maintained pool with sunbeds & brollys and a great bar with fab music! Breakfast - served on the patio, tasty, freshly made and plentiful, with a lot of the produce being sourced very locally!! Warning: if you are looking for a big fat fry up of processed chemically induced food - this is NOT the breakfast for you!! Rooms - can only comment on our room which was fab, clean and comfortable. Yes, we had to throw toilet paper in the bin and the showers are not probably the conventional European type but hey, your in Greece! Get over it and enjoy! It’s no hardship!! It’s part of the Greek charm!! The Beds & Pillows - absolute 5* standard - Amazing, seriously!! Thank You so much to Maria, Vasiliki, George, Yannis and everyone else for being so professional, so friendly and for making our trip to Matala and Elea Terra so special! We will be back!!