Our Web Marketing Director will be speaking at EyeforTravel and TMA’s E-Tourism and Travel Distribution Southern Europe and Mediterranean, taking place on at the Technopolis in Athens, Greece this January 31 and February 1.

Mr George Fassas will be covering the following topic “How to build Perfect hotel website – Inspire or ecommerce, partners or direct, cheap and cheerful or artistic masterpiece” on Monday January 31st at 16:00 local time.

For full agenda details you can go here http://events.eyefortravel.com/e-tourism/agenda.asp

(Το κείμενο ακολουθεί και στα Ελληνικά)

Three new awards have been added to Domes’ list, confirming international recognition of the high quality and standard of service Domes of Elounda provides.

More specifically, leading travel website Trip Advisor.com, Conde Nast the most valid international hotel accreditation organization, and one of the largest luxury tour operators in the world, Sovereign Luxury Travel, all included Domes of Elounda in their lists of the world’s leading hotels.

Tripadvisor.com, with over 2.5 million daily visitors, awarded Domes of Elounda the “Certificate of Excellence 2010” while users rated the hotel as the leading five star resort in Elounda, based on overall quality, customer experience, value of services provided and overall impression of guests.

Additionally, Conde Nast Johansens awarded Domes with the award of “Most Excellent Resort in Europe 2010” based on research conducted by company executives and guests of the hotel that completed Conde Nast surveys and questionnaires.

Finally, Sovereign Luxury Travel granted Domes with an award of excellence for demonstrating outstanding quality and service!

Located in Plaka on the Greek Island of Crete, opposite the historic Island of Spinalonga, Domes of Elounda is also a proud sponsor of the brand new TV series “The Island” based on Victoria Hislop’s bestselling novel and continues to initiate programs supporting the environmental and cultural aspects of the region.

Τρεις νέες διεθνείς διακρίσεις έρχονται να προστεθούν στη σειρά βραβεύσεων που έχει δεχτεί το ξενοδοχείο Domes of Elounda, all suites and villas spa resort της Ledra Hotels and Villas SA, επιβεβαιώνοντας την αναγνώριση διεθνώς της υψηλής ποιότητας υπηρεσιών που παρέχει.

Πιο συγκεκριμένα ο διεθνής ιστότοπος Trip Advisor.com, ο πλέον έγκυρος διεθνής οργανισμός πιστοποίησης στον τουριστικό χώρο Conde Nast και μία από τις μεγαλύτερες εταιρείες παροχής τουριστικών υπηρεσιών υψηλής ποιότητας το Sovereign Luxury Travel συμπεριέλαβαν το Domes of Elounda στα καλύτερα ξενοδοχεία του κόσμου.

Το πολυτελές Domes το οποίο βρίσκεται στην Πλάκα Eλούντας, απέναντι από την ιστορική Σπιναλόγκα, απέσπασε τo Certificate of Excellence 2010 από την ταξιδιωτική ιστοσελίδα Τripadvisor. com, με πάνω από 2,5 εκατ. χρήστες ημερησίως, ως ένα από τα κορυφαία ξενοδοχεία για το 2010, ενώ βαθμολογήθηκε, πάντα από τους χρήστες, με άριστες βαθμολογίες. Τα κριτήρια αφορούσαν στην ποιότητα, τη γενική εμπειρία πελάτη και την αξία παρεχόμενων υπηρεσιών με βάση και τις εντυπώσεις των χρηστών της, που διαμένουν στα ξενοδοχεία και τις κρίσεις των εξειδικευμένων στελεχών της.

Παράλληλα, διακρίθηκε με το βραβείο Most Excellent Resort in Europe 2010 από τον διεθνούς εμβέλειας και κύρους οργανισμό πιστοποίησης ξενοδοχείων Conde Nast Johansens, έπειτα από έρευνα στελεχών της εταιρείας, αλλά και από πελάτες του ξενοδοχείου βάσει εξειδικευμένου ερωτηματολόγιου αξιολόγησης της Conde Nast.

Επίσης, το Sovereign Luxury Travel με βάση τις κρίσεις των πελατών του απένειμε το βραβείο εξαιρετικής ποιότητας στο Domes of Elounda για τις παρεχόμενες υπηρεσίες, την επάρκεια υποδομών, αλλά και το υψηλής στάθμης ανθρώπινο δυναμικό που διαθέτει.

Σημειώνεται ότι το ξενοδοχείο Domes of Elounda, all suites and villas spa resort της Ledra Hotels and Villas SA είναι από τους χορηγούς της δημοφιλούς τηλεοπτικής σειράς «Το νησί», ενώ συμμετέχει σε προγράμματα εταιρικής κοινωνικής ευθύνης στην περιοχή, στηρίζοντας την ανάδειξη του περιβαλλοντικού και πολιτιστικού πλούτου στην περιοχή.

Get a peak at the kitchen at the Domes of Elounda annual festival de la gastronomie, as 7 awarded chefs prepare gourmet dishes for 700 guests.

Last summer for the first time, Domes of Elounda kicked off its annual Festival de la Gastronomie inviting a different distinguinshed chef to serve as head chef at its most exclusive restaurant each weekend. To visit the official Festival de la Gastronomie page from last year, click here.

Currently the Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, Marco Garfagnini has learned under the best chefs in the UK, Spain and Italy such as Martin Berasategui at his eponymous three Michelin-starred restaurant in San Sebastian and two Michelin-star Juan Roca in Girona. Famous for his “Brittany Lobster Risotto” and “Cheese Tortelli scented with Lemon and Mint” recipes, he continues to operate his own Michelin star awarded Restaurant, “Ninan” in Carrera, Tuscany. In 2005, he was recognised as ‘Young Italian Chef of the Year’. “For me, it is not so much about where I am working but the people I am working with.”

Below are some photos from the 4th weekend:

Born into a family of gourmets, his father himself a chef, on the Greek island of Rhodes, Troumouches Georgios has always seen food as a means to express feelings, as communication, as an experience and a means to transmit emotion. “Playing with ingredients, colors and aromas, can travel you into the world of flavor, transforming desire for taste into a sensual experience…a memory”
As boy his father made sure part of his upbringing was helping out in some of Greece’s top kitchens. The years that followed, in every restaurant, and every chef he worked with was a piece of an endless gastronomic puzzle depicting who he is today. Having worked with many chefs of the Greek culinary elite, such as Adamos Dotsios, Kostas Rallis, Nikos Sarandos and Anreas Scheuregger, and after several guest appearances at restaurants around the world he now serves as executive chef at the Ellysium in Rhodes.

Below are some photos from the 3rd weekend:

This past weekend, our head chef impressed all the guests that honored us with their presence at the second weekend of the Festival de la Gastronomie.

A rising star in Greece, Thodoros Kassavetis has been working for the last year under the supervision of Lefteri Lazarou in the awarded restaurant “Topos”, while before that he has worked next to great chefs like Veron Saurex in “Spondi” restaurant, Ioannis Baxevanis in “xitra” restaurant and Lefteri Lazarou in “Varoulko” restaurant.

The Festival will continue every weekend throughout the summer as we continue to make new friends and enrich our palettes with renowned guest chefs!

Below are some photos from the 2nd weekend:

The 1^st annual Festival de la Gastronomie at the Domes of Elounda officially opened its doors this past weekend with gourmets and food-lovers from around the world joining the festivities! In an ideal setting, our exclusive Topos 1910 restaurant on the beach,  Dimitrios Dimitriadis (Greece) was the chef who kicked off the event satisfying the palettes of our most demanding guests. Over the next five weekends the Festival continues with Marco Garfagnini, Lefteri Lazarou and Yves Mattagne to name but a few…

Here are a few photos from the 1st day:

Chef Leuteri Lazarou

It is our pleasure to announce the 1st annual Festival de la Gastronomie! This summer Domes of Elounda brings the world of haute cuisine to our resort continuing our dedication to maintain the ultimate in culinary culture for our guests as part of the Domes of Elounda experience! As interest towards Domes has been rising in gastronomic circles, this event has yet again created a buzz and the culinary elite have their eyes on Domes!

Visit our website to learn more.

A luxury resort in Greece blogging?  Aren’t 5 star resorts supposed to be snobbish, overpriced and only for the privileged? After all, “if you can’t afford us, don’t waste our time! People don’t want to get to know you, they just want to book a suite and never be bothered! Right?” WRONG!

We are blessed to live in a time where communication is open, media are no longer fragmented and people have access to an infinite amount of information. Companies have managed to rebrand themselves (Microsoft – Robert Scoble), and others suffered the consequences of not listening to users! (Jeff Jarvis vs. Dell). Things are no different for a 5 star resort.

A hotel blog has been something we were meaning to do for quite some time now. Asking management to express the company’s position publicly definitely raised a few eyebrows and is considered by many as taking a risk. However my decision to start this blog was based on the firm belief that transparency is key.

People will be talking about our Resort whether we like it or not. We might as well join the conversation and make sure we address their concerns, if any. We are ready to admit to our mistakes, willing to make amends for any inconvenience caused by our actions and eager to improve wherever necessary. Rather than losing control or losing customers, we have seen that the effect is exactly the opposite. People will believe you when you’re willing to show them your dirty laundry.

Transparency builds trust; people need to know that you’re not trying to fool them. Trust builds interest; people will want to see what it is that you do and learn more. Interest generates leads; whether it is in terms of bookings or in terms of market research (feedback) the gain can be tremendous. Pledging to not hide anything about your resort, if nothing else, is a pretty good motivator for constant improvement! So, stay tuned… we’ve got a lot of work to do.