Aquila Porto Rethymno

A warm welcome when we arrived. Our room was lovely with an excellent side view to the sea. Bed was comfortable and the bathroom spotlessly clean. Buffet breakfast was one of the best we have seen. It was only a 20 min walk into the lovely old town (mainly on one level) with plenty of restaurants close to the beach but we ate at the hotels A-la-carte restaurant which served some of the best food we have ever had. We were there in April and there never seemed any problem with finding a sun lounger by the pools or o the beach. What really made it for us were the lovely staff who were so friendly and helpful. From the head waiter in the A-la-carte right down to the cleaners all the staff made us feel so welcome. his was our first visit but we will be back.

Nous avons aimés l'emplacement, le confort des lits et le personnel très agréable.

The employees were out of this world. Hospitable, friendly, could not help you enough.

Τοποθεσία, Καθαριότητα, Άνεση, Θερμή υποδοχή

Facilities and great breakfast

People always ask, ‘what was your hotel like?’, well a quicky summary. We stayed in a ‘Mythica’ room in a Superior Sea Room, recently upgraded and very good. One of the main reasons for this choice is that all Mythica guests can eat at the a la carte restaurant free of charge, you also receive wine and daily fruit in the room.

The food in the a la carte restaurant is of a very high standard including filet steak, lobster, and a fine menu. Particular praise must be given to Vassilis and especially Tula for looking after us.

The main restaurant offers a comprehensive breakfast (we ate out for Lunch) and some very good theme nights.

The Hotel is clean and well maintained. So, the question Is the Hotel 5 stars? I would say if you were in a Mythica room then yes. The other rooms maybe not. However, the Hotel has a very competitive price point compared to other hotels in the area.

So based on that I would say you are receiving very good value for your Pound or Euro.

My wife & I always look forward to returning to the beautiful island of Crete to stay at the Aquila Porto Hotel, Rethymno. This was our 9th visit & we are already looking forward to returning next year.
We were welcomed on our arrival at the hotel by the General Manager, Eftychis Petrakis, & the Rooms Division Manager, Natassa Pontelopoulou, who, along with the Guest Relations Manager, Nefeli, did everything they could to ensure our stay was enjoyable & memorable. All the staff are always welcoming & friendly, & are always happy to go the extra mile.
As well as the friendly staff, some of whom have become friends over the 9 years we have been coming here, the other main reason that we enjoy coming here is the location of the hotel, which has easy access to the lovely sandy beach, with ample hotel sunbeds, & staff on hand to provide beach service. Of course, swimming in the warm Mediterranean Sea is wonderful.
The old town of Rethymno is a short walk away, & is a delight to visit with its maze of streets with shops, restaurants & bars, & it is a must to walk around the old Venetian harbour with its light house.
Our superior room on the 5th floor was comfortable with a lovely sea view, & it was always kept clean & tidy by the housekeeping staff.
The buffet restaurant has a good choice of food which was well cooked & well presented, & the Head Chef, Stelios, was always on hand to advise you, especially if you have any dietary needs.
We also had the choice of eating in the hotel's a la carte Piazza di Porto restaurant, which is extremely well run by the excellent captain Vasilis Vasilakis, who always made us feel welcome & special. The food & ambience in this restaurant were excellent & memorable.
There is something special about this hotel which makes people come back again & again, & we will definitely be back next year.

ANMELDELSE KRETA TUREN OKT 2025
Vi var på en uges ferie på Hotel Aquila Porto Rethymno, i byen Rethymnon på Kreta, arrangeret af Apollo. Det var en virkelig dejlig ferie.
Hotel Aquila Porto Rethymno har en virkelig god lokation, stranden ligger lige over gaden, og den gamle hyggelige bydel ligger i gangafstand fra hotellet (20-25 minutter). Personalet var alle venlige og professionelle, og hotellets morgen buffet er simpelthen fantastisk, uden sidestykke. Vi giver vore varmeste anbefaliber til hotel Hotel Aquila Porto Rethymno,
Venlig hilsen JB.

REVIEW CRETE TOUR OCT 2025
We spent a week at Hotel Aquila Porto Rethymno, in the city of Rethymnon on Crete, organized by Apollo. It was a really nice vacation.
Hotel Aquila Porto Rethymno has a really good location, the beach is just across the street, and the old cozy town is within walking distance from the hotel (20-25 minutes). The staff were all friendly and professional, and the hotel's breakfast buffet is simply fantastic, unparalleled. We give our warmest recommendations to the hotel Hotel Aquila Porto Rethymno,
Best regards JB.

Très bel hôtel. Petit déjeuner de fou. Il y a tout. Charcuterie, fromage, omelette, œufs sur le plats, œufs pochés, fruits, pâtisserie, bulles, et j’en passe, ce n’est pas un breakfast, c’est un brunch.

We have just returned from a one week stay at the Aquila Porto Rethymno, our first time in Crete. Overall, I we rated this as a nice place to stay for a one week “second holiday”, although I am not sure it would be my first choice for my “main” 2 week summer break.

In more detail:

The room was very nice (we were upgraded to a sea view room – thanks). The cleaning was done to a good standard each day. The only issue here was that we wished we had taken our travel kettle – we left it at home because we saw that the room had tea and coffee making facilities but this entails the use of a coffee maker to boil water, which does so, but in very small doses, meaning you had to press the button about 10 times to fill a cup. And it sounds like a jet engine taking off. The room also had 2 cups which were the smallest cups I have ever seen, useful only for a tiny shot of espresso. We asked for some normal sized cups for tea but they never arrived and I think the request was lost in translation. In the end, we bought a new kettle and 2 cups in town.

The food was of a good standard, plenty enough choice and all cooked and presented well. My only concern with the meal arrangements was that the buffet restaurant is quite small so space is at a premium. You are supposed to book a slot on the app for your evening meal, which we did, but when arriving at the restaurant you are never checked against your time slot booking, so I didn’t understand at first why you need to book at all. It then dawned on me that its actually genius – all it does is ensure that guests are spaced out because you are unlikely to arrive at a different time to the one you booked. Very good.

Being October, there were always sunbeds available on the rooftop sun deck or round the pool but I guess this would be more of a challenge in peak months. However, there are loads of places available on the beach, free of charge, which was great.

We loved Rethymno – beautiful old town to wander around and just the right shade of “lively” for us. But I never appreciated just how big Crete is (162 miles wide apparently), so trips to anywhere else would be a bit of a trek. In the end, as we only had a week, we treated it as a nice “fly and flop” break, and it suited us just fine.

My only other observation, not a slight on the hotel at all, but given how many locals use scooters as their mode of transport and given obviously that the fumes from a scooter are not filtered, I found the air quality on the main coast road outside the hotel to be pretty poor. There is a constant whiff of petrol in the air. This was another reason that I preferred it on the beach rather than the sun deck because pollution rises in the air, the beach is slightly below road level so wasn't affected much, but the sun deck in the hotel is first floor level, and so smelled like sunbathing on a petrol forecourt.

Overall though, nice hotel, successful trip, and we would gladly return.

What a wonderful place to go. We have just returned from 2 weeks at this hotel, and cannot really fault it.
the room was modern and immaculately cleaned each day, great views, really friendly staff.
the food in the buffet was as expected, but as we were there for 2 weeks, we chose to eat out a lot in the 2nd week.
As we were there in October, the pool water was quite cold, but ok once in and climatised. the sea water was much warmer.
We had a few minor issues during the stay, which the hotel sorted immediately for us.
The only feedback if I could give any is that at the Beach front Anatolitiko cafe-bar service could be pretty slow through the days and evenings. We sometimes found a few hours between being served during the day, but we expect this to be the end of the season and a lot of staff probably leaving for the winder break.

This is not our first visit to Crete, but our first visit to the West side of Heraklion. We found it to be much busier than the other areas than before, which was good as there are lots of things to do. I would say if you just want peace and quiet, this is not the right place as the road is busy and lots of beeping noises. if you are looking for something with glorious views and great staff, but close to amenities, this is superb!!

Outstanding service from all staff dining and housekeeping lovely people. Great location . Food beautifully presented and cooked with a wide variety. One gripe had to pay 5 euros for a bottle of water to have with our meal or go thirsty! Beach nearby with sunbeds free unless you venture to the front 2 rows we went to the beach at 4 30 and we're told if we used the beds at the front which were all empty that we had to pay the full day rate of 15 euros ! Entertainment average lovely bar staff. Very hit and miss WiFi rarely accessible in room on 3rd floor. Long transfer from airport arrived after. Midnight no hot drinks or food available till breakfast . Overall a positive experience

Just returned from the Aquilla Porto. The Hotel itself is lovely, just on the edge of the Old Town and over the busy road is a beautiful sandy beach.
The Half Board option meant we didn't eat out much at all as the food was exceptional, lots of choice, fresh salad, fresh fruit, great lamb, salmon, feta, cakes, absolutely stuffed. Breakfast options really good too, fruit galore, fresh pancakes, crepes, omelettes. The staff really nice too, work really hard.
The negatives are the traffic noise that constantly surrounds the hotel at all times of day. The cost of wine and drinks from the bar (we could never find a wine price list, not even on the app that you book you sign up too when you arrive) The wine prices seem to fluctuate each night and a draught beer in nigh on 7 euro's. I am sure if prices were lower then guests would spend more at the Hotel.
The graffiti that greeted us on the drive in from the airport which adorns the streets on the ride in to Rethymno is a detriment to the beautiful Old Town. Hopefully some of the extortionate Environmental Tax of 15 euro's per night will go towards cleaning this up.

Alles super!

The hotel location, food, service and rooms were absolutely perfect. We have just returned after spending ten days here and we have had a fabulous holiday. The rooms are a good size and spotlessly clean. We had a balcony with a sea view, which was just wonderful. The food was buffet style and the choice was amazing, you could have completely different dishes every day. The staff could not do enough for you! Every member of staff made you feel special. The ladies cleaning the rooms were brilliant too.
The hotel is easily within walking distance of the harbour and old town of Rethymno. In fact it is in a perfect location, far enough out of the town centre. I would not hesitate to recommend this hotel.

The hotel is contemporary design and very clean.
The room and bathroom were a nice size and the shower was good.
It's worth booking a sea view.
The food was really good.
Staff were all friendly and helpful.
There are plenty of sunbeds on the beach so no need for early starts.
Fantastic location. Just a short walk to the old town and across the road from the beach.
The only negative was the cost of the drinks, €10.5 for a beer and small still water..
We decided to not drink at the hoteI as we were so close to so many bars.
I think it's a pity as everything else was perfect.

The hotel is not a 5-star hotel as advertised – more like 3.5 to 4 stars at best. The pool was very small, so if you plan to stay here, expect to swim in the sea instead. The breakfast, however, was really good, with plenty of options, and it was one of the highlights of our stay.

We traveled as a family and booked two rooms. Our children’s room (ages 23, 20, and 13) felt very small, so we asked for a larger one. The reception promised to let us know when a room became available, and when it did, they called us and offered to move our belongings. My husband said that was fine, but that we would come along as well.

When we arrived, they had already moved almost everything—except our daughter’s Prada bag worth €2,500. It was completely gone. We searched together with the staff, went through laundry, and spoke with several employees, but the hotel did not take us seriously. After many discussions and emails, they refused to compensate us. One staff member even questioned whether we had actually brought the bag and asked us to prove it—despite the fact that it was only our second day at the hotel and our daughter had barely had the chance to use it in Crete.

So our advice: never leave valuables in the room, or better yet, don’t bring expensive items here at all. There’s a real risk they might disappear, and the hotel takes no responsibility—even when it happens under their supervision.

Unfortunately, this turned into a real disappointment, especially since we are still waiting for the hotel’s insurance company to get back to us regarding compensation. The hotel is now blaming the insurance company for not responding, instead of taking responsibility themselves. Truly sad to see guests being treated this way.

This has never happened to us before in my 25 years of frequent traveling and need to share with other future guests.

My partner and I stayed here for a week and have loved it. The hotel is clean, full of facilities, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. We went bed and breakfast with a standard room, which was good value for money. The breakfast was excellent with a lot of options to choose from.

The hotel puts on some sort of entertainment every evening at their bar, and have a lot of activities to do during the day. There is a spa on site that offers a variety of treatments and a small gym. The hotel has a beach section with loungers and parasols with plenty of space for guests. On our last day we were able to use all of the facilities after we checked out before we left.

The town of Rethymno is lovely and has a lot going on, but isn't too rowdy. There are many restaurants and bars with a lot of variety to choose from, and plenty of places to book excursions. We were very pleased with the location as this seemed perfect for us as a couple.

The staff clearly take a lot of pride in the hotel, and we very much enjoyed our stay.