Rethymno Palace

We are two couples that come here and just chill for a week, what more could you want, The hotel is run very well, I like to see the new manager doing his tours a number of times a day making sure all is fine and is approachable for any problems at all(although I had none). reception helpful. local drinks and cocktails were good too. 20 minute bus ride into Rethymno from the hotel. The rooms have all been updated and lovely and fresh also quite large. The Hotel is on the high-street one end and on the beach the other served by two bars with loads of room not just in bars but also by the pool and beach. The Food really tasty and fresh with a massive choice and differently themed everyday, What makes this hotel is the staff, I normally name names however every single member of staff did their job perfectly with no complaints, Many, many thanks to the Rethymno Palace staff for making our stay enjoyable and see you soon. Darren x

This is by far the worst 5 Star hotel we have ever been to ! It is in a dreadful location overlooking tatty old buildings to the front and fronting on to a busy main road. Rethymno is like Southend on Sea in the sun. It is a 3 Star at best Everything is about 50 years old The sun loungers by the beach are FILTHY. Obviously never get cleaned when they should daily. That’s if they’re not ripped ! We SUPPOSEDLY paid for an apartment with a sea view. We could see the sea once you look past the pool, trees, other parts of the hotel building, scruffy roof tops and the adjacent scruffy land and neighbouring apartments. The furniture in the pool bar house needs a damn good scrub and clean. The beach is thick gravely shingle which is hard work to walk on and forget about having a nice walk up the beach, too hard. The brochure photos show lovely gardens leading onto the beach, forget that ! Then we come to the staff. My wife was in tears with the way we were spoken to and treated. Nobody to help with cases after a long tiring journey. When we questioned the reception staff about the sea view we were met with an aggressive and confrontational response, arguing about how the room was fine and actually drawing a plan of the building ! When I asked the pool bar staff for a cup of tea I was given a cardboard cup of hot water and a tea bag. When I asked for a proper cup, he raised his eyebrows and muttered, why hadn’t I asked for that to start with ? The Restaurant staff are no better ( except the manager lady, she was lovely ). They just give you dirty looks for no reason. No table service bringing tea or coffee so you just have to get your breakfast from the appalling slop of a buffet then go back for your hot drink. The juices aren’t even fresh, they’re just some sort of flavoured drink. The evening meal buffet is just horrible, every night. Just slop. We’re not snobs with unrealistic expectations, we’re just normal people who rightly want certain standards from a 5 Star resort, which we paid for. We HAD to get an early flight home as we couldn’t put up with this treatment in such a rotten place. They didn’t care, they had our money, oh well never mind they probably said. They have much to learn and do to even think about deserving a 5 Star rating. Absolutely appalling, would NEVER recommend to anyone. A complete waste of our time and money. Now have to arrange to go somewhere else to get over this experience. Oh yes, and our taxi driver who took us to the airport said he has heard this many times before about this hotel. Shameful !!!

Excellent holiday, very clean and tidy hotel. Plenty of choise for food in the restaurant and beach bar. By far the most welcoming and friendly staff. Venizelos , Marco and Stavrula were the best bartenders we've seen. They make you feel welcomed and they are good fun. We sure made some good friends in Crete. Overall all the staff were brilliant ( from reception to restaurant , bar and housekeeping).

General manager who shouted to their guests just must be fired!!!! It is unacceptable to dictate guests to whom they must open the door at night. Just a situation, lady with mental problem just coming to each door and our friends opened the door as it was 3.30 am, lady asked to go to the toilet and after that just said that she will sleep in this room. Coming next day for manager to exposing why it was happened he told - not open the door at night, he has 500 people and I am wrong and just to shut up. Never will come here. From 5star hotel you are waiting great service, but unfortunately not 😥

Hotel was nice and clean and staff was friendly. We had only breakfast which was little disappointment. Nearby restaurants were luckily very good. Nothing to criticize in the room except poor sound insulation and poorly functioning air condition. Electricity cannot be hacked such a way that you put a piece of paper into card slot. Works only with the room key card which you get only one. Pool was very nice and big. Maybe the warmest water I have ever been in. Other guests reserved sunbeds even though that is not allowed. In the beach it was also hard to get sunbed. If you don’t have all inclusive I suggest you eat lunch somewhere else than in the hotel. From the beach bar you only get gyros pita which is poorly made. When we arrived at very late evening, the hotel offered us a evening snack, which was nice. Overall the hotel was a really great choice, would give it 4 stars.

Everything at this place is just wonderful. We enjoyed the oppurtunity to have a lot of relaxing time at the beach, at the pool and at the bar. Especially the evenings at the bar with @Venizelos and @Marco were very special. They create us a wonderful time - with jokes, music, dancing, cocktails and a show of throwing bottles to the air. We would be happy to have more of this evenings left. Go there and see for yourself :) All the best Ramina & Meli

Spent a week at the hotel in July, half board. Excellent service on arrival in the middle of the night, they had even prepared a small meal for us. Swift and efficient check in. Great breakfast buffet, with everything you could want. We received the best service we could ask for, especially from the restaurant and bar staff, but also reception and spa (no names mentioned, none forgotten). The hotel is very clean, and kudos to hard working cleaners who also always had a smile to offer. Dinner buffet was varied, and the option to attend the ´fine dining´ is worth exploring if you are half board or all inclusive. We also need to mention the shop in the hotel, run by the sweetest couple. Wifi worked fine, parking no problem, and A/C and fan worked well. There is, however, one topic we would like to address - the forever aggrevating issue of sunbeds being reserved by placing towels from early morning onwards - by breakfast time there are hardly beds left, and we saw reserved beds actually untouched until well after lunch , if at all. There is a sign several places saying it is forbidden to reserve beds, and towels will be removed - but this is not enforced, neither by the pools nor on the beach. Here we think management should be much stricter, it is extremely annoying. Also, the beach is lovely, but perhaps not the ‘friendliest’ - the seabed is very uneven, and when there is a bit of wind, the vawes are quite forceful. Water temperature is heavenly, though. But all in all - we were very happy with our stay, the hotel is as lovely as their photos on their website - and was only made even better due to their friendly staff!

The employees of the front desk need to have more knowledge to guide better the tourist

Be aware, that the photos is not from this hotel. This hotel is 3 stars hotel. I was still very satisfied with this hotel, but it is not what is on pictures and what they claim to be. There is just 1 bufet/canteen and you can eat there just in clothes and you can not take any fruits or cake with you outside. Next to pools there is just 1 open bar with coctails and ice cream. Nothing more. If you are hungry, you need to put some clothes on you and go inside to canteen. But on the other side, hotel is very clean, stuuf is very very helpful and polite. They prepare show for guests every second evening. It is also very quiet and friendly place to stay. Regarding beach, I don't recommend it for family with small childrens. There are big roks and big waves in the sea. Very dangerous for non-swimmers.