Aquila Porto Rethymno

Prime Location: The hotel is ideally situated across the road from a clean, sandy beach with crystal-clear water, offering sunbeds for guests. It is within walking distance (10-20 minutes) to Rethymno Old Town, bars, restaurants, shops, and historic sites.

Recently returned from a 10 night stay with my husband and 17 year old son. I chose the hotel based on food reviews and the location and it didn't disappoint. We stayed in one room and booked through TUI. If you want lots of outside space and prefer to sunbathe round a large pool, geared up for children, then you may be disappointed. If you prefer the beach or smaller pool area and want to be near to the Old Town, then this is a great hotel. Location The hotel is situated on a busy coastal road by the sea and a 10/15 minute stroll into the old town passing several bars and restaurants, some of which we ate or had a drink in and they were reasonably priced. The old town is simply stunning and the locals were so friendly. There is a Venetian harbour, lighthouse and fortress all within walking distance. Rethymno also has a little red train which takes you round the old twon and an open top hop on/hop off bus. There are several water sports. Room We didn't pay for a sea view and were in one of the older rooms overlooking the road at the back. This was quiet though and we slept well at night. The room was spotless and cleaned every day. The shower ( over the bath in our room ) was powerful and didn't leak, there was enough storage for the 3 of us ( I asked for a few extra coat hangers and a shower mat as slippy without, which was provided within a few minutes) . The beds were very comfortable and I noticed the hotel app states you can request different types of pillows although we didn't as the ones provided were perfect. The room itself wasn't 5 star but was what I expected given we've stayed in other hotels of the same/similar star rating. Food We always go Half Board which suits us. The dining room has seats inside and by the pool area. We always ate in the dining room as it was cooler with the air conditioning. The dining room was the perfect size for us, not too big and the food was excellent with a great variety. Tuesday night was Greek BBQ night with a range of meats and there were other themed nights. As other reviews state, the drinks were a bit pricey but it is a hotel. A large bottle of water was 5 euros, a soft drink was 4 euros 60 and large beer 7.50 euros. It wasn't much cheaper in the nearby bars. The desserts were also varied and beautiful. The staff were super efficient, polite and welcoming. We really enjoyed meal times which is always our favourite part of a holiday. It was also nice to have tea/coffee served at the table at breakfast rather than queing for the coffee machines. Service / Hotel Staff This deserves a special mention as we couldn't fault it. The shortfalls in sunbeds and space was made up with the hotel service. We received a warm welcome each time we entered the restaurant and shown to a table. The reception staff and of course lovely Eleni ( animation team ) were fantastic and this is what makes a great holiday to us. They genuinely want their guests to have a good time. Eleni ran the activities herself.

So its important to note that Im not going to give my thoughts on what I believe the true star rating of the hotel is, you will have to come yourself and check it out. Let's begin. We stayed in side sea view room 332, which was clean, spacious and had comfortable beds and a good shower area. No issues with the room, good amount of space for cloths etc. We arrived after midnight and no issues at check in, given a form to fill out, and told we could do it in our room and bring down next morning. It would've been nice to have been offered small snack etc, however not the case, its the little things! Staff do work incredibly hard, but not enough of them to go around especially in busy periods, this is very evident. Special mention to Maria, who I have to say had exceptional customer service skills. So, let's talk about food. Well in general its ok, I really can't add much more than that. You can always get something. I've read many reviews saying the buffet style is the best that they have had. Well I've had better and also had much worse. In my mind its an adequate all inclusive buffet trying to cater for different nationalities. Drinks, well there is no formal bar area, so manger please take take this advice. Open up the indoor bar area and give people what they want, a proper bar. You have to wait for staff to walk around and take your order, its not always ideal and this is the first all inclusive where guests can't pull a simple beer! Again its the small things. Again manager take note, its a good idea! Drinks are pricey if you're paying for them. You might want to consider the AI option. So the hotel is in the third biggest city, its a city hotel and as such its landlocked, you can't do anything to expand or modify and as such the major compromise is the main pool area. You see the dining room is not big enough to cater for busy periods so the sunbeds have had to go to make way for outdoor dining. In fairness there is about a dozen or so beds round one side. The pool is partially shaded. Then there is a what I would call plunge pool on the mezzanine terrace which has room for maybe 20 parasols and beds. Also some shaded areas. Then they have the indoor spa pool which is very small,so no one ever uses it. The one big plus is over the road you have full access to free hotel beds and there are plenty of them. Then straight down to the sea which has a lovely small gradient to walk out into. Location is also a huge advantage, 15 min walk to old town which is stunningly beautiful. In peak months is very busy. The A la Carte restaurant is superb, stunning food, huge portions, one might argue too much food, but truly world class. Service impeccable. You must visit. So i will conclude, more positives than negatives overall. Had a good holiday. I will be returning to Rethymno again because it is a beautiful resort. Oh one last thing, be careful around the plunge pool, floor is very slippy, go careful.