Aquila Porto Rethymno

Firstly a massive thank you to Eftychis Petrakis the General Manager and all his staff for their friendliness and generosity. This is now the 3rd time we have visited the hotel and would highly recommend. The location is superb, 10 mins walk to the town centre. The food is great and choices to suit all. The staff go out their way to ensure you have a great holiday experience, and show a genuine interest to get to know the guests. We will certainly be back and I look forward to seeing all the staff again.

Hotel is in a great location all staff we had encounters with during our stay were friendly and helpful! The restaurant area is small for the size of the hotel which we noticed more during our last few days here as more people arrived. Room was clean and spacious only thing I would say is the bathroom was dated and we found getting out of the bath/shower very awkward and slippery as so did other guests we spoke to during our stay could do with changing to just a large shower rather than a bath!! We didn’t spend a lot of time at the hotel during the daytime as the pools are in shade and not a lot of sun loungers around either pools so couldn’t really get one but the beach opposite was lovely and you can get sun beds and parasol for free on the hotel part and also order drinks Abbé who was working on the beach during our time was great he was friendly efficient and very good at his job especially in the heat!!

Well been at this hotel for 10 days Half board where to start first day at breakfast we had to ask 5 times for some coffee, breakfast food was very salty, but the fruit selection was ok. Evening meal you helped yourself as it was buffet, the food was always cold and didn't taste to nice whateva we ate it was very oily rice and not much choice for vegetables, they did have bowl of cold peas in the salad bar each night tho, they did same meal s every day pasta tomato sauce bolognaise sauce. The only thing edible really was the salad as too much salt in the food. The same potato dish, sliced potato's cooked with onions, some nights chips, we had a Greek bbq night and some food was edible, we were charged 12.5 euros for small glass of merlot, drinks were so expensive. Some of the staff were rude and ignored you at times, the room cleaning staff were lovely and nice and polite they did excellent job cleaning room. The hotel is directly on main road so lots of traffic noise all day and night, we paid for sea view room with tui and our room had very limited sideways look sea view I asked for a better sea view and was told I would have to pay to upgrade view no way when already paid. The beach was lovely but across a very busy noisy main road so traffic noise all day on beach spoilt the beach and sunbathing too. We also got stuck in lift but no apologies or anything for that either. The transfer to and from hotel was well over 2 hours by time everyone was picked up and then dropped off we arrived at hotel at 4am. VERY disappointed in this hotel it's definitely not 5 star very expensive and definitely not worth the stay it's spoilt our first holiday in crete to be honest I don't think we will travel here again

I highly recommend this hotel! The hotel is clean, beautiful, and very well located – close to shops, taverns, and the beach. The beach is wonderful: fine sand, shallow entrance into the sea, and clean, crystal-clear water. The staff deserve all the praise – very hospitable and always attentive. The food is delicious and varied, never repetitive. A special thanks goes to the chef, who was very kind to us and even prepared certain dishes for our little daughter who has some allergies. Highly recommended!

Amazing, the only way to describe it 😃 we came in the midle of the night. The morning after we asked the reception for an upgrade, was not happy with the room😎 they was so helpful. Took us to another fantastic room with seaview on the top floor. They helped us move the suitcases. It was an upgrade we paid 64 Euro per night. We went out for dinner after changing the room, when we came back it was a bottle of water, rose wine and champagne waiting for us🙏 The breakfast was sooooo good. But we chased to pay 5 Euro to get continental breakfast at the room👏 So good service from the women that came with the breakfast. Every morning they call us after breakfast to check if we was happy with the food. The day we checked out, we left in the evening, and we got to keep the room until 18 o’clock☀️ Great pool-area. And the hotel has a lot of sunbed at the ocean that is free. Recommend this hotel with all my heart🌹

This was our fifth stay at Aquila Porto and our seventh time visiting Crete – we absolutely love Rethymnon and have always chosen this hotel for its ideal location, wonderful service and relaxing atmosphere. Situated right on the seafront and within walking distance to the town and many lovely tavernas, it's always been the perfect base for our holidays. However, for the first time, I’ve returned home feeling disappointed, something I never thought I’d say about this place. I’ve always recommended this hotel to friends and family but after this visit, I’m genuinely considering whether we’ll stay here again. We arrived at 3:30am due to a late flight change by TUI. The receptionist was very welcoming and efficient. That said, no porter assistance was offered, something that had always been standard in the past and would have made a difference at that hour. The room itself was clearly in need of updating. The bathroom had crumbling and stained grouting, a rusty bin lid, and a mouldy-looking shower head. Overall, it just didn’t feel clean. Daily cleaning was minimal – I’m not convinced the bath or sink were cleaned regularly, or that the bed sheets were ever changed during stay. It also didn’t feel like the room had been properly prepared for our arrival. There was a bottle of water and an empty welcome box where in the past there had been sweets inside and a fruit platter. A bottle of wine did arrive two days later but the overall welcome felt lacklustre compared to previous years. We chose All Inclusive, not because we indulge heavily, but for the convenience – especially when enjoying days on the beach. Sadly, this package has changed significantly. On the beach, the range of drinks are now limited and snacks are no longer included. The lovely touch of fruit being offered on the beach by hotel staff has disappeared. These may be cost-saving changes, but they do take away from the experience we once valued so much. We had lunch at the hotel restaurant a couple of times but preferred to buy locally and take food to the beach, which suits our holiday style. We only dined at the hotel in the evening twice, the food wasn’t really to our taste and the atmosphere didn’t feel like a proper dinner setting. It was too casual, no tablecloths or effort to elevate the dinner service, which was a shame. That said, all the staff throughout were friendly and polite and that’s something I’ve always appreciated. Did we enjoy our holiday? Yes, because Crete and Rethymnon never fail to delight. However, I can't ignore the sense of disappointment with the hotel. I’ve always praised Aquila Porto and genuinely loved staying there but it may no longer be my "go to" hotel on this beautiful island.