To go into Heraklion or Chania you need to connect at Rethymnon bus station.

Get it to Rethymno town for €1.20 (MUST buy tickets in mini markets anywhere in area) and can get other buses from Rethymno bus station (to Chania for about €6 each or Georgioupolis for about €4-5 each).

Buses to Rythmno village-
across the right road exiting the hotel in a walking distance you have a bus station .

There are many cafes and souvenir shops, two supermarkets neaby (and 1 big supermarket in 15 min walk), the bus station to Rethymno city is right out the Hotel's territory (15-20 min) and you are in the city centre.

If you want to book a holiday, you can go outside of the hotel and you will find travel agencies alot cheaper then the Tui, there is also the bus station or the taxi station.

amazing location bus station just next to the entrance 15 minutes from center, food is various ant tasty, special meals for kids, rooms big and clean, view on provate long sandy beach, service.

You can go outside the hotel, are taverns, and supermarket, or in front of the hotel you have a bus station for Rethymno, in 15 min you are there, and you can find a lot of taverns, very nice streets and food.

The bus station in front the hotel is perfect for trips to center town, we did it many times.

There's also a bus station there so you could get to other parts of crete from there too.

The Bus Station there was easy to use for trips elsewhere, with announcements in English, and helpful ticket office staff.

In the front of the hotel there is bus stop for Rethymnon  (15 min ride and cost 1.3 E.) From Rethymnon main bus station there are buses to other parts of Crete.

you can get to the village of  Rithymna by bus # 19 or 20 every 30 minutes, bus station is outside the hotel area.

Trips: we had a rental car for four days and it was easy to get around: Réthimno (7 km, bus station in front of the hotel in case you do not have a car), Chania, Knossos (near Heraklion), Monastery Arkadi, Meldóni Cave, … just to name a few highlights – it is worthwhile to hire a car and get around this beautiful island.

You can catch the bus to Rethymnon town or even to Rethymnon Bus Station then to Chania port.

This hotel takes the opportunity to fleece its guests at every twist and turn.

We did one excursion to the Cretan night via the excursion shops outside the hotel .

We booked this hotel as we thought it would be a 5 Star Hotel

I have been fortunate enough to travel and stay in a few 5* hotels which were amazing all round.

Hotel was everything you would expect/want from a 5 star hotel.

I accept that hotel prices are more expensive than outside bars

but the hotel is literally on the beach and the seaview is beautiful and evening sunset just magnificent!

If you come to this amazing hotel and wonder if it can be more amazing treat yourself at the spa😇

Hotel with excellent location with its own long beach.

Wow what a holiday 😍 had so much fun  the hotel is 5 star plus all the way ,super clean amazing food  fab friendly chefs chatty .

Gorgeous hotel, amazing food and super friendly staff, especially towards the kids.

Great visit and I would recommend this hotel.

The hotel is amazing, beautiful location and hotel.

Staff is going above and beyond to make the guest stay perfect.. Next year we will visit again Aquila Hotel.

A special mention to Leonardo and Krissy (ταλαιπωρία) who were fantastic drink waiters bar attendants who would get employment anywhere as they are a credit to themselves and a valuable asset to the resort.

Some of the food was of a high standard especially that provided by Chef Patisserie  Alexandros Flouris and his team.

These are foods One would expect to be cooked fresh in a 5* hotel, as indeed were the Fried Eggs which I limited myself too on toast!

~ our shower was amazing and the bathroom we had was of a high standard compared to other photos 

~ hotel is situated on a main road with other bars and restaurants.

Best bits for me were the staff and standard of food which are really excellent.

We had a lovely stay,restaurant staff were amazing the food was a great standard.

but all rules made sense and ensured high standards.

Hotel exceeded my expectations, brilliant/beautiful place, brilliant service.

After eating in the pool taverna called Mournies on the second day we were so impressed by the staff and food quality we went there every day for the next 10 days!

We chose to return somewhere, that has the quality, service and comfort we wanted.

The manager’s standards are very high, and the attention to detail is amazing!

the pool  ladies were so nice and friendly credit to them especially Nancy always smiling and to good Resturant wall meals good selection and excellent quality everyday
I mention to Elania?

The food was far above average for the all inclusive buffet type arrangement.

They seemed oblivious to international standards of behaviour.

Always friendly and keen to help, there was a very good standard of English language spoken, so we felt very much at home.

I appreciate that Aqila is coming out of the covid nightmare and it will take some time to get back up to par,

Star standard that you would experience in Turkey/Egypt/Cyprus/Bali/clCaribean/Dominican/mexico……..

The food quality and choice is amazing no matter where you eat.

but we expect that until the hotel has a major refurbishment nothing will change here.

So, 10 minutes after arriving in our room and recognising that this upgrade was an outdated, noisey, no WIFI and non-view room, I went back to reception and asked to see the garden room we originally booked, this really frustrated the reception staff who accused me of being ungrateful.

My OH has medical conditions that flair with stress.

Rooms in desperate need of refurbishment.

Whilst the bathroom was functional it is so dated and in very poor condition.

The rooms (we changed the first one because the configuration was all wrong for us) were dated and hopefully in a few years, after the hotel bounces back financially, there will be funds for a renovation.

In summary, the hotel has a lot of potential, unfortunately, a lot of things would require updates or renovation, leading to a mismatch of price and offered quality.

Rooms are not at all as shown in photos and need urgent renovation.

Umbrellas in beach in bad conditions
Reception manager not helping at all
At swimming pool is not allowed to play with children.

Sunbeds and umbrellas near sea in very bad condition
4.

Then the facilities themselves, the hotel rooms, the buildings etc are outdated.

although it needed an update for the 5th star.

The rooms themselves are perhaps a little tired and in need of an update,

but more like 3* at best
Hall ways have to old mouldy carpets and lifts outdated
Restaurant buffet style but very average, please don’t go half board because they charge you £4.50 for bottle of water.

although the bathroom could have done with updating.

Rethymno Beach Holel aspires to the 5 * quality and eventually with a bit of effort and investment will get there.

Aquila Rithymna Beach Hotel

renovation

quality

rethymno-beach

preveli-beach

10 mins walk to the old town which is beautiful and a little further to Alcudia beach which is probably the best beach I have ever been on immaculate clean and prices for beds and umbrellas lower than I paid years ago

Lovely and friendly staff with a wonderful view and private beaches.

Despite being a 20 minute car ride away from the nearest town, the Iberostar Creta Panorama is a beautiful hotel with its own private beach, selection of fresh water and sea salt pools and a small supermarket.

The gardens and surrounding are stunning, the 3 beaches are also super nice.

We are currently staying at this hotel for 11 nights, we have been here for 3 days and almost everything is absolutely stunning, the pools, the grounds, the beach areas, the entertainment,  food and staff.

The gardens and pool areas are always kept clean and tidy, and whether you are one for sitting around a pool, on the small beach, or on the grass around the gardens, there’s always a sunbed free.

To top it off you have the coves at the shore line where you can go for a quick snorkel will beautiful clear water.

The five swimming pools and two beaches were great to explore so could try something new each day.

Hotel is beautiful particularly the grounds and the coves, book a sea view bungalow and you may end up with the most beautiful view.

Sunbeds were also scattered throughout the resort such as grass areas, on the beaches etc and of course you could move them around to suit.

The beach is a shingle, rather than sand, so flip flops are recommended  here.

Behind this pool was steps down to a beautiful Cove which was lovely to swim in or sunbath around.

There are a couple of beaches and coves you can swim in .

Beach towels are available for exchange daily.

The coves are protected and safe for families- just a little rocky.

All the bungalows starting with '21' have a direct view of the sea and access to paths leading to the two 'man-made' beaches.

We had a seafront bungalow room which I would recommend for its beautiful views and landscaped exterior.

The bus ride to Rethymnos will cost around 2€pp and take approximately 45min to get there.

Reception really helpful, especially when we needed help with buses, taxi numbers and making plans with my two children.

Trip to Rythimnos  via bus and Panorama village easy to do.

For a change of scenery we took a bus ride into Rethimno town which cost only 2 Euros each way and took about 40 minutes every half hour - well worth it.

You can also get the bus outside to Rethymnon, it takes 45 minutes, it's a lovely town full of shops with a harbour full of bars and restaraunts.

We ventured in Rethymnon on the bus which cost €8 each way one evening.

There is a sweet little train that goes to the village and other local attractions and a bus stop close by.

We got a bus one day to Rethymnon, it’s worth a visit, especially the old town with the pretty streets and shops.

We took the local bus (2 euros) to Rethymnol on a cloudy day and it's worth a visit for the full-on tourist experience of little alleys filled with shops!

There is plenty of bus routes taking you to the local towns, and a little tourist train (which stops outside the hotel) which has train tours and takes you to local panormo.

I’ll break down the review 

LOCATION - the hotels location is a little isolated next door to the Creta Marine hotel the nearest village is Panormo a 15 minute land train drive away and the nearest big city is Rethymno about 22km away & can be reached by bus (45 mins) or taxi ( approx €27).

Shops: there are a few shops in resort all very nice and have items you may need to items you may wish to purchase for memories 
In the mini Market this is where you buy your tickets for the bus 
To the old €2 each way.

You can get a local bus into Rethymno or the land train into Panormos.

There’s a bus stop to go to rethymno which we visited, we weren’t there long

Town  closer than we thought E25 one way by taxi or you can catch the bus which apparently takes ard 40 mins so we preferred the ease of taxis.

However both can be easily located on bus/taxi.

but there is a bus service to take you to Rethymno, which is close by.

but didn’t feel the need to leave once during our stay although there is a bus stop outside.

Instead of getting off at the bus station, get off at the stop with the memorial on the left hand side  and the shops/harbour are just a short walk down a street on the right.

On return journey buy tickets from the bus station terminal, they will tell you the bus number and where to get it from.

We also got the bus to Chania, take the bus to Rethymno and continue past the old town to the bus station (the driver will tell you where to get off), here we got the express bus to Chania, this took about 1hr, costing €9 and was well worth the visit.

Great hotel with a sea view room, food was good and wholesome hotel was spotless and the staff amazing.

Loads of sunbeds all over the hotel grounds.

but answer your questions as if you were stupid, even though there are no further information around the hotel to help.

We stayed in the Iberostar Creta Panorama &Mare 28th August for 12 days we can say it was great holiday wonderful hotel the staff could not do enough for us, from the front desk to house keeping restaurant service fabulous, special mention about the service and the care we received  from Manolia and Roula in the main restaurant very friendly and caring thank you till we return.

This hotel was fabulous from arriving outside their doors to saying Goodbye.

I had never experienced a hotel like that were the staff was so kind and helpful.

The views from the hotel are stunning, and whether at the front or the back you can see the sea, and a sunrise or sunset.

Attracted to book the hotel through previous reviews etc - now surprised why so many are totally 5 star.

The hotel itself was immaculate and really well presented.

It is a truly international hotel that accepts visitors from all over Europe.

Overall, this was a great hotel and we very much enjoyed our stay here.

The hotel is large with amazing grounds and sea views.

All in all it was a beautiful hotel with lovely grounds and we had a nice time.

Over all we had a great time at this hotel.

We were just asked to pay the tax and that was it.

Actual double  rooms were also a bit disappointing, one smaller than the other, and they seemed unable/unwilling to provide a twin bed 
on request.

No request was too much and they arranged airport transfers for us too.

The next day I asked for a slushy and they told me they weren’t ready when loads of other people had them.

Requests for next year for improvement are - upgrade pool area loungers and shades to match Creta Marine and please please please bring the back the beach parties - We all miss them😥😥

Never a goodbye, always a see you later🥰😍😘

Asked for 2 bottles of water, the waitress pours a Thimble Full into our glasses and goes leaving nothing.

The surprise was that they did not pass our request to the morning shift. We have notified the manager about the food poisoning by email, the only thing we got back is a phone call of a someone from the service desk asking how are you (really, now?!)

I went to reception and requested one and they told me that I had to pay for iron and one piece of clothing would cost me around 5€.

We had an issue and needed a syringe, we asked everywhere and unable to locate one.

Asked for blankets and extra cups on our the first day and never received them.

The only disadvantage is sound - rooms nearby elevator are a bit loud due to people passing the room (we asked to change the room and then problem was solved).

No signs or directions and when we asked we were sent in different directions.

We couldn't find the grill restraunt mentioned on the website so asked at reception.

I asked for another key since I was planning on taking some pool time while my husband work, and no such accommodation could be made.

People's attitudes to Covid- All guests were asked to wear masks when inside.

Was surprised we did not get asked if we had a nice holiday etc 🤷🏼‍♀️

The area: no beach which was disappointing, nowhere to walk to locally

but when my partner asked a different receptionist she said it was possible for €72.00 which we accepted but thought it was a bit much.

We were not allocated our requested room at the Creta Panorama,

We found this really rude as we were literally in the middle of a meal?

I also agree with comments on here regarding rude staff.

BUT others were very rude and not accommodating AT ALL.

Nationalities
Not enough Brits there for my liking - Russians and Germans quite rude and loud in general.

I also found the mix of guests of different nationalities made for a friendly atmosphere, without the rude cuture of some that can be found elsewhere.

only one issue were staff in lobby bar-they could be rude and ignored you at the bar if you were waiting and not one welcoming smile-this needs addressing as a couple of times after asking for drinks they moved to serve someone else! unacceptable!!!

One receptionist in particular was quite rude!

One particular man felt the need to be awfully rude to my partner and me as we were enjoying the Moulin Rouge performance, when he could've just moved if he was unhappy with sitting near us!

Some were unfriendly and rude both in the Restaurant and in Zorbas Cafe Bar where we ate our lunch, near the pool.

However, a waiter named Vasili came and told my husband that he has to pay and sign the bill in a very rude manner.

They were so rude, careless, they where not able to provide any information or it was incomplete.

We were met with the only rude staff member in the building.

We found most of the staff to be blunt and quite rude (especially on reception) if you asked for assistance and very few would acknowledge you unless you spoke first.

but some of the staff truly ruined our holiday which we all have agreed we will never return, firstly we was waiting to book the restaurant that you can book one night in your stay, we was waiting and another couple came in and the man in the restaurant went to serve them first, we told him we had been waiting and he basically called us liers, we felt this was very insulting and rude.

Reception staff are so rude and abrupt you cannot ask them anything.

After getting nowhere with him and his rude attitude we have decided to take it up with jet 2.

2nd  the couple who run the on site shop are very rude.

this was the general vibe we got from all of the staff - that in general they were rude and due to this I avoided asking anyone for anything bc when you’ve paid for a holiday it really isn’t great to be treated with such disregard by the hotel staff.

The only disappointment was that some of the reception staff were rather rude when asking for help

Must point out that there is an onsite shop at the hotel and both the staff members are incredibly rude.

but the attentive service and wonderful views make up for it.

Other than that I’d probably go back again particularly for the stunning views and location.

The view that greeted us in the morning was, quite frankly, out of this world.

Our room was situated in the main building with a beautiful view overlooking the sea and the pool.

On arrival (after the 3 hour coach ride) we were given a rose and some orange juice and taken by golf buggy to our room, number 4205, which was advertised as having a sea view,

Would have preferred an unobstructed view

Also the beautiful scenery and breathtaking sunsets are something to behold.

A great hotel 
Grounds kept well , great views the entertainment team were fantastic , hotel was very clean 

my experience from staying at the hotel below , I had a good time at the hotel

We sat everyday on the grass overlooking the sea, which had a nice breeze.

We managed to book the BBQ restaurant one evening, the waiters were great and we had a stunning view of the sunset.

Iberostar Creta Panorama & Mare

request

rude

view

beach

The bus station and all supermarkets sell them.

Drops you at bus station right in the centre.

There is a twice hourly bus service into Rethymnon (about 30 mins away) and is fairly inexpensive way of going into town; to go further afield would involve going into town and catching other bus services from the bus station.

but did ensure I watched the 3 tenors (from South Africa) as I read how amazing they were and they certainly were, If you take the bus to Rethymnon get off the bus at the bus station not the stop before.

Advised to catch the bus back from the bus station in Reth which is a good idea as it fills up very quickly and you could spend your trip stood up or not getting on at all.

You can catch local bus just outside hotel, into Rethymon ()or beyond if you into bus station and change buses).

Bus stop at the door takes you into Rethymnon, tip get on at the bus station on the way back, it's at the waterfront as the bus tends to get packed after this stop and it's a bit of a free for all.

If you take the bus into town and want to return during a busy period, especially in the afternoon, go to the bus station to catch it as you will have a better chance of a seat.

Another very good day out is to take the local bus to Rethymnon bus station an go to chania on the local bus 12euros return.

One thing that struck me throughout our stay was the corridors.

The corridor leading to our room was the worst part about our room.

The walls are paper thin and the corridor on the bottom floor, where our rooms were located are not carpeted making the corridor very noisy at night time when people are returning to their rooms.

I found the corridors leading to the rooms looked like a convention centre corridor .. looked very basic.

The pretty much looked like hospital corridors.

And for that I can overlook a tired bathroom and corridor.

Expensive mini bar, expensive restaurants, had to ask for towles many times.. Beach was rocky, sea was rough, corridors were constantly noisy.

The corridors are still bland & the carpets need replacing before next season as they were in a terrible state.

but access was through two under pass type corridors which were to be blunt horrid we nick named them the penitentiary as the door locked cluncked and access to the rooms above the ground floor stair ways were prison looking.

There was also a clear difference in the hallways and corridors where the flooring was starting to show its age.

The door screeched noisily when it opened onto the hallway, the maintenance guy fixed the hinge and that was rectified.

The hallways remind me of walking through a hospital or school - they are (mostly) poorly lit and not decorated at all, with very old tile.

Especially if people are chatting in the corridor and slamming doors and wardrobe doors, you can even hear your neighbour in the bathroom!

just returned from two weeks at the grecotel white palace in crete we found dirty cutlery, dirty chinaware,food was always cold and no veryation of choose, chairs in the Reception area were dirty and ripped,as it is wide open at the reception area when it rains you are paddling in water there is not enough sunbeds to go around for everybody when we arrived we were taken to our room it was like being in prison we were taken down a corridor whitch was dark and dismale it was also noisy being woken up at seven am by someone slamming doors drewers and walking across the floor and pulling the flush for two hours i would give this hotel a wide birth

The reduction of inside covered areas in the recent refit also results in the upstairs bar absolutely heaving and staff moving seating into corridors that were more akin to wind tunnels.

The hotel is going through a refurbishment and some of the corridors are looking a bit worn

Internet:
there is free Wi-Fi in the hall.

The rooms and corridors are "tired" looking

We did meet a family with their teenage daughter who were crammed into a tiny room and were going to ask for a move.I think the corridor carpeting is so stained where they have had to clean up guests messes, i witnessed a child being dragged back to their room and leaving a trail of poo!

As other people have said they corridors and bedrooms are in need of updating