Red bus tour which takes in the Mili gorge was a nice way to see the local area.

We bought some very different souvenirs in one of the shops and on our return next year will definitely be looking for another excursion this time to either Mili Gorge or the Arkadi Monestry (or both!).

We went hiking in the “real” Crete twice, once with the Happy Walker and once to the Imbros Gorge.

We hiked in the araddena gorge, visited elafonissi , chania and prevaili and and much more.

It's only a 1 hours trip to Chania, ideal for Imbros and Samarian Gorge and lots of other beaches.

Whilst staying we visited Knossos and walked the 'easy'
Samaria Gorge route; we organised this ourselves using public transport (with advice on where to catch the bus etcetera from the reception staff) and both trips were significantly cheaper than the travel rep's options.

Imbros gorge and Chania a very pleasant day out - car hire on the next block - lots more to see so hope to be back soon.

Hop on hop off bus and mini train just along the road, the bus is good value and the mili gorge worth a stop.

We also took the 12 stops, hop on and off bus tour which went round the old town, pass the Venetian fort and into the mountain- this trip is well worth the fare, especially if you plan to visit the gorge and monasteries along the route.

Our other trip with Thomson was to the Imbros Gorge, a very good trip

Other trip was to Samaria gorge (easy) booked directly with Klados travel (300 meters along sea front towards town).

We walked the Imbros Gorge [Much easier than the Samarian Gorge that we have previously visited] and visited Chania, Heraklion and Elounda, the latter for a boat trip to the leper colony island.

If you are phyically able. do the Samaria Gorge (our reason for this trip!)

I have always wanted to walk the Samari gorge and so I would like to mention the experience.

We visited Spilli and also Kroustaliatico Gorge - the guide was really good fun and very knowlegable for all kinds of Greek history.

The hotel is very multi-national with guest from UK, Germany, Netherlands and Russia to name just a few.

When we left for our excursion to Samaria, we had a good variety to choose from at 5 am.

We spent a lovely 10 nights at The Porto Rethymno, and we had the Premium All Inclusive package.

Read the reviews prior to going and was a little worried.We stayed all inclusive.Beach is beautiful with free sunbeds.Pools are small at the hotel would say hotel more suited for couples not families.Food and drink was wonderful.A l a carte was fantastic again lovely food and drink.Service fantastic.Rooms were kept nice change towels and beds when you requst.In a great location.

This is by far the best all inclusive hotel we have stayed in.

We were upgraded to all inclusive for this  inconvenience.

but they upgraded us to all inclusive for the inconvenience.

Just returned from 11 nights stay all inclusive.

We choose to do HB (half board) rather than AI (all inclusive) so glad we did otherwise we wouldn't have found some amazing places.

We have travelled to many Greek islands and this hotel is up there with the best fabulous location for exploring Crete fantastic food in the restaurant always varied and plenty to eat nice rooms with super comfy beds and a choice of pillow types A kettle in the room with tea coffee and milk and a mini fridge which if you are all inclusive all the soft drinks and water are  free

The food and drinks (all inclusive) was very good and diverse.

As per many thousands TUI cancelled our Friday flight so we moved to the Sunday and got the 20% incentive meaning we could upgrade from HB to AI for just £5:18.

The all inclusive food and drinks package is excellent with varied courses and choices and attentive staff who ensure you have a lovely experience.

Restaurants:  we booked on an all-inclusive basis and consider this very good value for money.

I just returned home from an 11-night stay at the Aquila Porto Rethymno on an all-inclusive basis.

Very good alround hotel from reception to rooms to restaurant .across the road a wonderful beach ⛱ with ample sunbeds and umbrellas; staff continually taking orders for drinks etc The hotel caters for all inclusive if so desired.

There was a BBQ one night and we had a lovely Gala Dinner as part of our all inclusive.

but the standard of food was better than many all inclusive hotels.

First 2 rows of sunbeds at the beach 15 euros each!!

Nice toiletries, slippers, bathrobe, and a really useful bag for your beach towels, which you could exchange every day.

We were greeted by the lovely waitress Maria, and we asked to sit on the veranda out front, over the road from the beach area.

Nothing was too much trouble for the hotel and the extras like a cold juice on the beach each morning were an example of the added extra touches.

The hotel is situated in a very good position, very close to the beach, and a short walk from the beautiful old town of Rethymno, with its lovely old Venetian harbour.

The hotel is in a great position for a stroll to the old town and the beach is just across the road.

Just back from this amazing hotel, right in the heart of everything if you want the beach it’s just across the road , if you want the old town it’s just a short walk.

At the beach sunbeds are free only from the third line if you want to stay in first line or second line you  will pay 15 euros.

Pool area small with very few beds luckily the beach is good .Restaurant and reception staff all helpful and friendly.

The beach is lovely with free sun loungers and beach towels.

The hotel is situated on the beach front and plenty of sun loungers are reserved for the hotel.

Lots of umbrellas on the beach if you want them.

All staff were friendly and professional, the hotel was ideally located for both beach and a short walk to Rethymnon Centre which has plenty of bars and restaurants and the food was excellent.

A dedicated set of beds and parasols on the beach.

+Restaurant food and service is excellent great choice and friendly team 
+Reception Griggoris and Maria in guest services a credit to hotel 👍

Sadly would NOT return to hotel BUT would return to Rehymnon it is a stunning coastal town with great restaurants and bars my advice would be spend money in a 4 star boutique hotel not this one 👍

We went to show our children this wonderful hotel and reminisce in the town (which has changed a lot) The beach is fantastic and lovely for children, the hotel staff are very attentive and were only too happy to help.

Localisation is very good, near old town of Rethymno, very nice and sandy beach.

The staff were all great, so friendly and professional.

But best of all , the staff were all amazing, always smiling, always friendly.

The staff were extremely friendly and attentive and made you feel welcome.

The staff in the restaurant were excellent and were very friendly and efficient.

They are always very friendly with a ready smile, and are always willing to go the extra mile to ensure everyone has a good holiday.

Lovely room, the cleaner did an excellent job and was very friendly, we had various bits of towel art which are great to come back to.

Add to this his charming and friendly nature make him a superb host.

All the staff were friendly,  courteous and helpful.

Main Positives:
1. great staff - work ethic and friendly attitude eg two devoted waiters for the beach who worked all day without a break and were always efficient and friendly.

The staff at the hotel cannot do enough for you and are very friendly.

Very clean
Very welcoming
The staff all seemed to enjoy working there, everyone was very friendly.

The staff from the ones that do the cleaning to the receptionists waiters etc are very friendly and attentive.

Amazing food, very friendly staff and rooms spotless.

There is a large shady park which is ideal in the hot temperatures to relax in with cooling water taps.

Mix with the local people in a picturesque setting - head for the municipal park and Le Jardin cafe where you can sit alongside local families and watch life go by.

Lastly of things to do you must visit the Biotopi nature park, its very relaxed here a nod only a ten minute walk from the hotel.

We visited Kournas Lake a must as Aaron swam with the turtles and gold fish with his GoPro, amazing place, Chania (another lovely city), glass bottom boat, horse & carriage rides, water park, jet ski on our beach, they also have loads of other water sports going on.

If you hire a car there is a car park just by the church in same road as hotel.

but there is a church 2 blocks behind the hotel next to a free car park we had no problem with.

Would highly recommend the Catamaran, water park and red open top tour bus!

Massively overpriced here though- mini bar 😨, drinks !

Unfortunately as I was given a room at the back of the hotel (as I didn't want to pay the high price for a side or full sea view) I had to have a bath instead of a shower.

For a hotel that classed itself as a 5* we would have expected a choice of a glass of fizz or orange juice on arrival not just a cheap orange juice.

You can not bring with you o bottle of water in restaurant because is forbidden.They clean rooms when they want if you want a specific hour you need to tell them at the reception.About  signature on the payment note they said once it is not mine and after that I pay cash every time.Maybe they need a digital signature.

We were shocked to find there was no water or coffee with evening meal, if you wanted these you had to pay.

We paid a very high price for a hotel sold to us as 5 sort TUI platinum.

(Hotel price for this has increased +38% on last year upon query was told it was due to covid !

A bottle of water costs €6 

Overall I do not recommend this hotel to anyone and would urge people not to stay in this place.

But extremely Poor customer service, i would rate it with - 5.

On the whole, very disappointing, more so that this was a gift (an expensive one at that) to get all the family together, something which was very important to us.

though the cost of 5.10 euros for ¾ of a litre was breath-taking.

As with many other comments drinks were expensive

I come from Ireland which I thought was expensive

Sadly, from the AI perspective we were sadly disappointed and would have been even more so had we paid the full price of over £400 extra for AI when we first booked.

A lot of them are very reasonably priced (the more hidden ones), restaurants in full view tendered to be a little more expensive.

I drew this to the attention of a beach assistant who said they were entitled to be there if they had paid nine euros.

but however, felt very let down when we visited the a la carte restaurant instead of going to the main restaurant, there are only a few dishes included in the premium all-inclusive package - the Greek salad, 2 soups, risotto dish and a pork dish, all other dishes carry a significant supplement (some over 40 euros) paying all inclusive I do not expect to then pay more to eat at the hotel.

We were also given a joint room so this made our stay slightly uncomfortable as people could hear us and we could hear them.

So there is a stong band noise at each closing.

Some people would not like this as the view was uninspiring and there was considerable street noise,

but what it doesn't say is that the road is so busy with traffic that you need to take your life in your hands to cross the road.

Facing the sea also means facing a busy road so can be quite noisy.

Unfortunately they were noisy, disruptive and generally badly behaved.

It’s on the main road so noisy with the odd waft of bus/scooter exhaust fumes.

but the balcony facing onto the back road wasn't very appealing or relaxing & very noisy early morning.

Housekeeping didn’t arrive until around 2pm, by that time we didn’t want to be disturbed so we put a sign on the door.

However, this is an extremely busy road which means that if you have your balcony door open it is very very noisy and when you sit outside at the hotels cafe and bar.

however again, not the ambiance I would expect being quite cramped in the outside area by the pool with a noisy road at the side. I can't stress enough the willingness of the staff to rectify any question, concern or need throughout our stay (thank you so much!)

There is carpet in the corridors so its very quiet no people walking past your doors to wake you up.

They organize shows right under the rooms and we can't rest because of the noise!

We were on the 5th floor view from the balcony was roadworks and noisy.

but we did experience outside noise both during the night and early morning.

There is a little noise coming from entertainment in the evening, where it can be difficult to talk together.

The bar area is nice at sunset and chilled with music entertainment.

Evening entertainment every night with local bands/singers/groups.

Eleni, in charge of entertainment ( yoga, quizzes, etc), is one of the most wonderful people I have ever met.

Although the entertainment wasn't up to much, the greek singing duo on the Sunday evening were excellent.

Lastly there’s entertainment in the hotel every night, it’s about the only place we could see that actually had.

There is some gentle entertainment at night, and the bars proximity to the sea allows views for miles.

And, during the evening, is the venue for different entertainments (the Friday night singer and guitarist were superb) and the staff of Toula (who we had met in 2018), Yianni and Vasilis gave us great service at every visit.

The evening entertainment was varied and very enjoyable with local artists performing traditional and non-traditional shows.

Good entertainment at the bar directly outside the hotel every night.

The staff ( I would say Friends) are all superb 👌 
Entertainment each evening adjacent to the a la carte restaurant- this in itself is well worth a visit; any bad points??

There is some nightly entertainment of varying quality,

Evening entertainment is excellent and waiters bring your drinks to your table.

The entertainment was good, different every night, outside at the front.

The chef for meals is an artist and all employees are virtuous at reading people, they show care and humor in an excellent way.

the hotel put on a greek night of traditional dancers alot better than some i have seen in previous years elsewhere and my boyfriend thoughly enjoyed it.

The acts they have at night are very entertaining and the whole hotel is spotlessly clean.

Good and varied evening entertainment offered each evening.

Interesting evening entertainment made it a perfect destination for a stay in Rethymnon.

Entertainment: Something on every evening and some free offers on the beach.

Had the pleasure in stay here on a week
Very central right in the beach
Excellent staff could not do enough for you every dept exceptional and housekeeping  left a surprise each day 
Food in the hotel was buffet style for lunch and dinner something for all tastes
As part of the package we dined in the al a cartel which was excellent
The entertainment at night was not always to our taste

Aquila Porto Rethymno

quietness

price

park

beach

Samaria

Gorge

National

friendly

show

all-inclusive

Whilst on this holiday, I took a trip to the Samaria gorge (Thomson excursion) This was an incredible trip

I understand he is about to do his National Service, so good luck with that, and I hope the hotel will re-employ him afterwards, as he was an asset.

it was an all inclusive so plenty of good food particularly the fish to thoroughly enjoy.

We have recently returned from our stay from 8th to 15th October in a garden room, all inclusive.

We had a late flight home & were able to have a late (6pm) check out for €50 & made full use of the all inclusive right up to when we left at 8pm.

We went all inclusive, and you get a mixture of using the restaurants and buffet.

The Food 
We were ‘All inclusive plus’ with our tour operator and could honestly not fault the food.

The all inclusive wine was very drinkable and we also had a few paid for bottles which we purchased at half price.

We stayed at the Knossos Royal for a week, paying for bed and breakfast rather than all-inclusive.

We opted for the bed and breakfast option as we wanted to explore the different restaurants at the resort and within the surrounding area without being restricted to the all inclusive buffet every day.

Every member of staff has been fantastic, and please try and tip them as with all-inclusive and not paying as such, the staff really do appreciate the tips and thoroughly deserve them.

Food - I've been on quite a few all inclusive holidays

It was also nice to have international drinks and lots of cocktails included in the all-inclusive deal which were served by the loveliest of bar staff.

The all inclusive lunch was very repetitive.

Food is great - and the all inclusive is really generous.

The AI option was great, food of a good standard and drinks were decent with an option to upgrade to premium drinks

Go VIP All Inclusive so worth it 

There is nothing not to like about Knossos Royal its beautiful 

We really enjoyed a relaxing and sunny week and our daughter loved it

The only thing we would comment on is please give some extra thought to the entertainment on an evening they do try at the amphitheatre

They did give us VIP breakfast for 3 days, free drinks on one dinner day  and an all inclusive lunch.

Being all inclusive for 7 nights we had included lunch at the beach bar one day and dinner at the 3 al la carte restaurants all booked easily and with gorgeous food.

The beach is very clean and there are enough loungers for everyone.

What we like very much was the kitchen and beach restaurant.

What a fantastic place for a Holiday , set in beautiful, spacious grounds with its very own stretch of beach with crystal clear waters it is very hard not to love this hotel .

though we spent much time around pool as we prefer the beach.

The food was great though, as were the pool areas and beach, the inflatable donut ride was brilliant fun.

Plenty of sunbeds around the pools and on the beach.

Our room (3002) had two balconies, offering stunning views of the beach, and we were able to enjoy the spectacular sunrises and sunsets most days.

The entire hotel grounds are very nicely done and the direct access to the beach is perfect.

The staff and service was excellent and the shared pool near the beach was great.

We enjoyed the various bars, our favourites being the beach bar and the coffee bar, which is open from 5.30 to 11 I think.

The location was excellent, offering walks in both directions and an attractive sheltered bay for swimming etc.

Our favourite place was the beach as the loungers were spaced out well and the sea on the calmer days was crystal clear for snorkelling.

The location is stunning and so easy to move from pools to beach whenever you fancy.

Great hotel, great villa, great service, many clean and lovely swimming pools, , best beach, kind of lovely dream, many kinds of food, good energy and good vibe.

If you can afford the extra for the beach from apartments, then do it!!!

Excellent hotel, very clean and comfortable and lovely restaurants, great variety of food, the greek restaurant is to die for beautiful pools, hotel right on the beach, will definatley make a return trip  to this hotel.

Pleasant renovated hotel, friendly staff, beach next to the hotel, good service, delicious dinners and live music every evening.

Water shoes are recommended on the beach.

We didn't go on any excursions so can't comment.but if you're looking for a beach and pool holiday with great food this ticks all the boxes

I was assured that there would be a good range of gluten free meal options in all the restaurants and that was me experience during the holiday.

we definitely would recommend the hotel for family vacation.

Thank you very much for that, you made our holiday easy.

Thank you for making our first family trip to the Greek islands a wonderful and memorable holiday

Overall  l would recommend this hotel with all its superb settings and surroundings, superb service and warm welcome and offering a  very high standard of holiday

The hotel has everything you need for a wonderful, relaxing holiday.

I will continue to travel to the Greek islands for my holidays

Would highly recommend the Knossos Royal as a conference venue, or just for a holiday.

Was away with my daughter for my 40th birthday for a relaxing holiday and that's exactly what we got.

Overall a lovely holiday and would highly recommend this hotel.

We have just returned from a very relaxing 7 night break & would highly recommend this hotel to anyone thinking of visiting Crete.

but a few standout that made our holiday.

My wife and I felt pleased to have chosen this hotel for a 10 day holiday.

I really don’t know where to start to be honest, as the whole holiday was just incredible.

For those of you who like to work out on holiday, be warned that the gym whilst large and has ample machines, has no air con.

Break fast was lovely loads of choice as was lunch by the pool bar.

SERVICE

4/5

The hotel were helpful when we contacted them via email in the weeks before our holiday.

There’s plenty to do for young families, little park areas and pool areas for youngsters.

The childrens club looked great with a good park, sand area and paddling pool

The Aldemar Knossos Royal Beach Resort is near these landmarks: Aquaworld Aquarium & Reptile Rescue Centre, Stalis Beach, Milatos Cave, Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Poseidon Diving Club, Agios Nikolaos Beach, Agios Nikolaos Church, Star Beach, Zervas Beach, Milatos Beach, Cave Of Zeus, Castello del Molo (Koules), Archaeological Museum of Archanes, Minoan Peak Sanctuary, Kretasurf - Water Sports Crete, Lake Voulismeni, Crete Safari, The Whisky Bar, Acqua Plus Water Park, Winery Stilianou, The Natural History Museum of Crete, Panagia Beach, Almyros Beach, Petra Beach, Lychnostatis Open Air Museum, Amarillis Stable, Surf in Crete, Lyrarakis Winery, Ammoudi Beach, Labyrinth Theme Park, Slainte Irish Bar, Gournes Beach, Happy Train Sissi, Cathedral of St. Minas, Winery Sinadinakis, Panagias Keras Church, Starbeach Bungy Jump, Themis Beach Bar, Rebekka store, Sissi Mini Golf, Cretan Thematic Park, Historical Museum of Crete, Agios Nikolaos Beach, Roman Archaeological Remains, Supermarket Dictamos, Peggy Gordon's Irish Bar, Koronekes, Sailingtrips Zuiderzee, Agios Titos Church, Agios Nicolaos Church, Europa-Statue, Irish House, Morosini Fountain (Lion's Fountain), Josef, Porto, Cycling Creta, Cretan Tennis Academy, Old Venetian Harbor of Heraklion, Idols Art, Fantasia Yachting, Evexia Spa, I Archana, Douloufakis Winery, Luxurious Furs, Horse Riding, Stefanos Bar, Domaine Paterianakis, Municipal Beach Kitroplatia, Buggy Safari Motoxperience, Ekklisia Agios Nikolaos, HayTours, Kera Bar, Loggia, Maria Sanoudaki Ceramic - Art Studio, Cretan Flavor, Kera Kardiotissa Monastery, Katharo Plataeu, Whisper Music Cocktail Bar, Sunset Bar, Arion Stables, Passion, Agios Nikolaos Wednesday Market, Dia Xeiros, Archaeological Museum of Agios Nikolaos, Cretan Family, Scalarea Estate (Boutari Winery Crete), Votsalo Beach, Hersonissos Cruises, Church and the Museum of St. Aikaterini, Heraklion Diving Center, Ekklisia Analipsi, Argo Rent Boats Yachts & Watersports, Solo  Brewery, Folk Art Museum of Agios Nikolaos, Discovery Dive Centre, The Crete Golf Club, Vasiliki Agios Markos Municipal Art Gallery, HOTEL KASTRO, Church of Agios Mathaios Sinaites, Paliokastro, Hatzis Leather, KTEL Heraklio - Lasithi S.A, Palm Beach Club Restaurant, Vassiliki's Votanopoleio (Botanical Store), Akis Watersports, Scubakreta, Saint Nicolas Antiques, New York Beach Club Hersonissos, Creta's Happy Divers, Star Beach, Pelagos Dive Centre, Y.O.L.O.

Also have mini golf, a small arcade/playroom room and park for children.

but there were plenty of areas good for children including a park and swimming pool dedicated to children.

A 25 minute walk along the sea front takes you into Hersonissos quite a pleasant walk in the evening and a lovely buzzing place full of restaurants and bars shops etc

We only did one trip which was through TUI for the Amazonas park and Agios Nikolaos,  think it cost 45 euros each, the wildlife park was great

We stayed here for 7 nights and only left the hotel once (to go to the water park) because there was simply no need, the hotel was so nice.

), Spinalonga and Aqua Park - all great).

We took a trip to the aqua plus water park and spinalonga ( which of if you book from an agent in hersonissos is 1/2 the way price of the agents)We also had dinner at Old hersonissos which was lovely to get out and visit the older towns.

Tip 1 Book Birmingham airport car park number 2 so easy to get in and out yet 2 mins fro departures 
Tip 2 Use on line book in for Jet 2 at Birmingham check in then is self-service and takes a few minutes hassle free.

but all you need to do is follow the Port signs and this will lead to a big free car park.)

Great place, friendly and professional staff, delicious food, goog houskeeping service, lovely park and beach!

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