Aristea Hotel

The Aristea is perfect for those who want a traditional Greek holiday. Small, friendly and spotlessly clean, this hotel had everything I needed for a great stay and nothing I disliked: no 'entertainment'or loud music, just a great, sociable little bar area and a nice pool. The beach is a few steps away and there is no road to cross in order to get to it. Breakfast is very good indeed and well worth the price. We booked a one-bedroomed apartment in the main building. It was very spacious and had a huge balcony with a handy drying rack for swimming costumes etc. A room safe and air conditioning were included in the price. It was the only hotel holiday apartment I've ever had that came complete with a full sized cooker and fridge-freezer. Not that we used either very much, because there are plenty of great, reasonably priced tavernas nearby and Rethymno Town is about half an hour from the hotel on foot along the beach road, or a short bus ride away. Special mention must go to the kind and friendly staff. Vikki - a Brit who is married to a Cretan and speaks perfect Greek - was an amazing source of help and information. I have never been sad to pack up and go home at the end of a holiday. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are no lifts at the Aristea and getting large suitcases up the steps isn't easy. My advice would be to pack as light as possible and to take things you can rinse out and wear again. There is a great supermarket just over the road and several bigger stores on the main road, so you can buy small items that you need once you reach your destination. I shall certainly be returning to this lovely hotel - I'm already thinking about the next trip!

This place is a little gem ,it is exceptionally clean and All the staff are so very helpful and friendly. The rooms are very good with the beds being very comfortable. Rooms cleaned every 2 days with bed changing and towels . It as a lovely quiet pool with no need for putting towels out plenty of room for everyone. They serve snacks as they call them but the menu is really good and portion sizes huge .it's five mins to beach but do need sandals on to get in the see because of the stones . There's plenty of supermarkets ,tavernas and bakeries very close by . Bus to the old town is €2.20 return which is a must see. Rethymnon is a beautiful place as is all of the Greek Islands. If your looking for small friendly this is definitely the place to stay we will definitely be returning. Thankyou Aristea for having such a beautiful hotel .

great space, pool was cold, bar only opened for the season as we arrived and was not stocked

We had apartment which space wise was great. In great area, pool was fantastic, shop across the lane way was perfect for snacks and water, beach 100m walk away and 150 to 200 m walk to supermarket and bus stop to old town(15mins on bus). Day reception staff are fantastic. Learnings.....no lift so if have suitcases diff to get to floors esp 2nd floor, minimal information given at check-in by late receptionist re cleaning routine and no beach towels. Otherwise thoroughly recommend

We had a lovely stay. Staff was very sweet. Small things like old stains on the towels. The pool could have used a little cleaning on the bottom and a few things in the room needed a little help. The service is great though, and the staff very helpful and sweet. We got to store pur luggage there and stay by the pool long after checkout because of late flight. Would definetely recommend. Just next to the beach and a lot of restaurants

From the moment we walked in we were made to feel welcome. Vivi and Vicky on reception were brilliant,any queries or information you wanted they went out of the way to provide it. This hotel is one of the cleanest and best run I have ever stopped at in Greece.The room was cleaned every other day and towels and bed linen were changed on the same basis. The cleaners always had a smile on their faces and nothing was too much trouble if you wanted extra towels or the like. I cannot leave a review without mentioning Babiss the ever cheerful bartender,what a star! He had us in stitches with his stories and sayings.He was also a mine of useful information about Crete having lived there all his life,he told us of places that were worth visiting which we did when we hired a car. Thankyou Babiss! All in all a great hotel with even better staff,thankyou all for making our holiday so enjoyable.