Generally the hotel was good and physically impressive - we have some stunning photos to prove it.
We were not as bowled over as we expected to be however and would be interested to see why it should be classed as 5-star rather than 4 or even 3.
The first impressions of the hotel were very good and reception staff were efficient and checked a large number of folks in quickly while we were served fresh orange juice.
The sea view from the room was great. No tea making facilities (important to us Brits) and TV was physically old and beat up and satellite channels were disappointing. Still, the fridge worked.
Mealtimes began in a slightly bewildering way until we worked out what we were supposed to do. Not a great deal of help from staff in this respect and showing you to a table was an entirely random affair from one day to the next.
Mealtimes became more irritating with the 'animations' manager interrupting your meal every other night trying to extort more cash out of you for a 'themed meal' nights which we thought should be part of the half board service anyway considering the price of the holiday.
Just when you thought you had avoided her - a big fat camera gets shoved into your face to capture that 'magic moment' of a face full of grub. Thanks.
For a vegetarian, the fun continues with the mystifying inclusion of small slices of ham in many of the potentially veggy dishes (roast potatoes, egg dishes, rice dishes etc).
Maybe it's just us because everyone else seems impressed.

We will have to say that Crete was a brilliant place with plenty to see.
We can't fault Thomson for the organisation, the reps and the excursions offered. The Samaria gorge should not be missed (unless you have weak legs and flimsy footwear).
If you hire a car - NOT ALL GREEN NOZZLES ARE UNLEADED! But it does afford the entertainment of watching genuinely helpful, non english-speaking local Greeks siphoning a petrol tank whilst smoking and chatting on a mobile phone - exciting!
Great Island, great weather, great people - average but expensive hotel.

We stayed here for our honeymoon and it was really nice. Great hotel, excellent food and facilities, friendly but not intrusive staff. Lovely pools, beach and bars. Couldn't ask for more from a hotel except maybe a jacuzzi!

For a relaxing beach holiday it was perfect and looked like a set from a Bond film (I thought anyway)

My wife and 2 young children stayed at this hotel in August 2003 and August 2004. We booked a garden room, which we were very pleased with.
Food was excellent and service was also good, which was impressive bearing in mind the number of people being served. In addition, there were numerous theme nights, at additional cost, which were of good value and worth the additional cost.
Despite the size of the hotel and the number of guests there were always sufficient sunbeds, even though some people did reserve sunbeds with their towels!
The hotel run kids club Grecoland was excellent and this was backed up by a good childrens club run by Thomsons. In fact, both clubs were so good that it was difficult, on occasions, to get my daughter to come out!!
This hotel represents good value for money and we intend returning in 2006.

We went to Rithymna Beach for our honeymoon and we enjoyed every minute of it. The hotel was beautiful, modern and very clean and the food was really lovely. We would highly recommend this hotel to anyone wanting a quality holiday. There are lots of things to do if you wish, but we spent most of the day on the beach attempting to get a decent tan to show off when we got back home. The meals and drinks can be a bit on the pricey side, but this should be expected when you are staying in five star accommodation.

Helena and Neil x

We just got back from a week in Grecotel Rithymna Beach (18 July 2005). The hotel is rated at 5 star in some places but it most definitely isn't 5 star by mainland europe standards, I'd say more like 4 star. Having said that the facilities are very good, especially the food. The evening buffet in the main restraunt is very well stocked and the service is excellent. They had different food everyday and you can also order from a menu if you don't fancy the buffet. We didn't try the other restraunts as they we not included in our half board. There are 3 pools, the main one is a salt water pool and is nice but pretty busy. The other two pools were less busy. We had a sea view room that had a partial sea view and overlooked one of the swimming pools. The room was reasonable and clean, however the bathroom just had a regular bath and toilet and no proper shower. The shower attachment in the bath was sufficient though. The maid cleaned the room every day and we tipped her quite well and I think she always tried to clean our room when we were out. The staff are all very friendly and don't mind kids - we had a 2 year old with us who insisted on running around everywhere. For older kids they have a Grecoland, they let kids eat for free there so that's quite handy. The hotel grounds are excellent as they have extensive gardens with lots of different plants and it's a good way of walking off all the food from the evening meal ! Normally, when we go on holiday we don't spend much time in the resort, however we liked the hotel so we didn't venture out much. The beach is pebbly and so I'd say it is average. Whilst we were there the red flag was up (due to the waves) on 5 out of 7 days so we could only swim in the sea twice. There are plenty of sunbeds so you can always find somewhere to sit on the beach. Whilst we were there the weather was on average 35 degrees, we certainly can't complain about the weather. The hotel has various events and every few days there is a beach bar disco which is very enjoyable as it is pretty chilled out with tastefull lighting.

All in all we have a really nice holiday and would definitely recommend the Grecotel Rithymna Beach to others. The main thing to bear in mind is that if you are from mainland Europe don't expect the 5 star to be what you are used to. A Final note, be prepared to put on a few pounds !

arrived 12th may 05. transfer hour and 20 minutes but great to get a look at the scenery. Fresh orange given to us on arrival and booking in took minutes (nice touch). Room on second floor with a lovely view of the sea. bottle of wine and flowers in the room. Evening meals were first class (waiter service for soup and a choice of one of two main meals). You can also use the buffet service as well to have one of the other main courses, starters and the sweets. The waiter service evening meals are superb, and out of all the choices my wife and i were offered, we only had one dodgy one (swordfish), all the others were 5 star meals (served in small amounts but absolutely gorgeous). Breakfasts were just buffet service again with lots of choice and all hot. If you decide to go out in the evening - then you can swop your evening meal and have lunch instead. The lunches are pretty standard, fair amount of choice, but remember-this is the only place you will see chips. The three pools are lovely, all clean, safe and well maintained. The large sea water pool was our favourite. This has an area for children and adults - but beware it is fairly deep, and apart from the childrens section, there is not really a shallow end. The beach is just outside the back door of the hotel, the sea got choppy while we were there, but as long as the red flag is not flying you should be reasonably safe. There is a lovely beach bar at the rear of the hotel, and makes a lovely stop once you come out of the fairly cold sea. Just outside of the hotel are a selection of supermarkets and bars. They are all pretty much the same - but if i was to make a choice i would use the first supermarket on the right or the left (these were more helpful and the prices seemed a bit lower than the rest). The bars are pretty much the same (but the drinks are a lot cheaper than in the hotel especially the wine. One of my criticisms of the holiday would be the entertainment in the hotel. This was very poor with nothing aimed at trying to keep you into the hotel. The only entertainment during the day was Volleyball (which was the german contingent), and darts with kids and people who had trouble hitting the board. My wife and i done a trip called the "Gentle Samaria", which was a two hour trip by coach (lovely scenery), a 1 hour 20 minute boat trip (beautiful scenery), followed by a 2 and a half mile trek up through a gorge to what is called the iron gates. Do not attempt this trip if you are not up to balancing on rocks, crossing very dodgy ricketty bridges, going up very steep hills and unstable ground. (Two people fell in the river i know of), and the people i saw coming down while we were going up had not in fact finished but had decided to give up. This is not an easy walk, you need to be slightly fit to achieve this. The main problem is that if you have an accident during this walk - the only way off is by donkey (sounds frightening). David our tour guide for this trip was superb, and would be the only thomson rep i would give any praise for. The other reps who we spoke to had not done the samaria trip - and in my opinion were not really the right people to give advice on this trip. I did suggest that they do the trip so they could give more constructive advice - but i think it fell on deaf ears. I must also praise the hotel staff, from the reception to the waiters and the cleaners. They are all so pleasant and friendly, and it appears that they actually enjoy helping you. Unfortunately, we are a family that tend not to re-visit the same holiday hotels, but if i ever need to get away to somewhere i know i will get value for money, then i will go to the rethymna beach. This is a holiday we will cherish. We really did have a lovely time. I would recommend this hotel if you are looking for a very peaceful and scenic holiday

I am a business executive living in England and i loved the hotel to bits, the staff were extraordinarily helpful and multi-lingual and the entertainment was decent at night.
The restaurant in the evenings was excellent with a wide variety of delicious food.
The activities were endless and i enjoyed taking part and meeting others who had travelled from many parts of Europe, the main contributor of guests.
The hotel is set out like a village with numerous individuals villas and beautiful plantation surrounding them. Splendour is the only word worthy of describing the lobby and buildings.
I will be returning their again soon.

Just returned from 2 weeks at the Rethymna Beach Grecotel.
This is a very well run hotel with the little touches that make a difference such as bathrobes, welcome fruit and wine in the room.
The rooms are well appointed and the one or two tiny problems were sorted out within a very short time of their being reported.
We were on half board. Breakfast was an excellent buffet and dinner was a mixture of waiter and buffet service, again of a very good standard. As we were there for our wedding anniversary, that evening we ate in the a la carte restaurant. We got an 11.50 euro discount per person off the bill as this was instead of the normal restaurant service.
The staff are attentive and friendly.
The hotel is in large grounds with several pools including one very large seawater pool.
The beach is a mixture of sand and shingle with lots of umbrellas and loungers. In the water, you are on flattish rocks. My strong recommendation if you like to swim in the sea, is to invest between 5 and 8 euros on some water shoes, available at the local supermarkets.
Outside the hotel are a number of supermarkets, bars and restaurants, all within a few hundred yards. The main bus stop to Rethymnon town is outside the hotel. Bus fare is 50 eurocents each way.
All in all if you want a little luxury on Crete, you can do much worse than to choose this hotel.
Please contact me if you want more details.

Our visit to the Rethymna Beach hotel in July 2004 was an enjoyable experience. The hotel has spacious grounds, lovely swimming pools and is located on the beach which adds to the ambiance. The rooms are good with 24hr air conditioning. The reception, bar and dining room areas are very nice. The food in the restaurant is excellent and there is a wide choice of food available. The vast majority of the staff are excellent - friendly, helpful and show a genuine concern for the guests welfare. There are dining options other than the main restaurant these tend to be a little pricey but offer good quality. We were on a half board tariff which provided more than enough eating options. Whilst all drinks provided at breakfast are included in the tariff you will pay for drinks consumed at dinner.
The only facility that was suspect was the gym which is second rate. The beach is nice - a little rocky in places. Watersports can (for a price) be undertaken on the beach. They are well managed. During our first week the wind and waves were such that the water was off limits to swimmers. The hotel put on theme dinners most nights for which you would pay extra. These occasions took place in a very nice taverna located near the main swimming pool. These theme dinners are optional. Entertainment is provided at the theme dinners and you can watch the shows after eating in the main restauarant and without paying the surcharge for the theme dinner.
There are a number of entertainment options during the day for children and teenagers and there are daily activities for those inclined to organised games etc. There is a supermarket in the hotel grounds which is well stocked with most things except cold drinks.
Around the hotel are numerous small shops and supermarkets. There are also quite a number of restaurants. Rethymnon is about 3-4 miles away and can be accessed via taxi for about £4 or there is a bus stop outside the hotel. The road to Rethymnon is a bit chaotic as it is narrow and full of people riding scooters. In parts the scenery in Crete is a little scruffy in others its very nice. Take a trip into the mountains to see some wonderful views. If you are fit and able try the Samaria Gorge walk it is tremendous. It is demanding and you will need good walking shoes.
The weather during our stay was great but our holiday highlight was the Rethymna Beach hotel.

I have visited the Rithymna Beach Grecotel on many occasions. This is an excellent 5 star hotel. The staff are exceptionally friendly, the rooms are spotless and tastefully decorated. Food and beverages are excellent as well. The gardens and pools are well looked after and clean. I shall look forward to my next visit.