Fortezza Hotel

The hotel is in an excellent location on the edge of Rethymno's old town, with its atmosphere, shops, tavernas and lively streets all within easy walking distance. The staff were consistently friendly and helpful and our room was cleaned every day to a good standard.

The pool itself was nice, although it was extremely busy during our stay in July. There did not appear to be enough space or sunbeds for the number of guests wanting to use the area. This was made worse by people reserving sunbeds with towels and then leaving them unoccupied for hours at a time. I appreciate that this is partly down to guest behaviour rather than the hotel, but the hotel would benefit from introducing and enforcing a clear no-towel-reservations policy, or removing towels from beds that have been left unattended for an extended period.

Unfortunately, the room itself significantly affected our enjoyment of the stay. We were allocated a room without a balcony and, while this may not matter to everyone, having a balcony, terrace or similar outdoor space is a non-negotiable deal breaker for me when booking a holiday. One of the things I most enjoy is being able to sit outside in the evening with a book and a glass of wine, so without any private outdoor space we felt confined to the room whenever we wanted some quiet time at the hotel.

This was made worse by the fact that the room contained only one chair, so there was not even anywhere for two people to sit and relax together. In practical terms, the room worked as somewhere to sleep but not as a comfortable base for spending a week on holiday.

It is a real shame because the hotel has a lot going for it, particularly its location, friendly staff and pleasant pool. I expect the experience would be very different in one of the rooms with a balcony. However, had I known in advance that our room would not have one, I definitely would not have booked. The booking website showed photographs of rooms with balconies, so I assumed this was representative, although I accept that I should perhaps have checked more carefully.

Overall, I would strongly recommend confirming in writing that you are booking a room with a balcony or terrace, particularly if private outdoor space is important to you. Without one, I personally would not choose to stay here again.

Could not fault the Hotel at all , staff very friendly,excellent service, out room was on the front no problem watching the world go by lots of restaurants to choose from beach 5mins away but just a beach no sun lingers, main beach 20 mins further on, recommend the cul de sac bar and meals, all in all good 10 days.