Jo An Palace Hotel

The Jo An Palace hotel is a lovely modern hotel situated well in Rhetymno centre close to amenities and the Old Town is only minutes away. My husband and I had a lovely stay.very friendly staff big shout out to Effie and Athena who were so helpful and friendly also the ladies at reception in fact if I could name all the staff I would. Highly reccomend

Very warm welcome by the staff, the rooms are well equipped,clean and the hotel looks nice. Unfortunately, the food quality and variety is poor and concerning. I would associate the lack of variation to the breakfast especially, because 90% of the dishes were the same almost everyday. The biggest criticism comes to the dinner, where I found out that: -chicken skewers were raw (all of them) -everyday the croissants were hard as a stone - pork meat was cooked, but no taste at all - fries were hard to chew as well - every type of pastry is poor quality. For a 4 star hotel, the food quality must be improved. Otherwise, the experience besides the dinner and breakfast was very enjoyable

We stayed at this hotel with our one-year-old child and overall had a pleasant experience, with a few important points that future families may want to know. We arrived late at night and received a very warm welcome from the reception staff. Since our child drinks formula, we needed a kettle, but unfortunately there wasn't one in the room. My husband went to the reception to ask if they could provide one. They didn't have one available at that moment, but they kindly offered to heat water using the coffee machine as a temporary solution. It wasn't ideal for preparing baby formula, but the next day they brought us a kettle, which we really appreciated. The breakfast and dinner were excellent. The food was delicious, varied, and there was always something suitable even for our one-year-old. We were very happy with the meals, and the restaurant staff were always friendly and welcoming. Our room was cleaned every day, and the floors and bathroom were spotless. However, the bed linen and towels were not changed regularly. With a small child, towels and sheets can easily become dirty from food or little accidents. The towels were only replaced on the fifth day after we gathered all the used ones and left them in a visible place. The bed linen was also changed for the first time that day. The rooftop pool was wonderful. It was warm, had plenty of sun loungers, and was larger than we expected based on some of the previous reviews. Our biggest disappointment was the room itself. We booked our stay almost six months in advance. We booked through a travel agency, but the hotel had our contact details. Nobody contacted us to explain that the room would be very small for a family with a toddler or to offer us the option of paying extra for a larger room. The room was extremely small, but the biggest issue was the furniture. There were several metal structures and sharp edges that were difficult to avoid even for adults because of the limited space. Our son, who is learning to walk, hit his head on them several times, and one time he came very close to a serious head injury. Of course, we also take responsibility because we had seen photos before booking, but there were photos of other room types as well. Since the hotel knew we were travelling with a one-year-old and even provided a baby cot, we feel it would have been thoughtful to recommend a more suitable room for a family with a young child. For couples or groups of friends, this hotel is a very good choice. However, if you are travelling with a toddler who is learning to walk, I would carefully consider the room category before booking. The location is excellent. Everything we needed was within walking distance, including shops, restaurants, and places for an evening stroll. The hotel does not have its own parking. We rented a car, so every day we had to search for street parking, and even the nearby paid parking areas were sometimes completely full. Overall, we enjoyed our stay thanks to the friendly staff, excellent food, great location, and lovely rooftop pool. With a larger, more child-friendly room, our experience would have been close to perfect.

WOW! I came home two weeks ago after 10 nights here and really can't recommend this fabulous contemporary hotel highly enough. I had the biggest room that I've ever had as a solo traveller AND without having to incur a single room supplement! It had a balcony from which I had a view of the Municipal Gardens and the Guora Gate, the last of the remaining Venetian fortification walls which used to protect the entry to the city of Rethymno. Within 5 minutes walk of the beautiful Old Town, harbour and museums the hotel has a rooftop swimming pool with fabulous views of the city....and sunset! I stayed half board and the food, served buffet style and with plenty of choice, was delicious, fresh and varied. Their staff are wonderful and always welcoming. Special mention to Eva and Olga on reception and Athena in the restaurant for their friendly and extremely professional attention. Many thanks, I'll definitely be back! Francoise