Faros Beach Hotel — Hotel in Municipality of Rethymnon

We stayed here for 2 nights and we kinda new what to expect, we looked closely to the pictures on booking.com and we knew that the room is small, quite dark and that the balcony is shared with 3 other rooms. But it was a choice we made. ||It's pretty easy to find, close to the fish taverna (the smell of fried fish is not as irritating as I thought it would be). The person booking us took us in and then called another one who spoke English a bit better, they showed us to our room, the one in the end of the hallway. This way was better, at least no one would have to pass us in order to get to their room. ||Rooms and balconies seem very different in the reviews, but I'll just suppose there aren't many hotels with the name of Faros with the same address 88 Eleftheriou Venizelou. The whole building seems somehow patched up from other pieces of buildings (the front door at the reception downstairs is made of two pieces, one the size of a normal door and another quarter of a door, interesting choice). ||The room itself was clean but as another reviewer mentioned, it was dark, since it only had natural light from a little window towards the balcony (not directly the outside). There was also a small window up in the bathroom (but no way to open it, so if you gotta poop, do it fast and flush faster). There's also a small window up on the wall, in the right of the bathroom, but we discovered it too late. ||There were three beds for some reason, the reason being if you're three people I guess (we were two, but we wanted view to the sea...). Not much else in the room, just the basics to make a tea, a tiny little fridge that moved when we pulled the door to open it. Wi-fi and AC were ok. Shower was a bit weird, since there was the bar to hang the shower head on (so you don't have to keep it in your heand or leave it on the floor) but there was nothing else to attach the shower head to (there was just the bar). No shower curtain or nothing to keep the water from spraying around. The tiniest of sinks crowded in there. ||The balcony was a nice touch (even though not private at all, I felt the need to always make as little noise as I could, so as not to disturb the other guests). But I guess it's a nice place to go on a somewhat low budget and look rich in your instagram pictures. Early in the morning the sunrise is amazing but those curtains are there for a reason, in august it will get really hot, really fast.||It's location ups the price I guess, the view is beautiful in the morning with the sunrise and just as beautiful in the night, with the moon just so close to the lighthouse.||It has a beach nearby (not the cleanest being near the port) with no umbrelas or anything, just hard sand and some palm trees for a bit of shade, but the old center is basically all around you. ||It was ok, I guess, but they need to do something about those rooms, organize them a bit better. I mean, I understand it's just business and profit after all, but they could do so much better with not a lot of extra effort for a much, much, so much better experience. It's the tiny things that...

We had a small, compact room, with a lovely balcony overlooking the sea, where we could watch the comings and goings of Rethymno, whilst drinking ouzo and the sun streamed into our room each morning. The en suite was tiny but adequate (I've known much smaller!). The housekeeping was excellent and the owners were friendly and helpful. Faros Beach Hotel is in a very convenient spot for the harbour, the old town and Fortezza Castle. It's not too far to walk to the beach (stopping on the way at one of the many bars for a cocktail) and the boat trips are on your doorstep. Some people have mentioned the noise, but we found if we closed the balcony doors and used the air conditioning we were not kept awake. If your kind of holiday is staying in an ultra modern hotel, sitting around a pool all day, missing the local sights, then this hotel is not for you, but if you want to stay in a lovely, clean hotel with character I would not hesitate...

Pros:location,economincal. ||Cons:photos totally misrepresent the actual room. It's quite old and not kept up. Looks like they did minor renos. It rained and water was leaking in and the carpet was soaked in the hall. Rooftop patio not safe at all for young kids and the furniture is broken. The "luggage check" was to keep in in the tiny lobby out in the open! No one is ever at front desk. Check in is at 2Pm and someone showed up at 2.10. Bed uncomfortable. Private patio not so private. Only partition separating from other guests. A man smoking a cigarette outside my window at 7 am and I could hear and smell everything. Like he was in the room.||||Unfortunately we had a bad experience. I recommend this hotel only for young people that are looking for a cheap central location.||I can't recommend...