Lappei, Rethymno hotel rooms at the Independent

"Great place to stay! I loved the (semi-)private pool in the room. The breakfast and pool were great as well. The small city down at the port is great to hang out with lot of restaurants. It is also less crowded than other areas in Crete. Really enjoyed the stay!"

"Beautiful hotel and service was fantastic in every part of the hotel except for the buffet. There were a lot of staff but always had to call someone to the table to either get a drink or set the table. Also, ordered drinks that never came. This happened on multiple occasions. Other than that, the hotel service was impeccable. I would highly recommend. "

"Loved this place, staff, buffet"

"Highly recommend this hotel. Fantastic facilities, caters for kids of all children, rooms are great and the buffets are extensive. Would definitely return here. "

"Areti Suites is conveniently located near the Chania airport on Crete, and it was a delight. The room was clean and very comfortable, located on the ground floor right by the pool, which I used as soon as I awoke the next morning. And breakfast was ample and nutritious, with the option of sitting outside. Lovely experience all around. "

"The hotel is beautiful, public spaces are not modern but very well kept, outdoor areas are beautiful with plenty of open space for the kids to run around. We had 2 classic double rooms and one 2BR Mythika suite, the classic rooms were OK, decent size, in good condition but could use some refreshing. The Mythika suite was amazing, spacious, renovated, cleaned a few times through the day and included tasty goodies (fruits, wine, etc). Mythika guests receive private beach seating, benefits at restaurants (which we didn't use as are our party were not entitled) and free late check-out up to 6PM! (which was fantastic as our flight was late). Beach and pools are very cozy, there's a shortage of sunbeds in the big pool but we managed. Parts we liked less: The water park, it's in all the hotel pictures on Expedia, and the hotel's FB an IG pages advertised the new park set to open in the beginning of the season. Unfortunately the park wasn't ready, it's set to open soon and we weren't offered an alternative. Other points: Hotel has lots of stairs, there are some elevators but they are small and slow. AC in the rooms works only in the afternoons, problematic in hot days and during the night (hotel could only offer a rattily noisy fan as a solution). Apart from the beautiful kids club we found the animation schedule a bit lacking. And finally, some of the staff are not as friendly as you'd expect for a 5* resort, we found ourselves having to "nudge" some of them into helping at times."

"Vacation was great. The hotel is well maintained and the service is excellent. We didn't have WiFi service in our room and they provided a modem for a wireless connection. The beach is small and not the greatest, but pools are nice. They should have recycling bins and not just garbage bins. Also the tour we booked to Knossos and Heraklion was just a private taxi taking us around and the taxi driver wanted to finish the tour as soon as possible. Not the nicest. Overall, our stay was great. My kids loved the pool and the kids' club. The young ladies who played with and entertained the kids were extremely nice and friendly."

"We had a wonderful stay with Royal Sun. The staff are wonderful and the food was incredible!"

"I had a lovely stay here and would come again. I will say that while the property is clean and the staff take care of it, it does need a little lick of paint here and there but overall it is a beautiful location and a true place to relax and recoup. I was disappointed that there wasn't yoga classes as posted, but I was able to book a private class with a teacher, who was great. Booked with their masseuse a few times as she was WONDERFUL (Rose if I remember rightly) Handy swimming pool right outside my room (salt). And a little general store on site which after realizing that Plakias is a 15min drive away, was good to have on hand. Scuba diving in the cove was gorgeous and there was a little spot you could jump straight into the ocean near the main pool. The cove is not the beach however, the walk to the beach is about 20 minutes and up some very steep stairs. The view is amazing, but I'd recommend wearing solid walking shoes as there is loose gravel/rocks and the drop to the ocean is sheer. The entertainment was mediocre to be honest, and the location would benefit from a karaoke night in my opinion. All-inclusive does not include all drinks, beer and wine only. But the food was decent enough to not bother going into the town except for a treat. Great nudist beach nearby in Plakias, with regular beach down the road. Lovely little town. "