"Pros:
Overall we absolutely loved our stay at Apollon. Both the room and the grounds (pool, bar, reception etc) were constantly spotless, so clean - we stayed for a week and our room was cleaned 3 times (I think the first time was just bed made and towels changed and new toilets roll and bins emptied which was still great, but the second time and third times were a full mop of the whole room, whole bathroom cleaned, new sheets etc as well as everything mentioned before).
The bar at the hotel was brilliant, the barman was so friendly and seemed genuinely excited to make you drinks, throwing the bottles around and chopping fresh mint and oranges etc for every drink, and it was also very affordable with tasty strong drinks and a huge menu (3.50 for a pint and 6 or 6.50 for very strong cocktails). It was also open until 1am which was good, and had a TV so we could watch the World Cup in the evenings, and you get free nuts or crisps from the bar all the time.
The reception staff (we met quite a few) were all lovely. We stayed in the studio flat and did not pay extra for the mountain/ pool view, but despite this we still had a nice view from our balcony (I was slightly expecting it to be a bit dingy if you didn't pay for the nice view but it was actually really nice) - trees and some houses (on the second floor). We actually ended up being quite glad that we hadn't got a mountain/ pool view because these rooms all overlooked the pool which meant that everyone who was in the pool or bar (the only area for socialising/ where people sat) could see you on the balcony whereas ours felt very private - obviously they had a much better view in these rooms but like I said ours was still nice so I don't think its worth it to have this lack of privacy and pay more. Other than the first night (elaborated bellow) the aircon was very effective and actually turned out to be free which was a shock as I had read countless reviews (some from 10 years ago, some from a few months before) all saying that aircon cost 6 euros per night so we were assuming we would be charged this but we were not). The wifi was also free, another thing that other reviews said was not free. Overall the kitchen was good (just note that you need to bring cleaning supplies like surface wipes or a cloth as this is not provided). The kitchen had plates, glasses, mugs, cutlery, a small knife which was okay but we also brought our own, ice tray, kettle, plug in stove with two rings which was fine, pans, fridge, freezer, dustpan and brush (no oven, microwave, toaster or chopping board but the only one of these that we missed/ needed was a chopping board). Towels were very clean and white, beds were comfy and clean and we were able to push our two single beds right together, shower was nice, toilet and sink all clean and effective, just provided two small bars of soap. TV was a bit temperamental but we didn't really use anyway. There was a few restaurants very near and we went to one of these which was lovely, there was also a bakery but we did not go here. Lots of cats in the hotel and around it. The lidl which was a 7 minute walk away was amazing - we ate breakfast and lunch in the flat almost everyday with food from lidl - it was very cheap and lovely food, we even got fresh loaves of bread in the mornings on some days which was amazing (huge fresh bakery). The shop inside the hotel was also great - we expected it to be expensive but it wasn't - we got all our drinking water from here as it was so cheap and meant we didn't have to carry it back from lidl, 9 litres was just 1.70 euros, and 6 cans of mythos was 7.70 euros (this was all we bought from there but they had food too like cheese and crips and meat). The strip was about a 10 minute walk and had loads of lovely restaurants and tourist shops (souvlaki generally being about 9-12 euros on the strip, same for a cocktail, about 5 for a pint). The hotel grounds were stunning - flowers everywhere, big pool that was warm and lovely with a mountain view from the pool, seats around the bar. Bar served food but we didn't have any - seemed to be mostly just things like chips and ice creams. We never struggled to get 2 sunbeds around the pool. Other guests were friendly and not too loud. From our room we could hear nothing - very quiet. A taxi into rethymnon (which was a lovely place) was between 10 and 15 euros - you could get an amazing gyros there for under 5 euros and the beach was perfect with lots of sunbeds for 10 euros a day, however we realised that some hotels had sunbeds on the beach and if you used those they just assumed you were guests at those hotels so we did that for free.
Cons:
As I mentioned, we had problems with the aircon at first. We were unsure if we would use it and decided that we only would if we really had to (as we thought it was 6 euros per night and we are only 18 so on a budget), but you absolutely have to use it - the rooms are MUCH hotter than the outside. We quickly realised this on the evening of our first night so we turned it on and set it to the cool setting and put it to 18 degrees as this was the lowest temperature possible, and it did absolutely nothing, it was awful. It made a noise (not annoying, you could just tell it was on) but when I put my hand up to it there was very little cool air coming out and it made no difference at all to the room, meaning for the first night we heavily struggled to sleep and absolutely could not go near eachother because it was SO hot - there is also no fly screen/ net so having the door open to cool it down is not an option at night. Obviously we were very annoyed (especially because we thought we were paying for it) so in the morning I went to speak to reception to say that it was not working and asked if we could have a fan or something to use instead, and she asked us what setting and temperature we had it on so I told her, and she said that for it to work you need it to be on the auto setting (not cool) and set it to 23 degrees (not 18), which seemed unusual and we did not except this to work at all, however it absolutely did - once we did this it became very powerful and completely cooled down the whole flat. Obviously this was good, but it was still quite annoying as obviously you wouldn't assume to turn the temperate up and take it off the cool setting when trying to cool the room down, and she was not at all apologetic (other than this the staff were great, but this was frustrating) - this seems like something that should be mentioned on check in, as it just means that you go for a night or maybe more being very uncomfortably hot - if we hadn't have asked about this we would have had no idea. Just something to be aware of when using the aircon, however like I said after this it worked very well.
As I mentioned the strip was a 10 minute walk which was fine in terms of length, but it definitely was not a nice walk - it was okay for most of it however at one point you either have to cross a very busy main road (which was impossible) or go through a very dingy tunnel underneath it that had no lights at all, uneven ground, covered in graffiti and bugs/ spiderwebs hanging from the ceiling and steep steps at both ends - not great if you are elderly or have a pram or young children - if someone had been inside the tunnel at any point I definitely would not have felt safe walking through it despite being with my boyfriend. Other than the tunnel the walk was fine, but I did dread it a bit every time. Obviously you could get a taxi to the strip but it would seem a bit of a waste of money with it being a 10 minute walk (10 mins maximum).
The wifi was free but not very good - didn't matter much but still not brilliant - we were able to use it normally on the balcony but not in the rooms.
Another issue was with the bus - obviously this was nothing to do with the hotel but still something to be aware of, as we planned to use the bus to get in and out of rethymnon all the time and save money, but ended up having to get taxis nearly every time - we probably spent over 100 euros on taxis. You can buy bus tickets from reception for 1.60 each and the stop is only about a 3 minute walk away, but basically the bus is absolutely awful. It comes about 5 times a DAY, and was VERY unreliable despite it coming this rarely. The first time we got it it was only 10 minutes late which was fine, however the second time we arrived 15 minutes early (as we had realised that it was unreliable and that if you miss it there is no chance of getting another as they are around every 2 hours), and we ended up waiting nearly an hour. After waiting for 40 minutes we decided to give up and order a taxi, then in the middle of the phone call to the taxi company it turned up and we had to run. Every time we got the bus into rethymnon (3 times) it was almost empty so I have no idea why it was so late. The third time it was about 15 mins late, but after this we gave up. The bus back was even worse - it was just as unreliable and late but absolutely packed to the point where you were stood and pressed up against everyone around you with no aircon - I nearly fainted on the bus. That was the only time we tried getting it back from rethymnon. There is also no way to see live bus times, just when they are scheduled on google maps but these schedules seemed to mean nothing anyway. We realised that there actually seemed to be a bus from the strip into rethymnon as well as the other route from near the hotel, but this also seemed to come just as infrequently and looked much busier, and it did not come up on google maps at all so I have no idea how you would see when it was even scheduled. Be aware of this if planning to get the bus to save money.
Finally, there is a beach near the hotel (15 min walk) however we went once and it was not very nice at all - it was sandy at the top, but once you got anywhere near the sea it was just covered in rocks and stones meaning it hurt your feet, and the one time we went the waves were far to choppy to get in at all - it would have been very dangerous. The beach in rethymnon is beautiful we went there most days, but a nicer one in walking distance would have been nice.
Overall we absolutely loved our stay and would 100% go again - there was some issues but mainly not about the actual hotel, and they did not ruin it at all - very easy to ignore and minor. Beautiful hotel with lovely staff."
