The Avli Lounge Hotel and Restaurant in Rethymno, Crete is the epitome of hospitality and comfort. We stayed here in September 2021 during our first couple of days in Crete. It was the perfect place to call our home base.
Location
Avli Lounge is located in the heart of Old Town Rethymno in North Central Crete. Built in renovated Venetian Buildings, this gem has been very tastefully restored while keeping its authentic appeal. Avli is on a pedestrian street so you do have to park a very short distance from the hotel. That being said, I think it adds to the old world charm, as there are no vehicles driving anywhere around the hotel or restaurant.
First Impressions
We knew the moment we entered the establishment that we were in for a treat. The ambiance was not only beautiful, it was comfortable and inviting. We were immediately greeted and taken to the lounge area of the restaurant where we were seated at a comfortable table and offered a drink and snacks. This was the perfect way for us to unwind after having started the day early in Chania and exploring other areas on the way here.
Our Room
Once we were finished with our snack, we were given a short tour and then escorted to our room. Absolutely amazing, is the only way to describe this room. Our room, appropriately called the Candy Suite, is a mixture of luxury, history and comfort. The room is large and has plenty of closet space and comfortable sitting. There was also a small decanter of Raki for us to enjoy later. This room is on the third floor of the building, overlooking the narrow streets below, yet it was still very quiet and peaceful. I opened all of the windows and enjoyed the breeze and bright light!
The Balcony
Our room also included a balcony, or should I say roof top patio! This added even more to our excitement of staying here. The view was beautiful from here! In addition, there was a bistro set where we could enjoy our morning coffee and also loungers to relax! I was practically giddy with excitement that we would be here for a few days and I already wished we would be here longer!
Morning Breakfast
Breakfasts at Avli are quite the treat! Avli serves breakfast in the courtyard and the food is locally sourced and authentic Greek. As a matter of fact, because of this, they have the honor of being listed as one of the top 100 Greek Hotels! To read more about this you can click here. In addition, breakfast taste fresh and delicious.
Dinner at Avli
Eating dinner at Avli was a true gastronomic cultural experience. As those of you that follow my blog know, we like to eat! We love exploring local foods and delicacies. Arranged through our travel agent, TrueTrips Greece, we enjoyed a tasting of many Cretan dishes prepared impeccably with Greek and local ingredients. We truly enjoyed this fine dining experience and will definitely do this again next time we visit. Even though it was just the two of us, I actually felt like we were celebrating! Also note, the staff at Avli were second to none and the service was beyond excellent! There were so many foods we tried that I showcased our favorites. I had to include my favorite photo of Steve when he first looked at his Cuttlefish! We definitely tried a few new foods and ended up enjoying all!
Conclusion
As evidenced by this post, I can’t say enough good things about the Avli Lounge Hotel and highly recommend it if you are in Rethymno, Crete. We are already thinking of a return trip! Although our plans for 2022 do not include Crete, possibly we will do a return in 2023!
Enjoying Greece Back Home
The following links are to products I loved from Crete that I now buy by mail. I receive no incentives or commissions and I am not an affiliate of these products. I am just giving them a mention because I love the products and the service!
Carter Imports
I buy Greek Honey, Olive Oil, and Red Pepper Spread from Carter Imports. I have been buying from them for a couple of years and I am more than pleased. This is a family owned business and are prompt, reliable and provide great customer service. Their Raw Cretan Thyme Honey comes from the Saviolakis family in the Sfakia region on Crete. The Saviolakis family has been producing honey for over 250 years. The EVOO I buy is Elia from the Koukakis Family from the Chania region. The Red Pepper Spread is not from Crete but from Florida Greece and the Tsakiridis family. Last but not least Carter Imports also sells my very favorite Greek Cookbook A Drop of Ladi in My Greek Soul written by Chef Krystina Kalapothakos. See below for a link to her site!
Kouzounas Kitchen
Check out Kouzounas Kitchen’s blog. Written by Krystina who authors the cookbook A Drop of Ladi in My Greek Soul. Krystina’s blog has recipes and great stories written with warmth and also with pride in her Greek roots. As I mentioned, it is my favorite cookbook. Her recipes are authentic Greek and any time I follow one of her recipes, my family and guests rave about how good it taste!
Oliva Shampoo
I normally do not get extremely impressed by shampoos at a hotel, but I really liked the brand that was at Avli Lounge and love that we found a bottle to buy in Rethymno and it is from Crete! The brand is ABEA and of course, I could not ship to the states so I wrote to Delights of Crete, who sells the product. They were kind enough to write back and send me this US representative link!
Planning & Tips
The following items, (other than True Trips), contain Amazon affiliate links. This means I get a small commission for each qualifying purchase through my links. Thank you!
If you plan on using your cell phone a lot for GPS or taking photos I found this I Walk phone charger to be a life saver. None of the vehicles we drove had adaptable phone chargers to our I phones. This is lightweight and easy to carry.
I do recommend a map. I used the National Geographic Map of Crete and glad we had it as we lost our GPS several times. The map is also very accurate and durable. Although the map is quite large it folds up like a typical map. Half of Crete is on one side of of the map while the other half of Crete is on the other side.
While planning our trips to Crete, I found the travel guide Top 10 Crete to be very useful. For one thing, it lists the top 10 places to go, restaurants, and sites. Additionally, it also lists the top 10 by region and area. Given these points, I felt it was a great planning tool, plus it came with a pocket size map which we did use.
True Trips, Greece Each time we traveled to Greece, we let True Greece plan much of our trip! We had them plan our lodging and also our transfers to and from airports and ferry ports. You can have them plan your tours too and also some dinner accommodations. They know the ins and outs that we would never think of. As a matter of fact, they are from Greece. This is invaluable, as it assures for a smooth trip. I 100% recommend!
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Follow these Lins for more posts of my 2021 Greece Vacay:
Matala Beach Caves, Crete, Sept 2021
Hike to Martsalos Beach, Sept 2021
The Chapel at Georgioupoli, Sept 2021
Koutalas Beach and Sea Cave, Sept 2021
A Walk Through Chania, Sept 2021
You can also follow my other Crete adventures here:
Elounda Peninsula Hotel, Sept 2019
Knossos Palace, Crete Sept 2019
Seitan Limania Beach, Sept 2019
Katholiko Monastery, Sept 2019
Links to our 2018 and also 2019 Trip can be found in this post:
10 Days in Greece Athens, Crete, Santorini 2019
8 Days in Greece, Athens, Milos, Santorini 2018
Diary of a Gen-X recommendations for hotels, restaurants, & tours are based on our own experiences. We do not receive compensation for recommending at any of these nor are we affiliates of any hotels, restaurants, or tours. The only hotels & restaurants we recommend are places we stay which are clean, comfortable, and provide exceptional hospitality.
Now that is a balcony and the food I am sure was divine.
We really were relaxed there…and the food..just wow!
What a visual delight, Lori! Can see why ya’ll love it there – food & location! Esp liked no traffic on the street, very nice! 😊
Thank you. I write these posts and then I want to go back!!!
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What a beautiful hotel Lori. A great find, especially with that balcony. The meal selections look delicious as well. Thanks for sharing. Allan
It was a great find!!
that looks like one of the most unique hotel rooms I’ve ever seen. And having that patio/rooftop desk is just icing on the cake. I could spend my whole vacation there – drinking coffee in the morning, and then beer later in the day. WIth lots of reading in between. But I wouldn’t do that – the streets look too inviting…
It is really a perfect little spot! I wish we would’ve had an extra day and just spent it right there but we seem to think we have to go hiking here and hiking there….next time we will relax!!
so much to do, so little time 🙂
Always!!
Wow, it looks beautiful there!
It was amazing!!
Holy cow, this place is gorgeous (I clicked on the link and took a look at the website). I would definitely stay there. Sounds like a wonderful stay.
It is definitely a hidden gem! The staff were all amazing as well!!!
Wow! The whole place looks great. The bedroom is so light and bright, that I might not be able sleep in!
We slept great! After hiking and running around all day, then a big meal, we were out!!!
Gosh, what an entrance! And that hotel room…are you sure that you didn’t step into Marie Antoinette’s bedroom? Looks like something out of a historical piece, and I would be surprised if you didn’t pay an arm or a leg for such a luxurious place (or was it a good deal?). Love this review of the hotel you stayed at!
Actually the price was very reasonable for this type of luxury especially compared to the US hotel prices. I feel this would cost double in the US! We were more than pleased!!! Lori
I love your posts, with the details about the places you liked. Crete is now on my list!!
Thank you, Winifred, that means a lot. I think Crete should be on everyone’s list!!! Lol. We are planning on going another time but probably not until 2023 as in 2022 we want to do Corfu. There is just so many more places we want to visit I. Crete! Beaches, ruins and beautiful villages! Lori
Wow! What a great place. Thanks so much for sharing it.
Thank you! I was so impressed with this place!!!!
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I was in Crete and loved it. Your hotel looks great.
I absolutely love Crete! The hotel was amazing!!
Lovely! What a wonderful trip!
It was!!