- Greece Holidays
- Rethymno
- Minos Ambassador Suites and Spa
Minos Ambassador***** is an all Suites & Spa, part of “Minos collection”.
We are very proud to introduce a new level of experience for our most discerning guests. Minos Ambassador 5 star hotel welcomes you to experience the pleasures of indulgence in the most enchanting of settings overlooking the endless azure of the Aegean. Esteemed guests are welcome to relax and unwind in an elegant setting in Rethymno city and enjoy a genuine well-being experience of leisure, pleasure, gastronomy and wellness within the premises of the resort.
All food & beverage departments and outdoor swimming pool are located at the roof of the hotel.
Also a short walk from the attractions and the historic center of the city.
Distances
City centre: 1km Bus stop: 150m Beach: 150m Old city: 1,2km Heraklion airport: 80km Chania airport: 70km Pharmacy: 400m ATM: 200m Post office: 120m Hospital: 1km Port: 1km Supermarket:150m
Relax at the full-service spa, where you can enjoy massages, body treatments and facials. If you're looking for recreational opportunities, you'll find a health club, an indoor pool and a steam room. Additional features at this hotel include complimentary wireless Internet access, concierge services and a hair salon.
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
Very good luxurious hotel. Very good food. Not very big but nice pool. Adults only so peaceful and enough sunbeds when we were there in August. Lovely spacious room, we had a junior suite. Good cleaning, very kind staff. Entertainment at night could be a bit moderner.
Wow… what an amazing week! From the minute we checked in until we left, our stay was perfect. We checked in and were given welcome drinks and a cold towel and sat in the pool area to complete our check in documents. Our room was perfect and we were given a welcome bottle of Prosecco and dried fruits on arrival. We were celebrating my boyfriend’s 30th birthday and a chocolate cake was delivered to our room one of the evenings which was such a special touch - thank you! We spent most of the week lying by the pool. It was such a relaxing environment - not too crowded, no ridiculous rushes for sunbeds in the morning and the nicest cocktails to sip on whilst we sunbathed. We had breakfast included and the food was standard for hotel buffets. Didn’t have dinner but we ate lunch a couple of days and the food was lovely. The hotel was spotlessly clean. Service was amazing. We had an issue with our safe one of the days and within minutes of phoning reception, someone came up and sorted it immediately for us. Two of the nights, we were left a lovely nighttime message with sweets on our pillow which was the cutest touch. Location was fab, about a 20 min walk to old town but there’s plenty of restaurants and bars on the way so no need to trek far for dinner if you don’t want to. We saw a review recommending pink flamingo cocktails on the walk in and we also echo this!! We spent the week well and truly looked after, relaxed and are returning home completely refreshed. Can’t recommend this hotel enough!
We are a family of 4 who unfortunately stayed at the Minos Ambassador suites hotel recently. It's amazes me that people have commented this is five star luxury hotel...
There is literally nothing luxurious about it. This was a family holiday and I can only describe the hotel as two to three star at the most! No idea how this hotel is receiving five star reviews .... let me start at the beginning. We were dropped off at a very busy corner at a round about right opposite the wrong Hotel (sister hotel) Minos....by our TUI transfer bus Driver.
This was the first hurdle we had to overcome as there was no one to help get the cases across the road to the Minos Ambassador Suites hotel therefore we struggled across and then spent five minutes looking for the reception. Which is by the way in the sister hotel Minos... There is no reception in the suites Hotel...Could not understand why we had to check in at the sister hotel when we were booked in for the ambassador suites and spa. This hotel is on quite a steep hill so was very inconvenient for my husband who has a heart condition and myself who has a back problem. When we eventually got to our room to say that the decor is average is an understatement. The rooms are very dark and depressing. The air conditioning is poor. The hotel staff are not in any shape or form welcoming. The bedding and the towels are a shade of grey not white and have a distinct smell of fat and fish on them. The pool was nice enough apart from the bird excrement on the side and on the metal bar at the back. This is supposed to be a five-star hotel why is this not cleaned daily. The food is absolutely appalling especially the breakfast, stale bread, food that is put out in trays every day that are not even edible. For instance a container of beans right next to a container of brussel sprouts!!! The most bizarre thing I have ever heard of for a breakfast dish. The coffee is like dishwater. If you want a specific coffee you have to pay for it.... The pastries are stale, the fruit is sliced up and has fruit flies all over it. The yoghurt is in an open bowl so cross contamination is an issue. Obviously no health and safety rules apply here.
We also amended our food schedule to have lunch instead of evening meals as we prefer to eat out in Greek restaurants... Thank god we did this as the food was also a disaster at lunchtime. The food once again is not made with any love and anything you specifically order is ignored and you get whatever the chef decides to cook for you and even that is poor.
The staff serving at the pool and lunchtime really do need an injection of personality. They are the most sullen miserable staff you could ever come across. They really are in the wrong job. Rude would be an understatement for a couple of them. I did raise this with the management team but nothing was done about it, This was just after being told off like school children for bringing a sandwich into the pool area, but we had no choice because the food was so appalling..... Once again this scenario was caused by the two miserable staff who work in the afternoon... Running to tell the manager that we had food. Even though everyone at the poolside were daily eating their own food anyway.... Given the fact that we had paid nearly £6000,00 pounds for this holiday expectations where that the food would be excellent. So considering we had to buy food on top of already paying for half board was just not acceptable. We were all so joined by friends and they were in total agreement that the food was appalling, having to eat out every day twice... This was a very special holiday for me and my family and as far as I am concerned it was completely underwhelming and was ruined by TUI and this hotel staff. I would advise anyone looking at this hotel to reconsider as there are many more beautiful hotel's that really were five star in the vicinity.
Very disappointing holiday was glad to leave.
A lovely hotel and we have really enjoyed our stay here.( room 1308). Due to an ‘administrative’ error by the hotel we were informed on arrival that the room we had originally booked was not available and we would have to spend the first night in the sister hotel Minos. This was a minor inconvenience but the matter was dealt with by the staff in a professional and empathetic way and we were offered a room upgrade plus drinks at dinner for the remainder of our stay. The welcome at the reception of the Minos Ambassador was warm and friendly. The room itself was very comfortable , nicely decorated and serviced excellently by housekeeping.. We stayed on a half board basis ….. the breakfast buffet was excellent with a great range of hot / cold food and eggs cooked to order.We particularly enjoyed the well presented fruit section and the fresh bread you could slice yourself. The evening meal, whilst not Michelin star, was more than than acceptable , again with a range of different options and a different menu every night. Finally we found all the staff friendly , welcoming and helpful whilst being professional and efficient.In particular we would like to mention Argyro and Irina who served us breakfast and dinner throughout our stay….nothing was too much trouble and we found them to be extremely engaging , warm and friendly. A big thank you to all staff from reception . housekeeping , restaurant staff and the back room staff you never see who helped to make our stay so enjoyable.
Not 5-star - tired and very poor 4-star at best 2/5 ★★☆☆☆ Stayed September 2026 - Superior Suite - 4 nights
We chose Minos Ambassador for its Adults Only, 5-star positioning but it does not deliver at that level.
The positives: Our Superior Suite was a good size with a comfortable bed.
The negatives:
1. Tired communal areas: Reception and all communal areas looked tired and in need of updating. Scuffed furniture, worn finishes - not what you expect from a hotel opened in 2021 advertising itself as 5-star luxury.
2. Pool area not clean: The glass around the rooftop pool was unclean with visible bird droppings that were there for our entire stay. No staff seemed to check or clean it.
3. Poor view: Our suite overlooked a disused / derelict yard full of building debris. Not the sea view / city view we expected and not shown in the photos.
4. Service poor and inattentive: This was the biggest issue. Staff were generally inattentive both at reception and pool bar. We had to chase for basic requests and there was no proactivity. For a 50-room boutique hotel, service should be personal - it was not.
Overall, this is not a 5-star property. At best it is a very poor 4-star. Location is good - 2 mins to the beach and walkable to the Old Town - but at €250-€350 per night there are much better, genuinely 5-star options in Rethymno.
We raised the cleanliness and view issue at reception on but lethargic response nothing happened
Would not return or recommend
