Melrose Rethymno by Mage Hotels
Melrose Rethymno by Mage Hotels is a 59-room four-star hotel one block back from the sandy beach in Rethymno, and it has the cleanest review record in this batch. Melrose scores 4.9 on Tripadvisor across 908 reviews, where it ranks 4th of 158 hotels in Rethymno, and 9.2 on Booking.com across 141. The Tripadvisor distribution is the striking part: 838 reviews rate it Excellent, and 4 in total sit at Average or below. A hotel does not reach that by accident.
Crete Locals has no commercial relationship with this hotel. We earn a commission if you book through the availability links on this page, at no cost to you and with no effect on what we write; both ratings were read on the date in the table.
Hotel information
| Hotel | Melrose Rethymno by Mage Hotels |
|---|---|
| Address | Mahis Potamon & K.Lemonia Str. |
| Type | Air conditioning · Airport shuttle |
| Style | Four-star town hotel one block back from the sandy beach in Rethymno |
| Signature | An indoor pool as well as an outdoor one, which extends the season into spring and autumn |
| Keys | 59 rooms and suites, the whole hotel refurbished |
| Ranking | 4th of 158 hotels in Rethymno on Tripadvisor |
| Review record | 838 of 908 Tripadvisor reviews rate it Excellent; 4 sit at Average or below |
| On site | Amelia restaurant and bar, fitness centre, jacuzzi |
| Group | MAGE Hotels and Resorts, whose Cretan sister hotel is Nautilux Rethymno |
| On foot | Beach one block away, Rethymno old town about 15 minutes |
| Booking.com rating | 9.2/10 (141 reviews) |
| Tripadvisor rating | 4.9/5 (908 reviews) |
| CreteLocals score | 9.0/10 · read the verdict |
Booking.com and Tripadvisor scores checked on September 25, 2026.
Location
Melrose Rethymno by Mage Hotels is located at Mahis Potamon & K.Lemonia Str., in Rethymno Town. The map below shows the exact spot; Google Maps and Waze give turn-by-turn directions.
Who Melrose suits, and who should skip it
Melrose suits travellers who want a quiet, recently refurbished hotel within walking distance of both the beach and Rethymno old town. It suits guests who use a pool in spring and autumn, since there is an indoor one as well as an outdoor one. Anyone who wants to step straight from reception onto sand should book a beachfront property, because this one sits a block back.
Advantages
- 4th of 158 hotels in Rethymno on Tripadvisor, at 4.9 across 908 reviews
- Only 4 of those 908 reviews sit at Average or below
- Indoor pool alongside the outdoor one, which extends the useful season
- Fully refurbished rooms and suites, described by guests as large and bright
- Walking distance to both the sandy beach and the old town
- Breakfast and breakfast-room staff named repeatedly, Nicoletta in particular
Disadvantages
- One block back from the beach rather than on it
- The old town is a walk of about 15 minutes, which is a distance with shopping
- Rated four stars, so it is a comfortable hotel rather than a luxury resort
- Only 141 Booking.com reviews, a thinner sample than the Tripadvisor record
- At 59 rooms it is small, and the rating means it books up
- No beach facilities of its own, so loungers mean the public beach
The rooms: 59 keys, all refurbished
Melrose runs 59 rooms and suites, and the whole hotel has been refurbished rather than patched, which removes the usual question about which wing you are in. Guests describe large, bright rooms and spacious suites in a modern, restrained style, and cleaning standards come up in review after review as high rather than adequate.
The hotel sits in a quiet street, and quiet is the word guests use. For a property this close to a beach and a busy town, that is the harder thing to deliver than the fittings, and it is worth more over a week.
Two pools, a gym and the MAGE connection
Melrose carries facilities that a 59-room four-star hotel usually does not: an outdoor pool and an indoor one, a fitness centre, a jacuzzi, and the Amelia restaurant and bar. The indoor pool is the detail worth planning around, because it makes the hotel usable in April or late October when the outdoor pools along this coast are cold and most beach hotels have closed.
The hotel belongs to MAGE Hotels and Resorts, whose Cretan sister property is Nautilux Rethymno, a five-star hotel a few kilometres east on the same coast. The two are priced differently and aimed at different stays, and between them the group covers most of what a visitor to Rethymno wants. If Melrose is full, that is where to look next.
How to get there
Fly into Chania airport (CHQ), about 60 km west, or Heraklion airport (HER), about 80 km east. Chania is the shorter and simpler drive for Rethymno, and both approach along the north coast national road.
Pre-book a transfer if you are arriving in the evening, since an hour on the national road after a flight is the part travellers underestimate; the operators and fares are in our guide to taxi and transfer services in Crete. Hire a car if Preveli, Arkadi monastery or the Amari valley are on the list, and check the deposit and insurance terms in our car hire guide for Crete. In town you will walk: the beach is a block away and the old town about 15 minutes on foot.
The Crete Locals review
Melrose earns 9.0 from us, the highest score in this batch, and the review record is the reason. 908 Tripadvisor reviews with 838 of them at Excellent and a combined total of 4 at Average, Poor or Terrible is close to the theoretical ceiling for a hotel that has been open long enough to accumulate complaints. Fourth place out of 158 hotels in a town with this much competition follows from that rather than from marketing.
What the reviews describe is unglamorous and repeatable: a refurbished room that is large and bright, a quiet street, cleaning done to a standard guests notice, a good breakfast, and staff who are named. That combination is what a four-star hotel is supposed to deliver and frequently does not. Melrose is not trying to be a resort, and the absence of ambition about pools and restaurants is part of why the execution is so even.
Two pools in a hotel this size is the genuine surprise, and the indoor one changes what the hotel is for. Rethymno in April is pleasant for walking and cold for swimming, and most of the coast is shut. A refurbished hotel with an indoor pool, a gym and a jacuzzi, one block from the beach and 15 minutes from a Venetian old town, is a good answer to a shoulder-season week, and that is where we would book it.
Book Melrose for a Rethymno stay in spring, autumn or summer where walking everywhere matters more than a private beach, and book early because 59 rooms at this rating do not sit empty. Look at its sister hotel Nautilux, or at a beachfront property further east, if you want five-star service or sand at the door.
