Rimondi Boutique Hotel – Small Luxury Hotels of the World
Rimondi Boutique Hotel is a 34-key property spread across two restored buildings in the Venetian quarter of Rethymno old town, and a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Rimondi scores 4.9 on Tripadvisor across 943 reviews, ranking 9th of 158 hotels in Rethymno, and 9.1 on Booking.com across 495. One practical fact decides whether it suits you, and it is not in the brochure: you cannot drive to the door.
We have no commercial relationship with this hotel. Crete Locals earns a commission if you book through the availability links on this page, which costs you nothing and does not affect our verdict; both ratings were read from the platforms on the date in the table.
Hotel information
| Hotel | Rimondi Boutique Hotel – Small Luxury Hotels of the World |
|---|---|
| Address | 10, Xanthoudidou str |
| Type | Air conditioning · Airport shuttle |
| Style | Restored boutique hotel inside the Venetian quarter of Rethymno old town |
| Signature | Two historic buildings with quiet courtyards and their own pools |
| Keys | 33 in total: 20 rooms and maisonettes, plus 13 suites |
| Affiliation | Small Luxury Hotels of the World, bookable through Hilton's programme |
| Ranking | 9th of 158 hotels in Rethymno on Tripadvisor |
| Access | No vehicle access: park in a nearby car park and walk in; porters carry luggage |
| In room | Seasonal fruit and water on arrival, early check-in subject to availability |
| Airports | Chania (CHQ) about 60 km west, Heraklion (HER) about 80 km east |
| Booking.com rating | 9.1/10 (495 reviews) |
| Tripadvisor rating | 4.9/5 (943 reviews) |
| CreteLocals score | 8.9/10 · read the verdict |
Booking.com and Tripadvisor scores checked on September 25, 2026.
Location
Rimondi Boutique Hotel – Small Luxury Hotels of the World is located at 10, Xanthoudidou str, in Rethymno Town. The map below shows the exact spot; Google Maps and Waze give turn-by-turn directions.
Who Rimondi suits, and who should skip it
Rimondi suits couples who want to sleep inside a Venetian old town, in courtyards and stone rooms, with a pool and a serious breakfast. It suits travellers who will use the hotel as a base for walking rather than driving. Anyone arriving with heavy luggage, limited mobility or a hire car they want parked outside should read the access section before booking.
Advantages
- 4.9 on Tripadvisor across 943 reviews, 9th of 158 hotels in Rethymno
- Member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and bookable through Hilton’s programme
- Two restored buildings with quiet courtyards and their own pools
- 33 rooms, maisonettes and suites, so the hotel stays personal
- Staff named repeatedly in reviews, from the general manager to the front desk
- Position inside the Venetian quarter, steps from the harbour and the old town’s restaurants
Disadvantages
- No vehicle access: guests park in nearby car parks and walk in through busy lanes
- Luggage has to be carried from the parking area, which the porters do but you should plan for
- Old town streets are crowded in high season, right outside the door
- No beach at the hotel, though the town beach is walkable
- Historic buildings mean steps and uneven surfaces in places
- A small hotel in a popular old town, so rates and availability tighten early
The rooms: 33 keys across two buildings
Rimondi divides its accommodation into 20 rooms and maisonettes and 13 suites, set in two distinct buildings with courtyards and pools between them. The style is old-world rather than contemporary, which is what guests come for: thick walls, restored detail and rooms that belong to the Venetian quarter rather than to a chain template.
Seasonal fruit and water are placed in the room on arrival, and early check-in is offered subject to availability. Ask which of the two buildings your room sits in and how many steps are involved, because historic properties vary room by room and the answer matters more here than the category name.
Getting in: the thing to know before you book
Rethymno’s Venetian quarter is closed to general traffic, so you cannot drive to Rimondi’s entrance. Guests leave the car in one of the nearby public car parks, including the one by the port, and walk in through the old town’s lanes. In July those lanes are busy, and the walk with suitcases is the part people do not anticipate.
The hotel solves it with people rather than signage. Reviewers describe porters meeting them at the parking area and carrying heavy luggage through the crowds to the hotel, and they name them: Theodore and Kostas appear in the record, as do the general manager and a front-desk colleague whose local recommendations guests describe as the reason their trip worked. Treat the valet and porter service as part of what you are buying, and tell the hotel your arrival time so someone is there.
How to get there
Fly into Chania airport (CHQ), about 60 km west, or Heraklion airport (HER), about 80 km east. Chania is the easier drive, and both run along the north coast road into Rethymno.
Take a taxi or a pre-booked transfer rather than driving yourself on arrival day, since it puts the problem of the old town lanes on someone else; the operators are in our guide to taxi and transfer services in Crete. Hire a car later in the week for Preveli, Arkadi or the Amari valley, and park it in the port car park; the deposit and insurance terms to check are in our car hire guide for Crete. Everything in the old town, including the harbour and the fortress, is on foot from the door.
The Crete Locals review
Rimondi earns 8.9 from us. A 4.9 average across 943 Tripadvisor reviews puts it among the highest-rated hotels on the island, and the reviews explain themselves: guests describe old-world rooms, quiet courtyards and a staff they remember by name weeks later. The Small Luxury Hotels membership is a real signal at this size, and the hotel is bookable through Hilton’s programme, which is how a good share of its international guests arrive.
The access question is the one thing we would want every prospective guest to understand before paying. This is a hotel inside a pedestrian Venetian quarter. There is no driving to the entrance, no unloading outside, and in high season the last few hundred metres run through crowds. Guests who knew that in advance describe the porter service as a highlight. Guests who did not would have had a different arrival, and it is the single most useful thing in the review record.
The rest is what a restored old-town hotel should be. Two buildings rather than one keeps the scale down, the courtyards keep the street noise out, and the pools are a genuine luxury in a quarter where almost nothing has outdoor space. Rethymno’s old town is the most complete Venetian townscape in Crete, and sleeping inside it beats looking at it from a coast-road hotel.
Book Rimondi for a couple’s stay in the old town, travel light or accept help with the bags, and tell the hotel when you will arrive. Book a coastal hotel instead if you need to park at the door, if steps are difficult, or if the week is built around a beach rather than a town.
