The Gateway Suites. Seven of them, in the old town.
All seven are at House of Europe, on Nikolaou Plastira — four with a private hot tub, one with a plunge pool in its own courtyard. Phos, a few steps away, has seven rooms of its own. Both are houses of the 1700s, under the Fortezza, minutes from the Venetian harbour. One of them was a printing press: it gave the hotel its name.
The name
A hotel named after what the building used to make
This was a printing shop.
Ink
Set, inked and pressed · Rethymno, Crete
A press stood in this building. It printed a newspaper — ΑΓΩΝ — published by Fotakis, a lawyer who later became a congressman and a public prosecutor in Athens. The type was set by hand, one letter at a time, and pulled on paper in this room.
The central house has been called the House of Europe ever since it was the guest house of the University of Crete. Professors and researchers stayed here between lectures. Art exhibitions are still part of the place.
Ink is not a colour here. It is what this building did for a living.
The setting
Under the shadow of the Fortezza
Ink sits beneath the Fortezza — the fortress the pirate Barbarossa once invaded — and a few steps from the sea and the medieval Venetian port, where merchants traded goods from all over the world.
Walk the streets around Ink and you find the alleys knights once rode through, small local luncheonettes with good food, and a quarter that stays alive well after dark.
Evexia
Harmony
The water Ευεξία · Αρμονία
Evexia has a private hot tub set into its terrace, with the sea running the full width of the view behind it. Eros and Zoi each have one in a courtyard of their own, and Pathos has one in its courtyard too. Harmony has a heated plunge pool in a secluded interior courtyard — the water is warm whatever the month — forty square metres on the ground floor, with a king bed, a lounge and marble underfoot. Not one of them is shared with anybody.
Five come with their own water
Agapi Αγάπη love
A suite designed so the door is never the problem
Agapi is named for the care invested in its design, particularly for people with special needs. It is on the ground floor, with a private entrance from the side street. The bathroom is built to the standards of safe and comfortable hygiene care, for wheelchair users.
Thirty square metres, marble floors, a Coco-Mat mattress, and a serene inner courtyard with a picturesque old well — the kind of place a Cretan neighbourhood has always sat outside in.
- Step-free private entrance
- Walk-in shower
- Toilet with grab rails
- Ground floor throughout
Worth knowing
The plain facts, before you ask
- Reception
- Open until 23:00. Later arrivals are arranged in advance — tell us your flight and somebody will be there.
- Check-in & check-out
- Check-in from 16:00. Check-out by 11:00.
- Breakfast
- Buffet breakfast at House of Europe, including for guests staying at Phos. It can also be served in your room for an extra charge.
- Noise
- The old town is alive, and that is much of its pleasure. Sea-facing rooms sit closest to the cafés and bars. All rooms have soundproof windows; tell us if you sleep lightly.
- Parking
- Free in the area around the hotel — the parking lot across the street. Guests of the Gateway Suites receive a parking card, subject to availability. The Residence of the Old Port has private parking of its own.
- Housekeeping
- Housekeeping is arranged with each stay — typically every two days.
- Pets
- Not accommodated.
- Languages
- We speak English, Greek, Dutch and French.
- Sustainability
- Bioclimatic architecture, low energy consumption, and eco-friendly cleaning products throughout.
Where we are
In the middle of the medieval town
Ink Hotels — House of Europe & Phos
House of Europe · first building · Nikolaou Plastira 4
Phos · second building · Fotaki 10
Also in the old town · Psaron 2
Also in the old town · Damvergi 26
Rethymno 74100, Crete, Greece
35.3714° N · 24.4754° E
Directions and contact →Now the dates
Come and stay
Or call +30 211 444 5757 (ext. 1) or +30 697 406 9475. We speak English, Greek, Dutch and French. WhatsApp
Reception is open until 23:00 · Reception ext. 1