Aurelian246
Google
I went with my wife as our honeymoon celebration and we were not disappointed. It was truly the best experience we could have asked for. The food from the buffet to the a la carte restaurants was all phenomenal and varied with lots to pick from and any requests were handled immediately which was amazing to not worry about whether we went to the right restaurant as they were all amazing.||We went with the premium all inclusive and it was brilliant value, it made the stay so much better for us, there was no worrying about the costs of drinks or food so we just enjoyed what we’d already paid for, I’d absolutely recommend you do this as there’s also nothing around the resort for miles in any direction to get food from.||Rent a car if you wish to travel, they’re priced reasonably and although the car I got (the cheapest option) was an absolute horror to drive, it was still fun to explore the island and easier than the bus system that looked quite pricey.||We had two rooms during our stay, one was the standard double room and the other was a double with a private pool. Both were excellent but the latter was what made the holiday perfect. We spend roughly 6 days in the first room but asked on the second day if we could potentially upgrade to a better room. The management and reception staff resolved this immediately for us and told us there was a space for 3.5 days before we left. We made the decision to upgrade because the peace of the holiday was repeatedly interrupted unfortunately by children.||The welcome we received on the night was lovely with wine, some snacks, and plenty of water after our long journey waiting in our room.||Our first room had a hot tub and our second a hot tub and a walk in shower, I have seen in previous reviews that the management is considering removing these hot tubs and I would be very disappointed if that happened as those hot tub showers were fantastic to relax in after a long day in the sun or out on adventures around Rhodes, the starlight pattern on the ceiling only making it even more calming. Those hot tubs were easily the best part of those standard rooms so I hope they stay!||The spa was lovely too, it took a bit of figuring out how to work the pool jets (there are little white buttons on the floor and walls that turn them on) but once they were going it was very fun but totally unused by the hotel guests, we were the only people I saw using that pool the entire 10 days we were there so when we did go we thoroughly enjoyed it! The gym was fairly good as well, plenty of dumbbells and a couple machines to keep you from getting too out of shape while you’re gorging yourself on all the delicious food there.||The app system was quick and easy to use, although the Asia restaurant had to be booked at reception, it seems to be booked long before the others.||The drinks options are fantastic as well (I couldn’t stop drinking the Oaks Lily), I just wish the options of the bars were available in the restaurants, but I understand the logistics of this might be tricky.||The hotel might be family friendly, however, I do not believe that this hotel should aim to advertise to children and their parents given the nature of the resort. There are activities for them, but parents would rarely take their children. The a la carte restaurants were also small and sometimes could take a bit of time to bring food out, for adults that’s no issue, but heat exhausted children was a different matter. On our booking at the Asian restaurant myself and other tables with couples left prematurely (we had ate but were enjoying the drinks after our dessert) as a 5-8 year old smashed a plate and began wailing at the top of their lungs. Obviously this is not the hotel’s fault, nor did it make our impression of the resort negative in any way, but it was annoying to have so many occasions in the pools interrupted by children diving into the water or shrieking and crying.||Hotel staff dealt with the children very well when they were being loud, being cheerful and calm, which was very admirable considering some parents let their children run screaming through the buffet restaurant multiple nights in a row in between staff and other guests. This did spoil the atmosphere the hotel went for as these families also did not respect the dress code of business casual, showing up in cargo shorts, flip flops, and T-shirts which again damaged the overall impression that the restaurant first gave. I understand challenging guests on dress code and their children’s behaviour can be very difficult and again I can’t blame the staff for not wanting to do it, however, I do feel steps must be taken to avoid things getting as busy as they did during our stay where staff commented that they had never seen so many children at the resort.||We found peace with our pool room, it’s position in the middle of the resort did not make it loud at all as it was designed to pass the sound of the main pool over our heads and it worked perfectly. Our final days were pure bliss and we hardly left our pool room after that point because it was so calm and relaxing to dip in and out to cool down and enjoy the morning to mid afternoon sun. However, had we not gotten this room I would say we would have had a much less relaxing time overall due to the loudness of those children. If the resort really wants to advertise as child friendly then more facilities must exist to take children away from those who are there to relax, either that or a specific area for adults only to reside, although again, this would need to be quite large given the number of people who would be inclined to escape loud children.||Overall, our stay was fantastic, made all the more better by supportive staff like the whole team in the pool bar, the brilliant reception staff, Jani in the a la carte restaurant, and the waitress Zina in the main bar who were all absolutely brilliant and deserve heaps of praise for their excellent service and attentiveness to not just our needs but everyone there around us!