Hotel review for Hotel Kolymbia Beach

Hotel

We stayed at the Kolymbia Beach in Aug 2007, shortly after it had been renovated, and everything looked new and in good condition. We only had breakfast in the hotel but the food was OK, the buffet had a big choice and the staff were very friendly - and most could speak English and German. There was, however, nearly no entertainmant in the hotel in the two weeks we were there. In the evenings there was a regular foul smell which lingered around the hotel which we were never able to identify.

Location

The positives are definitely the closeness to the beach - the hotel is on the seafront and most of the rooms have some kind of seaview - where you can find a choice of watersports. The beach is pebble, with no sand, not good for snorkelling and the water doesn´t look very clean. Buses travelling to Rhodes town, Faliraki, Tsambika and Lindos stop right outside the hotel and early enough on the route that you can get a seat. However, there are very few buses to the best places Tsambika beach, which is great for swimming, and Lindos which is the most beautiful place on the island. Local shops, restaurants and pubs are 15 minutes walk away in Kolymbia village.

Service

The restaurant and snack bar staff were very friendly and always smiling. The cleaners did their job well and, on the one occasion when we had a problem with the toilet, it was repaired within a few hours. The reception staff, however, were not so friendly and at times almost surly. On arriving and asking if we had a safe, we were told there was one in the room; however the receptionist failed to mention until we returned later that we needed to pay €33 before it could be activated.

Gastronomy

We only had breakfast or snacks in the hotel but the restaurant was spotless, well served by friendly staff and there was a good choice on the breakfast buffet. The snack bar menu, however, was limited and overpriced.

Sport & Entertainment

On the beach there was a wide range of watersports available, if a bit pricey (€30 for jet skis or paragliding). The beach itself is not attractive and could have been cleaned of rubbish more often. The water didn´t look very clean, the seabed looked dead, and we wondered where the waste from all the big hotels nearby went. The pool was too small for the size of the hotel, with only about 25 sunbeds, and in two weeks we didn´t see it being cleaned once. There was no entertainment in the hotel which was disappointing. There was free internet access at reception but only two computers.

Room

The room we had was clean, reasonably furnished and maintained daily, though there was no power point in the bathroom which was a problem. The room had a TV, mirror, fridge, safe (€33 for two weeks).

Tips and recommendations

We went the last two weeks in Aug and it was blue skies, sunshine and 40 degrees plus every day. Prices on Rhodes are cheap (compared with UK, Germany or Crete where we went last year) and eating out is good value. We would strongly recommend the Carussel Restaurant in Kolymbia village centre, which has a good mix of Greek and traditional dishes, very reasonable prices and friendly and efficient staff. A good two-course meal for two, with wine, can be enjoyed for under €25. The friendliest pub was definitely Antonis, with nice staff, great music, good beer and a big choice of cocktails for €3. 50. A visit to beautiful Lindos is an absolute must!