Elysium Resort & Spa

Thank you Elysium for just the best holiday I could have asked for to belatedly celebrate our silver wedding anniversary. Our room/suite 1224 was absolutely stunning with a stunning view. Had to keep pinching myself that we were so lucky. Massive, comfortable bed with beautiful quality sheets which were changed every day and lots of comfy pillows. Suite had two toilets which was handy, coffee machine, fridge with complimentary bottle of wine and daily bottle of water. First hotel I have been where the fridge actually works and kept things properly cold. Meals-again had to pinch myself with breakfast in stunning rooftop restaurant with everything I could possibly ask for-well other than a big mug/cup for my morning ‘cuppa’ tea (same in room-tiny midget cups). Dinner at rooftop restaurant was so romantic with live pianist & food served on individually handmade plates which were works of art. The ambience was perfect & every meal felt so special. Also dined in the main restaurant where you could mix and match buffet & A la carte meal/menu having one or other or both. Lovely calm ambiance again with table lamps and floor wine/ice buckets and waiter service that created proper restaurant feeling despite it being a buffet. We did the yoga & Pilates classes which were three times a day and excellent. Gym also excellent. We never used the pools just going to the beach. I gather the hotel was busy but it felt quiet generally and lots of free sunbeds which were all well spaced out. So lovely swimming out to the buoy and back. Just remember to take beach shoes for the pebbles. The staff were all exceptional and I am sorry I cannot list you all by name other than Emmanouella whom I promised I would write a review. Would recommend booking direct and also booking elite club if you can. The complimentary airport transfers were so quick and easy. The hotel has such a lovely, calm, restful ambiance and everything is tasteful and kept beautifully clean. Elysium was so wonderful and perfect for a special celebration and I sincerely hope I don’t have to wait for another 25 years of marriage to come back again!

Thank you to everyone in the Elysium resort & spa! This was the fifth time in your amazing hotel. When we are in the Elysium, everything is fine and the time stops until it is time to leave. Everything is in your hotel as it should be. You are like a big family. Everyone has own important role in your beautiful hotel. Your hospitality and service attitude make every holiday real holiday. We ĺike very much peaceful atmosphere and relaxing, no hurry feeling. In the Elysium resort & spa is good to be. Special thanks to reception team, everyone of you make us feel comfortable. Special thanks to everyone working in Emerald restaurant and Fresh restaurant, you make every breakfast, every lunch and every dinner time our feel like we are Your important guests. Special thanks to ice cream and dessert lady in the Emerald. Of course our special thanks to Evgenio. Special thanks also to Fresh restaurant gentleman, young lady and young waiter! We liked eat every day lunch in your beautiful and peaceful restaurant. The Greek wine is very good and greek liguire is also healthy! It is very nice to be your customer. Everybody You service is very good. Special thanks you of course to hotel room cleaning service, beach bar and beach boys. In hotel shop is every time also nice to be customer. Thank you everybody in the Elysium resort & spa! You work like a big team, like a Elysium family. It is very easy to come back. See you again! Efharisto! Marko and Kati from Finland

Our first stay was 4 years ago. We found the staff had somewhat of a limited vocabulary. In response to whatever our request was, the staff just didn't know the word "NO" and here we are on our 5th stay 4 years later.... no improvement the staff still have not learned how to say "NO" to any of our requests.

Location : The hotel sits as the very last property at the eastern end of the large (about 3 miles) bay that - at its other end - includes the "party town" of Faliraki (about 10-15 minutes by bus). It was nice to not have another hotel, just a promontory of rocky land - to one side. The Clientele : In the main appeared that most holidaymakers were well heeled middle class (such a generalisation!). The nationality split was in the region of 70% German, 20% Brits and 10% a mix of other European counties. There were not that many children present (possibly in school - but see later note re beach). The Hotel : Architecturally, I doubt this would win any awards - but the hotel was in tip top condition throughout, and kept pristinely clean and tidy at all times. It consists of 3 separate buildings. Two of these were accommodation units only. The third (and largest by far) contained the huge reception area, a piano bar (which hardly seemed to be used during our visit) and access to some more tourist class rooms, as well as the main dining area (see later). One side of this main building appeared to be focussed on slightly more upmarket class of traveller, with membership promotion, a health spa, beauty salon, private dining options, and (I think) some accommodation suites etc - although most of these facilities were also available to "ordinary" punters, for a supplement. It is probably this section that enables a 5 star rating to be claimed. The spa seemed to have sole access to the second of two swimming pools. Dining : There is one large self service dining area for breakfast and dinner. This was split between inside and outside areas. In October, most people wanted to be outside to get the final rays of the the year - but we never had to wait more than a minute or two. Interestingly, they always asked if we wanted smoking or non smoking, but as hardly anybody seemed to smoke, it didn't bother us too much where we were seated (as long as it was outside). There was a large choice of dishes at both meal times. At breakfast it was a bit pot luck as to whether the eggs and bacon were anything other than mildly hot - but there were stations that freshly cooked (for example) waffles or omelettes. An interesting twist at dinner time was that in addition to the self service buffet arrangement (again a huge choice) there would be two or three main courses listed on a menu which you could order to be brought freshly cooked to your table. I opted for this every time, and I have to say it was some of the loveliest food I have ever had on holiday. The portions weren't large - but you can always hit the buffet again if you need something more. Wine prices start in the high euro 20's which you might not mind paying in the UK because you are fairly certain what you are getting. But apart from taking a chance once or twice, we mainly stuck to beer at around 5 euros. It is worth mentioning here that the staff in this restaurant are excellent. They exude an air of quiet efficiency and friendliness. I think this calmness was absorbed by the guests, as there was none of the clattering noise that you can often find in such settings. In addition to the main buffet restaurant there are two other bookable dining options which offer a more select (e.g. waiter service) experience. Each is available for a supplement over your normal board costs. Rooms : Obviously I can only comment on my own experience; but I suspect that there are quite a lot of different configurations and positions that vary (perhaps significantly) to ours. TUI classed the room as "Deluxe Superior Double with Sea View, balcony and jacuzzi". We didn't particularly want a jacuzzi, and frankly it seemed a pointless addition, but we booked late and had to take what they had, even though it cost more! That said, the room was very very good. it was located on the 4th floor of the main building, and was the outermost unit on our floor. the balcony was a good size; and the views across the entire bay were wonderful. Room service was tip top. You could leave a card on the bed if you wanted the sheets changed; and towels could be changed each evening if required. A little twin pack of chocolates each night was a lovely treat. The tv was large, but also largely obsolete as apart from news channels there was very little English content. Facilities : The hotel has it's own shop which is well stocked with competitively priced essentials to meet most daily needs. This is probably just as well, as it is about a 15 minute stroll along the roadside (mostly pavement) to the nearest store. Outside : The "beach" consists mainly of pebbles and some grit sand. This terrain is navigated via a network of wooden boardwalks, which means that it requires only a few steps on the pebbles to your sunbed. These beds were all in very good condition; and not too closely packed. There are buttons on each umbrella stand via which orders can be placed for food and drink! Something which I have not come across before was the excellent provision for wheelchair users. These had dedicated sun bed settings adjacent to the central boardwalk leading down to the sea. The hotel's beach attendant provided assistance to transfer the user to a floating style of wheel chair which enabled the users to enter the water and enjoy the sea. Because of the absence of sand; and because once in the water the sea bed shelves quite quickly, I suspect that some parents would opt not to use the beach. There is a small kiddies play area, and a pathetic crazy golf course. I didn't see either being used. Between the "beach" and the hotel is a large grassed area and some planted borders before reaching the "free form" swimming pool. There are surprisingly few sunbeams here - I counted around 72 compared to circa 150 on the beach - but we found spaces when we wanted them. There is a central coffee /snack bar "floating" above the pool when refreshments are required. Slightly to the left within the grounds (looking out to sea) was another bar/coffee/snacks area which doubled as the entertainment area at night. This was only partly successful in my view. Seating was either on a veranda in front of the bar, or dotted around amongst the tress and bushes. There was a decent sized open air dance floor in front. The acts always positioned themselves towards the back of the dance floor. They clearly had some difficulty generating an atmosphere in this very open location. Some were very good musicians/singers - others less so. It passed a couple of hours at the end of the day, but compared to other hotels I have stayed at, it was all a bit lacking. Further Afield : There is a bus stop immediately outside that will whisk you to Rhodes town (15-2- mins) in one direction; or Lindos (1 hour and well worth a visit) in the other. Bus costs very cheap. Reception has timetables. The bus to Faliraki takes about 10 minutes from the hotel . With your back to the hotel, looking out to sea - Turn left up over the headland using the dirt track which shortly reaches a small tarmac road. Turn right to pass a number of offshoots to the right which will take you to some small bays with tavernas. Tassos was the best of these. Carry on a bit further and you will come to the restored Kalithea Springs thermal baths (3 euro). Although the baths themselves aren't functional, it's an interesting option to saunter away a half day or longer (there is a bay for swimming, and a slightly pricey cafe). Turn right along the beach and in about 15 minutes you will reach at the spot from which you can get the tourist boat to Rhodes town. It costs 10 euro one way (15 return) and is a good way to get a different view of this Eastern end of the island, Timetable available locally. With your back to the hotel looking inland - You can get to the tarmac road leading eventually to Kalithea Springs thermal baths (above) by walking right, along the roadside until you reach the first turn off on right. If you turn left out of the hotel you will pass a series of other large hotels, but little else, for about 10 minutes. This lack of local shops and cafes was the only down side to the hotel's location. eventually you come to a shop, but this sells little more than the one in the hotel, and at similar prices. Almost opposite here is a track down to the beach that will take you to the Rhodes water bus (see earlier). A bit further along the road, beyond a largely abandoned shopping mall, is a cafe/restaurant. The food was fine, and it was a good place to rest before turning back. Conclusion : This is a very good quality hotel which offers supremely good service from all its staff. We wanted to get some winter sun-and it provided exactly that.

Very clean and modern peaceful hotel, Lovely location on the beach, the pool and pool area was excellent and clean, for the beach and going in the sea you need beach shoes as it is stone, Very helpful and friendly staff in every aspect of the hotel from cleaners, porters, restaurant, reception and management. Made for a lovely holiday and didnt want to leave. Thankyou. Efcharisto.