- Greece Holidays
- Ialysos
- Labranda Blue Bay Resort
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Labranda Blue Bay Resort
Greece, Europe
Ialysos
Situated in one of the most beautiful islands of Greece, Rhodes, Labranda Blue Bay is a 475-room beachfront resort. A hotel with a waterpark and only steps away from the spectacular beach. Could a family ask for more fun? This is the Hotel for creating family moments and unique experiences to remember during summer vacation. This beach hotel in Rhodes could be described as a place of beach fun and relaxation. Guests of Labranda Blue Bay resort have a wide variety of activities to select from and have fun under the Greek sun. Starting from refreshing swimming pools spread around the resort, a water fun-park with slides, a tennis court, and wellness facilities that promote complete relaxation, such as our Spa, and a large number of sunbeds and parasols for lounging under the warm sun. A great vacation is complete only with the ability to feast upon delicious food. At Labranda Blue Bay Resort, guests can enjoy a great variety of Mediterranean and local dishes being served at the restaurants and snack points. Labranda Blue Bay resort is the place to create some awesome holiday memories full of emotion. Sun, beach, pool, and the spectacular views to the Mediterranean sea.
Facilities
- Darts
- Tennis*
- Billiards*
- Volleyball
- Beauty salon*
- Spa treatments*
- Massage*
- Sauna*
- Outdoor Rooftop Swimming Pool
- TV lounge
- Please note some facilities may incur an additional fee
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
The Local Area
Tripadvisor Reviews
4.0 Very Good5,264 reviews
Excellent
59%
Very Good
20%
Average
10%
Poor
5%
Terrible
6%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Honest review. Avoid!
-Ultra slow check in. -Lifts try and chop you in half if you don't sprint In. -Rooms filthy. -Bathroom flooded every time we emptied bath or sink. -Food ok ISH, but only once you've found a clean plate as most are still dirty.
- Drinks are awful.
-Sunbeds terrible with loads broken.
- Broken tiles everywhere, which caused my son and Injury which TripAdvisor won't allow the photo for due to the graphic nature.
-all issues were reported and nothing done about a single one.
- ice cream parlour permanently shut.
- No lazy river as advertised.
Save your money and go elsewhere, honestly!
Review by KNDC1992 Nottingham, United Kingdom
Budget Friendly 3*
We recently stayed at Blue Bay Hotel Rhodes and, overall, had a really enjoyable family holiday. It's important to go with the right expectations—this is a solid 3-star all-inclusive hotel, and for the price, it offers good value.
One thing to be aware of before you arrive is the Greek Climate Resilience Tax, which is payable at check-in. For our one-week stay, this came to €70, so it's worth factoring that into your holiday budget.
The biggest positive was definitely the staff. Everyone was friendly, welcoming and worked hard throughout our stay. The reception staff were particularly lovely and helpful throughout our holiday. The only downside is that check-in can take quite a while, especially when several coaches arrive at once. With only three reception computers, the process can become slow during busy periods, so it's worth being prepared if you arrive at peak check-in time.
The animation team also deserves a special mention. Although it's a small team, they were fantastic with the children, getting them involved in the mini disco and evening entertainment, which our little one loved.
The food offered a good variety, and for a buffet it was generally served relatively warm, which isn't always the case at all-inclusive hotels. Some evenings were definitely better than others, but there was always something to enjoy. The rooms were comfortable, the air conditioning worked well, and the hotel's location is excellent—it's close to the airport and there's a frequent paid bus service into Rhodes Old Town, making it easy to explore.
The waterpark was another highlight for families. It has a handful of slides along with a pirate ship splash pool that kept the kids entertained for hours. Just be aware that food and drinks aren't included within the waterpark area.
One thing I'd definitely recommend is booking a room in the main hotel rather than the annex. We actually changed our booking before the holiday started, and after seeing the annex while we were there, we're really glad we did. It's located across the road from the main hotel and doesn't have the same atmosphere or standard. If you're travelling as a large group, you may appreciate the more self-contained feel of the annex, but for us it looked much less appealing than staying in the main hotel.
The all-inclusive package works well for families who want plenty of choice, but the drinks were disappointing. The included cocktails were inconsistent and often poor quality, so we ended up paying extra for the premium cocktails at the bar, which were much better.
The entertainment was enjoyable thanks to the enthusiasm of the animation team, but the programme is quite limited and becomes repetitive during a longer stay, probably because the team is relatively small.
The biggest downside of the holiday was the sunbed situation. It was honestly a nightmare around the main pools. People were reserving beds from around 6am—even though the pools don't open until 10am—and many wouldn't return to use them until midday or later. Finding three sunbeds together was extremely difficult, especially for larger families or groups. We'd strongly recommend using the lazy river area or heading to the beach instead, where it's much more relaxed.
The spa was a lovely surprise. I had a fantastic facial with Katerina, who was excellent, and I'd definitely recommend a treatment if you're looking to relax. Just be aware that the prices are comparable to what you'd expect to pay in the UK rather than being a cheaper holiday treat.
The gym, however, was a real let-down. It only has five cardio machines, and two of them weren't working during our stay. There are no weights or resistance equipment, and access is limited to just two rooms booked in at a time. If keeping active or having access to a decent gym is an important part of your holiday, I'd suggest looking at a different hotel.
The à la carte restaurants on site are worth visiting, although getting a reservation can be tricky. We particularly enjoyed the Greek restaurant, which had lovely staff, beautiful views and really good food. I'm not sure why drinks aren't included there, but they were perfectly happy for us to bring drinks in from elsewhere.
Overall, Blue Bay Hotel Rhodes is a good choice if you're looking for a budget-friendly all-inclusive family holiday. It has comfortable rooms, a great location, friendly staff and plenty to keep children happy. Just don't expect 5-star luxury—it's a good, honest 3-star hotel that delivers decent value for money.
Pros and cons - but a great family holiday
Decided to review after reading a number of horror stories on Facebook review pages and on Tripadvisor for this hotel. If I was due to come here soon I would be dreading it, so here is an honest and balanced review:
We came for 2 weeks in late July and are returning home soon. We have had a great holiday; and although there are some things that the hotel could definitely improve, it still offered us a great base and facility to enjoy our holiday.
We stayed in a sea view family room. It is a little small and definitely dated. The room and the corridors away from the reception are under whelming to say the least and do need some updating. The photos of the rooms are a little misleading and I was disappointed on arrival . Though, the standard of room and its state of repair seems to vary depending on whether you have booked a bungalow room, annex room, sea view room, inland etc. bungalows seem to be quite nice!
The hotel restaurants, bars etc are good. Typical all inclusive style - i.e., drinks could be better in some cases but you get what you pay for! The food is good. Buffet restaurants in main hotel and by the sea front offer lots of options and the food is generally very good. We travelled as a large group with kids and everyone always found something they enjoyed.
The à la carte restaurants are worth booking. They are down on the beach front and the food is generally good and offers something different from the all inclusive offering!
The pool areas are just okay. Sunbed situation is competitive if you want ‘prime locations’ but there are multiple pools and there are sunbeds available if you look around. Most beds by main pool area are gone by 7am and most aren’t used til later on - the hotel should address this with some sort of clear policy or consistent policing. Pool snack bar is operational from 11 til 6 and does pizza, chips, gyros, burgers continuously. These are good.
The Sunbeds have seen better days and there are some tiled areas near the pool which need some attention. We saw a couple of incidents with people cutting toes so the hotel do need to address this.
The location of the hotel is great in terms of being on the beach front and offers some really great views and a nice breeze most of the time. There’s not much immediately nearby but there are a couple of shops and bars within a couple hundred meters and there is a bit more going on if you walk up to Iallysos. It is a short taxi ride to Ixia and Rhodes Old town - about 15 and 30 euros respectively. Both definitely worth a visit. The hotel will order taxis for you.
The cleaning staff and maintenance staff work tirelessly cleaning up after guests who should show more respect for the environment in many cases. The bar staff and catering/restaurant staff are great - Andreas in the pool bar is a great guy!
On the whole, if I’m being honest I wouldn’t come back to this hotel. It needs some updating and the rooms let the rest of the hotel and the hard working staff down ( and speaking to other guests I don’t think we got a value for money deal via TUI). I’d also like to be closer to more of a resort centre.
BUT if you don’t fixate on the negatives, there are plenty of positives too which will help you and your family have a great holiday here in Rhodes. So don’t panic if you’re due here soon.
Review by Calvinclean North West England, United Kingdom
We love it here.
The location is great not to far from the airport, right on the beach. The food is great something different everynight. This was our second time here going again in august. The hotel rooms could do with being updated the staff are lovely. The atmosphere is great, you can get along with everybody and make some good friends. The value for money is good aswell, as there's always something to do weather it be day or night time entertainment always something different of a evening. The staff are always cleaning they never stop. There is music through out the day not to loud unless they are doing aqua zumba then it goes upto 11 :D The main reason we went back was due to the entertainment team, mainly Arthur ( Mr Ping Pong ) he is such a nice and genuine guy and the entertainment guys are exceptional with the kids. They make you feel included in even if you dont want to join in the fun, the fact that arthur & fanchesca remembered us from last year was amazing as I know they meet 1000s of people every year, they all get to know you personally always happy full of energy. Honestly cant wait to go back.
Sadly, only OK
Let me start this review by saying we were a family of ten, aged 5 to 71 staying in 4 rooms. Because of the size of our party we would have had a good time in most places. This hotel struggles to be a 3 star. It's only the spa and waterpark that raises their grading to 4. It is a family hotel. We would have been horrified if we had come as a couple. It is very noisy with kids running everywhere. Our rooms - one of our party was put in the annexe and it is not the place to be. You have to leave reception, cross the road, go past the water park and then you are stuck in no mans land. The superior family rooms were adequate but definitely not superior. Our double room was okay with regular cleaning and comfy beds. Lots of storage too. Pools and grounds - gardens well maintained but lots of raised or broken tiles around. The pools were very crowded and impossible to get a sunbed. We based ourselves at the lazy river pool as it was near the family rooms. We could still get sunbeds here at 8 am. Food - the main restaurant is like a noisy canteen so we chose to sit outside as it was a bit calmer. Lots of choice at the buffet and we all liked the food. Drawback is there is no waitress service and you have to queue at one of 2 bars to get a drink, even a coffee at breakfast time. This definitely is not 4 star service. Book your a la cartes through the concierge, not on the app. Its useless We ate at the Asian restaurant which was ok but still a buffet for your main course and quite a small selection. Food was nice but not a la carte standard. No drinks service unless you pay but can bring drink in from the outside bars. We also ate at the Greek and Italian and the food was excellent. Table service here for a mixed selection of starters and choice of main course. Again, you have to pay for drinks. We took our own wine for the table. The Greek restaurant was fine with this but the Italian hesitated before agreeing it was okay. There is a shop just outside the hotel that sells wine. Bars - big problem. The alcohol is watered down and a drink tastes different depending which bar you get it from. You have to pay extra for decent cocktails, which are good. There are not enough bar men which results in queues at every bar. We did head out to Rhodes town and Billys bar down the road from the hotel. We hired cars to go to Lindos and the Butterfly farm. We also booked an excellent boat trip from the desk in the lobby. As there was 10 of us we actually booked a private sail boat which was an excellent day. Basically we had a good holiday but this was because of the size of our group. Please don't book if you are expecting a 4 star because if definitely is not that.
Review by diana n Essex
