Atlantica Imperial Resort and Spa

We stayed at The Atlantica Imperial at the end of August 2026. This review is primarily to inform and assist guests who have a gluten allergy or a milk allergy ( lactose free).

I cannot overemphasise how important it is to meet with NIkos, the chef, immediately that you arrive. We arrived in the afternoon and met with him before dinner at 6pm. He ascertained precisely what our allergies were ( my husband a coeliac and myself, lactose free) he explained exactly what he could do for us at each meal. We were both very reassured by this and he told us that as he was only there in the evening that another gentleman, also called Nikos, would assist us at breakfast and lunch. This is precisely what happened for the rest of the week.

It is extremely important that you speak to the chefs at every meal because the allergy details on the tickets next to the food are not always accurate. On querying this, Nikos explained that the menu changes every week and therefore the allergies change, but the tickets remain the same. The tickets are NOT reliable, but the chefs are. Please ask the chefs. So, for example the tickets for the soups ( always 2 available) would suggest they contained milk. However, on asking Nikos, I was always able to have one of the soups. My husband doesn't like soup, but the soups were nearly always gluten and milk free.

We spoke to Nikos during the day and he would help us choose gluten free and lactose free food. One one occasion my husband just helped himself to ice-cream, thinking it would be okay. But soon realised that it has biscuit in it. When I went to ask Nikos, he said, but that ice cream contains biscuit. I said yes, but my husband hadn't asked you first. Nikos went out the back to the kitchen and brought out gluten free ice-cream. This once again demonstrates that you must check with the chef. Each morning, my husband had a gluten free muffin, and there were gluten free cornflakes available too. Every morning my husband had decaffeinated coffee from the machine just outside the restaurant because he hates decaffeinated coffee from a sachet..yuk...and I always had an oatmilk cappuccino. You just need to ask for these things. My husband generally had fruit and meat and gluten free muffin for breakfast and I had poached eggs and ham and beans. Just our preference, but if you'd wanted gluten free pancakes that was available. Again, just ask.

Lunch: Ok for lunch, we tended to have soup, salad and meat. But, there were many gluten and lactose free hot food too. If you fancy your lunch at the snack bar that's easy too. So, if you look at the pictures I've enclosed you can see that my husband had gluten free pizza and chips from the snack bar. However, if you tell the staff that you want a gluten free sandwich at the snack bar, that's no problem. They just make it in the restaurant and send it through. One day, we were behind a lady who was quite upset because she was pointing out to the staff that everything had milk in it. Now, she'd been eating a sandwich with milk in it and realised her error. The staff were very concerned about this, and asked if she was alright. Fortunately, she said that she was, and they arranged milk free food for her. But, once again, if the lady had asked she would not have been in that position.

Dinner:

Dinner was a real highlight. We met Nikos every evening and he walked us both round pointing out what was gluten free, what was lactose free and often dishes were both. There was SO much choice! On one evening, Nikos made us separately out the back a teriyaki chicken dish. My husband had his with rice, and I had mine with noodles. He even brought the dishes to our table. How's that for service. I've included photos below. On another evening, he made us pasta with prawns, gluten and milk free. My husband's pasta was gluten free, of course. You never felt as though you were missing out, as Nikos made the version that everyone else was having gluten and milk free.

Desserts: Now, before I came, I read a review that said there were NO gluten free desserts. Poppycock! There were loads of them. If you asked. Every evening, we asked Nikos or one of the staff and they brought out from the kitchen a tray of desserts. There was 4 or 5 choices of gluten free and I had usually a choice of 3 desserts. Once again, I've posted pictures of the desserts below. They also do gluten free lager. Again, a picture is posted below.

If you go to visit Rhodes, there is a totally gluten free cafe. On our visit to Rhodes we visited Gluten free Rhodes, and had coffee and cake. We went back for lunch and had gluten free and lactose free sandwiches. We did our visit with the hotel it was 12 Euros for our morning trip and great value. You can do an afternoon trip too if you wish. You just book with reception and pay the driver of the coach.

I hope this review helps guests and I've made it as detailed as possible as there is nothing worse than a review that says ' they do gluten free.' I wish people would give more details.

All of the other reviews will tell you that the rooms are fabulous and the beds are comfortable. So, I'm not going to repeat those things, but can confirm that they are, and we had the cheapest room.

So, were there any things I didn't like? Sadly, yes, but they probably wouldn't stop me returning.

1. The pool bar. When I left, I did tell the reception staff that we refused to use the pool bar. The 'lady' taking the orders was very rude to us on our first visit. When we asked for a bottle of water we were told we had to pay. We were all inclusive? In all my life, I've never been charged for water at an all inclusive 5 star ⭐ hotel. We were rudely told that it was to reduce plastic consumption, she pointed to a sign on the desk and said we should buy water bottles and fill them up at the water station. It wasn't so much what she was saying, but the way in which she was saying it. She really let the hotel down. My husband simply refused to use the pool bar for the rest of the week. Another guest standing behind us was shocked at her attitude and advised that there were paper cups by the pool that could be filled and we did try this, but the water was lukewarm. Yuk. I've been challenged on this, and told the water was ice cold. It was not! A very poor show. Is the pool bar a concession? A complete let down. Left a bad taste. In addition, the cocktails from the pool bar were foul. I had a Mojito which was like warm, flat lemonade. Awful. Fortunately the cocktails from the Lobby Bar were superb, as were the staff.

I had a not so great experience at the Ginger A la Carte. Don't get me wrong the food was indeed superb. However our 'server' for the evening was very pushy indeed about ordering wine. I pointed out that we didn't drink wine. When I asked about a Gin and Tonic that I'd ordered, he said that he had no control over it, and I would just have to wait, however he said if I ordered some wine he'd provide that immediately. Wow! Rude much! I think he recognised how rude he'd been because he later came to our table with our aperitif and asked if we were pleased with the food and the service. I just stared at him. He knew he was in the wrong, but didn't apologise. He held his hand on his chest and bowed to me when we left, but that's as much apology as I got. He could learn a lot from Nikos. A very humble man.. perhaps some retraining is in order. It was very busy in Ginger and he was, I think, out of his depth.

3. Not the hotels fault, but Rhodes airport was absolutely appalling. This would be the one thing that might prevent us from returning. It was absolute chaos and we nearly missed our flight.

I apologise for such a long review. We really did enjoy our holiday, despite the moans!! Our special thanks go to Nikos. What a guy! Don't forget to ASK! That's the key 🗝️

Aegeo spa was wonderful. The 2 massage therapists we had were Mar and Lilibeth, they were so professional and caring, always checking the pressure was okay. We both enjoyed the massage and came out a lot more relaxed.

I had an amazing experience to the Aegeo SPA. A professional massage from Mar. She was incredibly attentive and took the time to understand where I was feeling tension. The pressure was perfect throughout. The atmosphere was peaceful, clean, and relaxing. Would 100% recommend. Thanks Mar!