Lindos Royal Resort

We recently returned from a week at Lindos Royal after reading numerous negative reviews. We’re fans of TUI Sensatori or Zafrio brand hotels so were worried it wouldn’t live up to our expectations. However, we had a wonderful time.

We stayed in a swim-up suite with our two-year-old and while the room needed a bit of TLC, it was perfectly good for our week. The swim-up pool was one of the best we’ve ever had – a great pool and a lovely cool escape from the heat.

The food was some of the best we’ve ever had at a hotel, with so much choice at the buffet.

We travelled with my brother and his family and the hotel was incredibly attentive. They even sent a cake for my sister-in-law’s birthday.

The hotel has a brilliant number of pools, so vast you often feel like you’re the only family there. It was lovely and quiet throughout our stay.

Lunch at the pool bar was great and the children enjoyed the kids’ dancing and toddler pool where they could stand up.

The location is great – we paid €15 for a taxi each way to Lindos.

The only thing I’d say could be improved is the drink selection. Not having a mini-bar option in the room was annoying – we like to have snacks in the evening. However, we did make the most of the in-resort supermarket for water and snacks.

Would definitely return!

The staff have been lovely and helpful, especially with taxis, and the bar staff are brilliant and fun. The AC and shower in the room are also great. Unfortunately, we’ve had a significant issue with ants in the room, particularly behind the bed, with them crawling up onto the bed. I’ve found 3 in the bed and 2 in my hair, and countless others under and around the bed/room. I’ve been constantly itching and waking throughout the night trying to clear them. They’re coming through the holes pictured, which I’ve blocked myself. I personally only noticed this 2 days ago, as if I’d noticed it at the start, I would have asked to move rooms. However, when in line at reception this morning to notify them, we heard someone on their first day asking to move rooms because of ants, so this may not necessarily resolve the issue.

I appreciate the cleaners are lovely and friendly, so this isn’t a reflection on them personally, particularly as it’s the end of a long hot summer and I appreciate that will be reflective of the hotel. However, compared with our stay here 4 years ago, the quality of the facilities and cleanliness has unfortunately declined. The hotel also feels much less fresh and modern than it did then.

This was our first couples holiday in 4 years, and as we’d stayed here before, we were super excited to come back. Unfortunately, this has been somewhat dampened by the issues we’ve experienced. The rail outside has also been off throughout our stay. Overall, it’s a shame as there are some really positive aspects, but these issues have affected our experience. We’ve requested a complimentary late check out to make up for this and will hear back this afternoon.

I’ve sandwhiched this with some lovely pictures of lindos at the end:)

Our restaurant and bar recriminations were all made by locals and were incredible: Lindos by night, Akres, Apollo, Antika, Yanis, Tambakio, La presidenta.

I’ll start by saying we had a window of time after moving house and didn’t want to go far and got a last minute deal from Jet2 to this hotel a few weeks before departure. We figured that as it was 5* rated so what if it had a few bad reviews it would be ok. It was not ok!

The reality is this, a 5 star has water in the rooms every night, a 5 star has drinkable drinks at the bar, a 5 star has bathroom doors with handles not broken springs and broken plastic, a five star has a bathroom with a shower screen/door - both rooms we were in had nothing and no bath mats provided either (wtf??) - you would expect plug sockets by the bed but nope, a plug that fits the plug hole in the bath and a shower attachment that works as well as complimentary use of a safe. You would expect more than one very shabby quality pillow per person also.

A 5 star doesn’t have a bar area that stinks so bad you can’t sit there. For gods sake close that calypso bar - it’s gross!

We changed rooms as the first room was what you’d expect in a hostel or prison - the second room was better but still grim and by no means a 5 star room. At this point however we figured that we’d suck it up as we would not be spending much time in the room other than to sleep and we had asked for extra pillows which they did provide.

It seems everyone we spoke to had a problem or had to change rooms. Reception were constantly dealing with unhappy guests - the pool areas were designed by someone that gets off on broken bones, the floor tiles when wet were like black ice, lots of falls and honestly not relaxing for parents with young kids, bits of pool were breaking off and the water leaked onto the paths. How they haven’t been sued for a fall or slip is beyond me. Walking to the bar people looked like grannies on ice 😬

Calypso bar stinks like a sewer all day long and is a dirty waterlogged mess.

Other than the stink hole Calypso bar, the pool bar is the only area where you can get your all inclusive drinks - they are all unbranded huge bottles of barely drinkable rubbish. Cheap nasty cocktails. Poor ingredients = poor drinks! Served in plastic or paper cups.

If you’re at any of the kids pools and you and the kids want water or a drink then you either pay for drinks at the nearby shop or walk across slippery death trap tiles to the pool or calypso bar for a grim drink or paper cup of water.

Greece is famous for its coffee - especially iced coffee - but you can’t get a single iced frappe or iced coffee here - in fact the coffee is disgusting.

Ivan at reception is superb and truly is too good for this place - he should be at an Ikos - he’s holding the show together from a customer point of view in my opinion. And if he can handle this hellhole then he can handle anything - huge resilience and positive attitude. He would be a huge asset to a real 5 star resort.

The buffet is ok but nothing amazing - they’d do well to focus more on Greek produce and dishes. The wine and beer in the buffet sadly is not drinkable at all.

Rhodes is lovely and we are fortunate to have the means to go out and escape the place for days and evenings but I would 100% avoid this place if you can. There is nothing authentic about it and half of it needs demolishing while they sort out the rest to a half decent standard.

I’m also worried they’re dumping sewerage from the hotel directly into the little private bay - looks to be the case as there is a waste pipe from the top with green sludge, in which case the hotel is destroying one of the very few positive assets it has!

Absolutely not a 5 star - not in a month of Sundays! Not even a 3 star!