Olive Garden Hotel

"We arrived late after a delayed flight. Check in was straight forward and we were shown to our room by a staff member. The room was small but was cleaned every day by the cleaners. My only issue was that the cleaners were very loud in the morning and woke us all up by 8am if not before. The staff were all absolutely lovely and really friendly. Special mention to the bar tender Carlo who made me a mojito on my birthday at my request despite needing to get lime for the kitchen which had already closed. The staff here really go above and beyond and work so hard. The waterpark was really good and the kids absolutely loved it, it was the highlight of the holiday for them and was great that you could use your own inflatables on the lazy river. The food wasn't great, breakfast was the worst but dinner was OK, some days were better than others. The pizza and gyros at the snack bars were lovely and we ate them for lunch every day! The all inclusive cocktails were ok and there was a decent selection. The soft drinks were branded ones which was nice. The entertainment was a bit all over the place and not much happened in the evening as they had no performers and the entertainment staff kind of cobbled together some music or karaoke. The location was a bit remote but the beach was an 8 min walk, it is pebbly but if you walk a bit along you can find a slightly nicer beach with sun beds to rent. We did a day trip to lindos and the reception book a taxi for you which is helpful. Lindos is beautiful and well worth a visit. One thing that was a bit of a worry was the very slippery marble floor, we all slid over at one point and could have seriously hurt ourselves, I think the hotel need to sort the floor as someone could seriously injured themselves. Overall us and the kids really enjoyed ourselves and had a lovely relaxing holiday. We would come again, the waterpark and snack bar were the highlights, as were the friendly restaurant and bar staff."

"Now this is a long review but an honest one. My husband and myself stayed here in May for 10 nights. Although we paid extra to upgrade to a deluxe room there was nothing special to suggest this. The room was basic compared to other 4* hotels we've stayed in. We actually asked if they had made a mistake and given us the wrong room. Unfortunately not. We were told there were tea/coffee making facilities in the room. All we got was a kettle and a teaspoon. No cups, saucers or teabags/coffee/milk. The wardrobe space was very limited. You can't even hang a long dress up without folding it over the coathanger bar. 6 hangers for 2 people staying almost a fortnight is nowhere near enough. Thankfully I always take my own, as well as a hanging storage organiser. They are game changers and the first thing I pack for holidays abroad. The bed wasn't particularly comfortable with some of the springs felt when you lay down. Our safe didn't lock properly but the maintenance man was quick to get a replacement. The air conditioning was excellent and very quiet so our sleep was never disturbed. The shower was spacious and powerful. The fridge was small but just enough for small bottles and some chocolate. In a 4* hotel we would have expected at least a complimentary bottle of water in the room, sadly there was nothing provided. The housekeeping staff always made the bed and our towels wer replaced daily. Their cleaning of the balcony was not up to standard though. It took a whole 7 days for them to remove dead bugs from one of the corners. Simply not good enough. There was no provision to hang wet swimwear apart from over the plastic chairs then you were unable to sit outside or over the concrete balcony. Now onto the biggest let down - the food. It was way below the standard we expected, even for feed-the-masses all inclusive. It was never warm and there wasn't much variety. Some of the offerings you couldn't determine if it was actually meat. See my picture with a great big fatty blob. This is what you get, so I can't understand all the people saying it was good. The spoons provided for dessert were large and heavy. Teaspoons would have been better, especially for young children. The poolside pizzas and gyros were delicious and much nicer than the food in the restaurant at lunchtime. The restaurant staff rarely smiled and there was minimal interaction. We were so disappointed in the food that we ate out for the latter stage of our stay, mainly at a lovely restaurant called Greek Story in Pefkos, a neighbouring village where we had stayed on our previous trip to Rhodes. Anna at reception was very nice and chatty. The bar area lacked atmosphere. The all inclusive drinks were more like flavoured water with the cocktails all tasting the same. The bar staff Carlos and Elenda were really cheerful and friendly. The plastic cups for the poolside drinks were cleared several times during the day but sometimes rubbish like napkins or bags from the pizzas or gyros were often floating in the pool. Obviously this is due to guests not putting them in the bin but we didn't once see anyone doing a litter pick during the day. It was all left until the pool closed at 6pm. We took a walk around the hotel grounds one day and there was a strong sewage odour which was mentioned in another review. It was very pungent as you can imagine in the heat of the day. The pool area was good although the sunbeds were really low. There could have been a second entry point into the pool for those with limited mobility. This would make a huge difference. We also went to the onsite waterpark. The lazy river was disgusting with bugs, alive and dead, on both the surface and the tiled floor. We didn't visit again as this put us off. Onto the entertainment. It was poor, amateurish and disorganised particularly in the evenings. Daytime there was aquarobics and waterpolo some days. Evening entertainment, if you can call it that, wasn't up to scratch. On bingo night - 1 single line and a full house was the extent of the entertainment, then nothing. For an alleged 4* hotel we would have expected some shows from outside acts. Rio was friendly enough but he didn't have a clue about organising activities to keep people amused at night. All things considered we wouldn't recommend this hotel."

"Great hotel, great atmosphere provided by Rio. He had great activities all day long and an interesting show in the evening. Friendly and professional service, good food, lots of attractions, tennis, volleyball, and water slides. I recommend it."