Aulus Lindos Rhodes by Domes Resorts

"Our decision to fly to Rhodes was very spontaneous; the Aulūs Lindos Rhodes Resort website contributed a great deal to our decision. We decided on a "Tropical Zen Bungalow Suite with private pool." It was important to us that parents and child have enough space, and with our own pool, we treated ourselves to a little privacy. Since our flight was quite delayed, we reached the hotel at a late hour - but we were welcomed very warmly and driven straight to the buffet restaurant so that we could still eat something; we were allowed to take care of the check-in afterwards - while we were eating, our suitcases were already brought to the room. The next day, we were then able to really look at and explore our accommodation. The entire complex is very beautifully designed - many flowers, shrubs, bananas, oranges, etc. The beach is large enough; the pebbles have the advantage that the sea is nice and clear, and the water temperature was wonderful. We read the reviews of others and wanted to get our own impression. From our point of view; Yes, there is a partial need for visual improvement in the interior and structurally - but we did not find them disturbing or even gross - for us, it was more like, we are in the south, where other priorities prevail. The buffet restaurant was a large, beautiful room with a terrace - we found the selection of dishes, salads, and desserts to be very large. For us, there could have been a bit more local cuisine - but when we looked at what the other guests were eating, local cuisine might have been out of place. Occasionally, the meat that was under the heat lamp was a bit dry. The staff who clear the dishes, clean the tables, and serve drinks were consistently very friendly. The à la carte restaurants were consistently very delicious and the service very friendly - and even as someone with food allergies, you were advised, and there was a selection of dishes, or it was cooked separately. The room cleaning, the drink service, etc., were always present, and the room was always cleaned and the minibar restocked. The room met our expectations; enough space, beautiful private garden with pool - we really enjoyed being in our "refuge." We only would have liked a drying rack for wet swimwear or towels - but there were always new, dry towels available. The late check-out and the lunch packages for the trip home worked wonderfully. Our questions and requests were answered and handled at any time and very quickly. We felt very comfortable and welcome during our stay. 🥰 There is also a BUT: However, this concerns the guests less than the hotel: The lounge chairs around the communal pool and on the beach were already being reserved in the early morning hours with towels, etc. - is that really necessary!? At meals, huge amounts were sometimes "piled" onto a plate and then left almost untouched - is that necessary, you can go back for seconds as many times as you want. All-inclusive is cool - but do you have to overdo it with alcohol, etc.? Sometimes you could feel the alcohol level later in the evening and good manners were somewhat lost. All employees at the hotel work only for our vacation - they deserve a "Kalimera" and a thank you, please, etc. Cat - there are seemingly more cats than people on Rhodes. But why do you have to give the cats something from the table and then get annoyed when they get cheeky and beg? Regarding the surroundings: It was clear during our travel preparations that we would need a rental car, since the hotel is located outside of town - after the vacation, we are glad about this decision. We were able to take our excursions and discover the island without waiting for the bus. There were always enough parking spaces at the hotel. Our conclusion: The hotel and the staff are great - here and there are small opportunities for improvement - but not enough to spoil the vacation."

"We’re just coming to the end of a lovely holiday at Aulus Lindos and whilst there are definitely some areas for improvement, there’s so much to love about this resort. Firstly, the resort itself is absolutely beautiful. The decor is gorgeous and our bungalow suite with whirlpool was spacious and lovely. The all-inclusive offering is generous, with very little that seems to cost extra, and you can visit the restaurants as often as you like. The food truck by the main pool is brilliant, delicious food until 4pm without having to get dressed for lunch! It’s also fantastic for little ones. Everyone was so welcoming towards our one-year-old and the bucket and spade left in his cot on arrival was a really thoughtful touch. There were, however, a few frustrations during our stay. Our whirlpool needed cleaning and it took a couple of days and several requests to sort. We also had a real issue with the shower flooding the bathroom floor every time it was used, which wasn’t ideal with a little one walking around. We found ourselves using most of our towels to mop up the water, and getting replacement pool towels initially proved surprisingly difficult despite asking multiple times. There are also a few things that, in our opinion, stop this from feeling like a true 5-star experience. There’s no poolside drinks service, so you’re queuing at the bar, many of the cocktails are machine-made rather than freshly prepared, and some of the premium drinks advertised weren’t available. The tiles around the main pool are also extremely slippery. My husband and I both had wonderful massages during our stay. The treatments themselves were superb and the therapists were fantastic. The only thing missing is the wider spa experience. There isn’t a relaxation area, pool or other facilities, which would really elevate it given the pricing. The food is a little mixed. The buffet has plenty of choice and we enjoyed the Greek and Italian restaurants, although getting an evening reservation at the Italian was difficult. The Thai was lovely on our first visit but far too salty the second time. Overall, the dining is good, but there’s room for a little more consistency. What really made the difference to our stay, though, was the management team. After sharing our concerns, Thalia and Nikos took the time to sit down with us, genuinely listen and understand our experience. The care and attention we received afterwards was exceptional and they really did go above and beyond to make the rest of our holiday special. It wasn’t just a case of acknowledging the feedback, they actually acted on it and continued checking that we were enjoying ourselves. We’ve thanked them personally, but they deserve recognition here too. They’re a real credit to the hotel and clearly care about their guests. If you’re staying and something isn’t quite right, I’d absolutely encourage you to speak with Thalia or Nikos rather than leaving disappointed. They’re approachable, genuinely want to help and will do their best to make things right. We also had a really encouraging conversation with Nikos about the future of the resort. He explained that this is their first season operating the hotel since acquiring it, and that there are significant improvements planned for the end of this season, over winter and into next year, with substantial investment set aside. It’s really exciting to hear because the resort already has so much going for it. I still stand by some of our initial feedback, particularly around the finer details and consistency of service, but the way the team handled everything has completely changed our overall impression. We would absolutely return, and I’d genuinely encourage anyone considering booking for next year to give it a look. If the planned improvements deliver what Nikos has described, I think this place will be very hard to beat. It’s already a beautiful resort with some wonderful people behind it, and we’re leaving feeling really positive about our stay."

"Before I detail our disappointing experience, I wanted to point out that I rarely write reviews, we are pretty easy going, we make excuses for misdemeanours and generally always try to make the most out of any situation as I love just being away. But unfortunately, I am so upset and disappointed by our stay I can’t let it go. We are well travelled and have experienced an array of accommodations and holidays ranging from hostels, caravan parks, glamping, cruises, low range - luxury hotels as well as the well-known English budget all under one roof entertainment resort. This holiday was for a special occasion where we wanted to treat ourselves to a luxury 5 star holiday. We probably should have complained a lot more whilst we were there (as one of the customer care team pointed out when we were checking out) but I feel that the areas that disappointed us shouldn’t need to be complained about in order to improve. The issues we experienced shouldn’t be occurring in most hotels and should definitely not be happening in a hotel that claims to be 5 star. Many of the points I have raised have been in previous reviews which demonstrates that the hotel management are not taking on board the feedback and so therefore, would there have been any point to us moaning whilst we were there trying to enjoy a well-earned holiday. However, this experience has made me re-evaluate this and going forward I am going to complain if something is substandard and disappointing. I also wish that I had taken more photos of the issues. Negatives Staff - Most of the bar staff were miserable, rude, uninterested and at times when I approached the bar, I felt like I was interrupting their social time, cigarette break or being a nuisance to them. - Most of the waiting/bar staff seem to have the attitude that we were burdening them and didn’t seem as though they wanted to keep customers happy at all. - On a few occasions I witnessed a certain bar staff member preparing cigarettes, taking shots with the guests and his general hygiene around drink preparation wasn’t the greatest. At one point I seriously thought I saw him spit in someone’s drink. - On our last day when we were waiting around for our transfer, my husband went to the main bar in the square to order a couple of last drinks, we hadn’t noticed the time and as there were bar staff at the bar he approached and was screamed at by the bar staff “5 o’clock!!!!” I looked at the time and ok it was 4.52pm but there was no need for her to scream at my husband like that. - Most of the staff had an attitude like they were already done with the season and didn’t really want to be there – this was apparent when several staff members commented that it had been a long season. This is something I don’t want to hear or feel; working in tourism is hard but the season hasn’t finished yet as I am still a customer paying to be on holiday (paying a lot of money). - There were not enough waiting staff in the main buffet restaurant and the staff that were there lacked efficiency and were miserable. Often tables were left full of dirty plates, it often took ages for someone to come over and take drink orders and they didn’t seem to really care. On our last night I was sick of waiting for a table to be cleared so I cleared it, cleaned it and set the table myself. - Staff treated people differently whether consciously or unconsciously I would be standing at the bar and the person in front had a drink poured into a plastic glass then mine would be in paper and I would ask for plastic and they said none left when there was, some people would get a full bottle of water at dinner left on their table we would get just a poured glass which within minutes we would need more water and no one around to ask for more. In the end we helped ourselves to the bottled water and entered the buffet restaurant with drinks from the bar. Then the last night was so frustrating as it was chaos because the outside was closed due to weather, even though at this point the rain had passed, everyone was scrambling for tables even though they were dirty and people were asking for cutlery, drinks, tables to be cleared etc. constantly and waiting ages. Then a couple who must have been celebs or something got their table cleaned straight away despite others before them that had asked and waiting, then they got served by 3 different staff members, they brought them items that were on the self-service, even the kitchen staff came out with food for them, this just didn’t seem fair at all. - There were customer care staff members that wander around the resort on their phones, it seems that these members of staff approach you when you are new to check how your holiday is going (obviously pretty ok as you’re only a day in) then after that they only seem to approach the ones that look like they are having a good time or who have given positive feedback before. I wasn’t happy on one of the days and you could probably see my disappointed expression tbh and the same member of staff who was happy to approach us at beginning was walking towards us and then suddenly diverted and ignored us. - As we had a late flight home we asked reception if a late check out would be a possibility, they kindly offered a 2pm check out which was great however, this was clearly not communicated as at 11.30am the cleaner was at the door asking us why we weren’t out of the room so I explained we were leaving the room at 2pm and then at 12.30pm the member of staff that replenishes the mini bar was then perplexed as to why we were still in the room. So, in the end we just left the room earlier. Food & drink - I’m not a fussy eater by any means and have been in many buffet style all inclusive resorts before but this was one of the lowest points of our holiday. By the middle of our holiday I would dread going to the buffet restaurant as the food was luke warm at best even when it had just come out the kitchen, the ac was on such a cold temperature in the restaurant that by the time you got back to your table it was stone cold. Towards the end I stuck to salad, cheese and items from the kids section as those heating plates seemed to be warm. On our last lunch I found a hair in my salad, told the waiting staff but he proceeded to take my plate and wasn’t bothered. - There were a great selection of salads and cold selections but there were a limited amount of hot food options (well luke warm/cold) and quite often it seemed like it was the day before’s leftovers just put in a different sauce and the food seemed to be the same sort of things most nights, it lacked variety between the days. Most of the time it was the same dish just with different meat. - The food lacked any kind of quality really and I felt like it was just end of season budget food or what could they get rid of before they close down the resort. - One night the live cooking area had chicken skewers, but he was cooking only 5 at a time so every time they were cooked they were gone. Finally, there were 2 left for my husband and I but unfortunately when we started to eat them, they weren’t cooked properly inside obviously he felt pressurised to get them out quicker but didn’t check they were cooked. - The drink options were amazing especially as they were using international brands however, quite often in particular the pool bar did not have certain popular drinks on certain days. The bar man just said my colleague hasn’t brought it down yet. This was often the tequila based cocktails that came from a drinks machine and the coconut milk for the pina coladas. Quite often they wouldn’t be available all day down at the pool bar. - The queues for the bars were often really long but seemed to go down quickly however it then meant that care would not be taken with making the drinks, one of the pina coladas I had I couldn’t even drink and I’ve never had lemonade in a mojito before. - Every day the pool bar would run out of plastic cups within a few hours sometimes within the first hour of being open and then they had to resort to small coffee paper cups which just isn’t 5 star and you would need to order 2 of each drink to get anywhere close to the amount of a usual glass. - The main square bar would also run out of certain glasses so it would often be a gamble as to which glass you would end up with, my husband got a small tumbler for his red wine one night instead of a wine glass. One night I got a wine glass which had just come out the dishwasher, but it clearly hadn’t been cleaned properly as it had coconut bits on it and smelt like milk. - 3 nights in and we ate in the a la carte Asian restaurant (yellow sea), I was quite ill the following morning, I just put it down to being on holiday and overindulging in rich food but after eating in the same restaurant for the second time I was really ill, severe pains followed by projectile vomiting amongst other sympthoms which I won’t detail but you can guess. I was laid up in bed for a few days recovering and had to cancel our evening excursion out and a dinner reservation in lindos that I was really looking forward to. Granted, I should have gone to reception and spoken about this but at this point I was just done with this holiday. My husband did go to reception and mention I was ill and that we had to cancel our space on the evening outing. However, I did mention this when we were checking out when asked by one of the customer care team about how our holiday was. She initially apologised blah blah blah and then said maybe your body just doesn’t react well to Asian food, I was so annoyed by this and told her that I often eat Asian food, it is a huge part of my diet. With responses like that what was the point in even mentioning issues. - The snack truck by the poolside often had long queues and ran out of Greek salad on several occasions when I asked for it, I gave up asking in the end as how can you run out of Greek salad. We tried some other items from the truck but the only items that were actually hot was the hot dogs as they were in one of those hot dog warmers and the falafel wrap but the burgers were sat in a bain-marie clearly with water that wasn’t hot enough as this was luke warm and the chips were cold. It seemed like no care was made to re-fry the chips just before serving to make them hot or the meat for the gyros or popping the burgers on the grill to serve hot – they just did not seem to care what they were giving out. - The food at the Italian a la carte seemed liked it was bought in as you couldn’t change some of the ingredients if you had intolerances, also all the food comes out at once despite the menu format being entrée, appetisers and mains. So, it all feels a bit rushed and you feel so full. Although, the food here was hot and generally really good. - One afternoon the soup pot didn’t have a soup ladle in it, so people were scooping it with mugs and other bowls and leaving a mess, I spotted it as soon as I walked in but the restaurant staff didn’t for a long time and it just sat like it. - Someone got told off for taking one of the ice cream bowls for her soup (they are the same bowls) the member of staff said use the soup bowls that’s what they are there for, these are for the ice cream and the woman replied I would if there were any there but there isn’t. - The buffet restaurant felt like a school canteen not a 5 star hotel buffet. Wet weather shut down - Unfortunately, this resort almost shuts down when it rains. Whilst we were there, we experienced a few really bad thunderstorms which meant because both bars are outside they close, most of the seating for the a la carte restaurants are outside so they have very limited space to dine and the main buffet restaurant is half inside and half outside. Which means these areas become very crowded and then the tables not being cleared quick enough meant frustrated, wet and hungry holiday makers. - All evening entertainment and seating around the evening bar is outside too so that stops. - So, when it rains all you can really do is go back to your room where you have no access to the all inclusive as you have to pay extra for room service. - One day the rain suddenly came and it was torrential along with scary lightening and thunder so some of us got trapped under the Italian restaurant’s entrance lobby. We were unable to get back to our rooms without getting completely drenched, the pool bar closed and all hatches were pulled down and locked with the staff inside taking shelter. After standing there for almost 15 minutes with no signs of the rain stopping, I asked one of the Italian restaurant waiting staff if I could have a glass of wine. His response was if I do it for you, I have to do it for everyone, you have to get your drink from the bar, I responded with but the bar is closed and he just shrugged his shoulders. I said how can we get drinks that we’ve paid for as part of our holiday then, he then reluctantly poured me a glass and muttered other things under his breath. I was so annoyed by this as it wasn’t like he was busy as most of the Italian restaurant was closed due to the weather and why was his attitude so unhelpful. Why couldn’t he have got everyone a drink that was standing there waiting for the rain to stop. - We also had a leak from the rain in the bathroom of our room it was like a stream down the wall, I reported this to reception, I believe someone came to check it but nothing was done about it so we just put a towel at the bottom of the wall. Cleanliness - When we arrived our jacuzzi clearly hadn’t been cleaned after the last people, debris in the bottom of it and a napkin floating. We didn’t really use the jacuzzi that much as it got grimier as the holiday went on and the filter got more and more clogged. Yes, I should have complained but I think it should be standard that a person comes in every other day to check it over and cleans it before new guests. - The room wasn’t cleaned to a great standard for our arrival, there were food crumbs and hair next to the side of the bed and under the nightstand, there was hair and skin under the bed that would blow out from under if the door to the balcony was open and there was a collection of not our hair in the corner of the bathroom. - I gave the maid the benefit of the doubt as maybe it was a busy change over day but the days that followed it wasn’t cleaned so I took some towels and cleaned it myself. Again, I probably should have gone to management with this, but I didn’t want to cause issues for the cleaner. - The bathroom sink is a huge stone trough type design which looks great but clearly is a nightmare to clean and get all the water washed down as often the water sat in places. Whilst I was cleaning my teeth on the first night, I could see something floating and I thought what is that and then I realised I think it was a congealed bit of shaving gel with hairs stuck in it - obviously from the previous guests. - The beach needs regular cleaning of rubbish, there were straws, cigarette butts and often clothing and broken inflatables people had left. - In the buffet restaurant when the wait staff clear tables the dirty plates, glasses and scraps bin is within full view whilst you are sitting eating your food and it was often over flowing – not something you want to look at whilst eating. Room and Resort Amenities - Our room looked like it required some tlc in areas, in particular the bathroom, the shower door did not fit the shower doorway so this would flood the bathroom everytime you had a shower. - The black fixtures in the bathroom have black paint wearing off of them and ours looked like they tried to spray paint it but sprayed the wall of the shower instead. - The shower screen on the bath was rusty. - It often took at least 15 minutes for the water to heat up in the bathroom to an acceptable level to shower in if you were lucky and two nights in a row the water stopped coming out of the shower head every few minutes. - There’s only one toilet by the poolside. - The pool looked like it needed some tlc. - The toilets in reception don’t lock, one toilet wasn’t working and the other only partly flushed. - The sink in the bathroom under the buffet restaurant would often be clogged and not drain so was filling up. - When you walk over towards the meze and buffet restaurant you can see all stacked furniture up on the balcony of the meze restaurant and I just thought it was a bit of an eyesore (not really 5 star). Positives - The selection of drinks at the bars (when stocked) were great and I liked that you could help yourself to soft drinks from the huge fridges at the pool bar. - The gardens are beautifully kept. - Alvin, one of the restaurant staff was so attentive and smiley, I wish all of the other wait/bar staff had been as lovely and helpful as Alvin was. - The overall décor and look of the hotel (although some areas needed some tlc) was a lovely concept. - The meze restaurant I could not fault at all. - Most of the reception staff are very welcoming and I like the chilled luxury vibe of check in. - The bed and day bed in our room along with the huge tv with Netflix on was great. - The mini bar and expresso machine was also great and one of the days the coffee pods and mini bar was not replenished but we spoke to reception and this was soon rectified. - We enjoyed the evening entertainment that we attended. - The breakfast food seemed to be hotter than the other meal times, and the freshly cooked omelettes were great. Suggestions - Don’t have the buffet restaurant open 24hours and instead focus on serving hot and better quality food within the main meal serving hours. - Have a backup plan to keep your guests happy when the rain hits. Possibly offer free room service or extra replenishments of the mini bar or perhaps a take away pizza from the Italian. - Less luxury toiletries in the room as well as the pointless leaving gift where the money for these could be perhaps better spent elsewhere. - More attentive waiting staff especially in the busy areas and perhaps less customer care team members because if standards improve you wouldn’t need as many customer care team members. - The buffet restaurant could do with a front of house staff in the evening that seats guests in the specific areas, so the wait staff know who are sitting down and so that certain areas don’t get too overwhelmed and other areas are sparce. It felt like a free for all canteen and not a 5 star buffet restaurant. - The beach should be cleaned up every evening of left towels, discarded items/lost property and all the general rubbish. - Rooms should be deep cleaned before new guests and there should be an attention to detail there like cleaning under beds, around beds, in the corners of the room not just what seemed as a quick clean. Perhaps a senior member of staff should check them before allowing guests to go in. - The jacuzzi should be thoroughly cleaned after each guest and a check up clean throughout the holiday esp after the storm as there was lots of debris and a build up of grime. - The only alcohol on offer in the mini bar is beer, I think a nice touch would be every few days a bottle of wine could be added and you could let them know your preference. It is such a shame that we have experienced all of these issues as with the right management, hot decent food and waiting staff with a better attitude this could be a truly amazing hotel."