"I have just returned from a week-long stay at the Lindos Royal, and I can honestly say I have never been so disappointed by a holiday. The trip was with Jet2 and cost our family over £3,000, and in hindsight I would genuinely not even have paid £500 for the experience we received.
I left feeling exhausted, frustrated, upset, and completely let down. What should have been a relaxing family holiday became something we simply endured until it was time to come home.
The Positives:
To be fair, there are a couple positives worth mentioning but sadly that’s all.
1. Stunning Location:
The hotel is set in a beautiful location with fantastic views of both the sea and the surrounding Lindos mountains. Wherever you look, the scenery is impressive and undoubtedly one of the hotel's strongest assets. The beach is easily accessible from the hotel however is a pebble beach not sand and is extremely painful on the feet, so generally not usable or enjoyable without foot ware or rock shoes.
2. Excellent Food:
The food was genuinely superb throughout our stay. There was a good variety available every day, although the buffet area is far too small for a hotel of this size and can become chaotic during busy periods.
A special mention must go to the two Italian chefs working at the pizza and pasta station. Their food was exceptional and easily the best dining experience we had during the entire holiday.
Most of the restaurant, bar, and housekeeping staff were also friendly, hardworking, and helpful. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the reception staff and management team, who often appeared completely indifferent to guests' concerns. The frontline staff seem to be the people keeping this place running.
Arrival – A Disaster From the Start:
We arrived shortly after 2am following flight delays. We were travelling as a family of three with our five-year-old son and were already exhausted from the journey.
The night receptionist who checked us in appeared completely uninterested. There was no welcome, no smile, and no useful information provided. We were simply handed a key card for Room 1422 and sent on our way. There was no information about breakfast times, Wi-Fi access, hotel facilities, or anything else guests would normally expect at check-in.
A porter assisted us with our luggage and escorted us to the room.
As we walked down the corridor, I noticed water flowing out from underneath one of the room doors and spreading across the hallway floor. To our disbelief, that room turned out to be ours.
Flooded Room on Arrival:
When we opened the door, we were greeted by a bathroom full of stagnant water. The smell was overwhelming—a combination of damp, stale water and sewage-like odours.
The porter attempted to help by bringing a stack of towels and mopping up the water, but the leak was clearly ongoing and the towels became saturated almost immediately.
To enter the room, we literally had to walk through dirty water of unknown origin. Given the smell and appearance, it seemed highly likely that it was wastewater coming from the bathroom plumbing.
I immediately returned to reception and refused to allow my family to stay in the room.
While I was there, another guest was already complaining about mould, unpleasant smells, and the fact that his room had not even been set up properly for his family.
When I explained our situation, the receptionist showed absolutely no concern. His response was simply that there was nothing he could do because all alternative rooms were occupied and we would need to return the following day.
I explained that I was not willing to have my wife and young son sleep in a flooded room. He called the manager, who instructed him to tell us to make an appointment to see her after 1:30pm the following day.
There was no apology, no urgency, and no attempt to find a solution.
When I returned to the room, my wife and son were both extremely upset and wanted to go home. As a husband and father, I felt completely let down. We were thousands of miles from home and had no realistic option other than to spend the night there.
A Miserable First Night:
The room smelled terrible. The floor remained wet and slippery, and the source of the water was never explained.
As we tried to settle in, we noticed that the bedding felt damp and smelled strongly of chemicals. There were visible signs of damp and mould on parts of the walls, and several mosquitoes were already flying around the room.
The entire night was spent swatting mosquitoes, trying to keep our son protected, and struggling to cope with the smell.
We never unpacked our suitcases and slept in the clothes we had travelled in.
None of us got any meaningful sleep.
For what was advertised as a five-star hotel, it felt more like survival than the start of a family holiday.
Moving Rooms – But Not Solving the Problem:
The following morning, we returned to reception as soon as it opened.
After both my wife and I made our frustrations clear, what I believe was the assistant manager finally came to speak with us. She apologised and promised to move us to another room later that day.
We were instructed to bring all of our luggage down to reception ourselves, store it there, and return later to inspect another room once guests had checked out.
By this stage we were exhausted and simply agreed.
We were eventually shown Room 1612, located on the sixth floor above our original room. At first glance it appeared much better. It looked clean, smelled fresh, and seemed acceptable, so we agreed to move.
We were told to return a few hours later once the room was ready.
Feeling relieved that we could finally unpack and begin our holiday, we returned to the room.
Unfortunately, things only got worse.
No Air Conditioning and Another Leak:
The room felt like a sauna.
We switched on the air conditioning only to discover it didn't work. When we contacted reception, we were informed that the owners do not activate the air conditioning until 1st June.
This was despite temperatures in the room regularly feeling well above 30 degrees.
Trying to make the best of the situation, we unpacked and spent the day by the pool.
When we returned later that evening, we were greeted by a familiar smell of drains and stagnant water. To our disbelief, the bathroom was once again flooding. A large puddle had formed around the toilet and sink, appearing to come from within the wall cavity.
We reported the issue immediately to both reception and our holiday representative.
We were repeatedly told that maintenance had inspected the room and could not find a leak. Yet we had photographs clearly showing water pooling on the bathroom floor.
The leak continued throughout the entire week.
No alternative room was offered, and no meaningful solution was provided.
Unbearable Heat and Mosquitoes:
With no working air conditioning, the room became unbearably hot, especially at night. When we asked reception whether a fan could be provided, particularly for our five-year-old son, we were simply told they did not have any available.
Our only option was to leave both the patio door and corridor door open in an attempt to create airflow. Unfortunately, the mosquito net was also damaged tears in the mesh and holes, meaning mosquitoes easily entered the room constantly.
By the end of the holiday I had received well over twenty mosquito bites, most of them during the night while trying to sleep.
Noise and Lack of Soundproofing:
The hotel also suffers from virtually no sound insulation between rooms and balconies.
Throughout the week we were disturbed by constant shouting, arguments, crying babies, and noise from neighbouring rooms.
On more than one occasion, the arguments next door became so heated that my wife contacted reception because she was concerned for the welfare of the children involved.
Peaceful nights were virtually impossible.
Facilities and General Condition:
The swimming pools themselves were perfectly acceptable. The water was clean, and the slides provided entertainment for children, unlike the children's entertainment, kids' clubs, and mini disco, which were virtually non-existent. They consisted of a few young women with a Bluetooth speaker leading some popular children's songs and dances for about eight minutes, and then it was over and done with. My son was then bored, with little to do other than swim and use the slides.
Finding fresh drinking water was a challenge. The bars were fine if you wanted to drink alcohol all day long; however, I prefer to stay well hydrated and drink plenty of water throughout the day in those temperatures, not just soft drinks or alcohol.
The bars did not provide filtered water or have plumbed-in filtration systems, as I have seen in most modern hotels these days. If you did get a glass of water, it tasted like seawater — very salty and quite bizarre.
The pool areas had a few old-fashioned water dispensers dotted around, but they were consistently empty and rarely refilled unless you asked. As a result, you often ended up going to the shop and buying packs of bottled water. This is poor for a so-called five-star hotel. At the very least, the dispensers should be monitored and kept available for guests to use at all times. Embarrassing.
The sun beds are aluminium with some razor sharp edges in places due to a lot of the safety caps being missing, on day one of the holiday my 5 year old slices his knee open climbing onto a sun lounger, this just should not be happening, later that week I also caught my hand on the hinge of one and received a nasty slice to the hand, I’m pretty sure this is a daily occurrence for other guests too.
Overall the wider resort is very tired, poorly maintained, and nowhere near the five-star standard advertised. In reality, I would struggle to rate it above two stars.
The buildings appear neglected, with numerous areas showing obvious signs of deterioration and lack of maintenance even the render of the buildings is cracking and starting to fall off.
Throughout the resort there were potential hazards, including exposed wiring, damaged fixtures, and sharp metal grates.
The hotel's so-called private beach area was particularly disappointing. It was closed off, neglected, and featured a dangerously rusted metal grate with exposed spikes protruding from it.
For something advertised as a major feature of the hotel, it was frankly shocking.
Final Thoughts:
It is such a shame because this hotel clearly has potential. The location is beautiful, the views are stunning, and some of the staff work incredibly hard.
However, none of that can compensate for flooded rooms, damp and mould issues, lack of air conditioning, poor maintenance, safety concerns, and a management team that appeared completely indifferent to guest welfare.
Our holiday was genuinely one of the most disappointing travel experiences we have ever had. By the end of the week, we were counting down the hours until our transfer arrived.
Returning home felt like a relief.
I have attached photographs to support the issues described in this review, as unfortunately the reality of our experience is almost difficult to believe.
Based on our experience, I would not return to the Lindos Royal and would strongly advise others to research carefully before booking."
