The Ixian Grand & All Suites

Emma Skouse

Stunning hotel. Fabulous service, including sun lounger service. Fresh water pool and salt water pool, and the hotel is literally on the beach. €13-18 into Rhodes old town by cab. Food was great too - loads of choice. Literally something for everyone. And the best bit? Adults only 😁 Only gripe was the TV. Not that we spent much time in the room but when we did, the only TV channels were German, Greek, Chinese and some French, despite the largest guest contingency being made up of British visitors, so massively underrepresented. There was BBC World news if you wanted to be depressed on the daily but otherwise, only random movies on random channels in English late at night. There was no satellite TV as the Thomas Cook said, nor could you stream from your phone to the TV. So a bit crap. But, that was probably our only serious gripe.

Eliza -

We’re a couple aged 28 who travel quite a lot, so here’s our honest review. Not a 5 star hotel in the slightest! The food was below average overall and pretty disappointing. We got to upgrade for one night to eat at Milonges restaurant, and that was actually really nice. The alcohol was also poor, all cocktail mixers are pre-made in bottles rather than freshly made & not a lot of variety. The iron situation was frustrating for a 5-star hotel. You have to call to request one, wait ages for it to arrive, and then they want it returned immediately after use. The pool was absolutely freezing, which made it hard to properly enjoy. The gym itself was poor to say the least.. you’d think for a 5 star there would be a decent gym but all machines/ weights very old & outdated. Barely any lighting too, almost feels scary to be in. Staff were about 80/20 most were really friendly and helpful, but a small number let the experience down slightly. Nothing major though. The downstairs lobby toilets were also completely dark and not what you’d expect from a 5-star resort. Upon arrival at the hotel we had to pay 105 euros for tax which we were NOT told about at all. Things we did enjoy: Great live music in the evenings Very comfy beds Amazing views if you pay for the upgrade Beautiful sunsets every evening Cats everywhere, which seemed well looked after by guests and staff During our stay we visited Old Town which was brilliant, took a trip to Symi Island which was beautiful, did a catamaran boat tour with Freedom via Get Your Guide, and visited the waterpark which was average. We also hired a car for a couple of days from EFREM 100% recommend, and very reasonably priced.

Stacey Gillespie

Beautiful hotel with huge potential — excellent 4 experience, but not quite 5** We have just returned from a week at The Ixian Grand & All Suites, staying in a Garden Suite with a private pool. Overall, we had a lovely holiday and would recommend the hotel. It is a beautiful property, the setting is stunning, and there are some fantastic features — but there are a few areas where the experience fell short of what we would expect from a 5-star hotel. Our biggest disappointment was the condition and maintenance of the room. Our phone didn’t work for the duration of our stay, and the maintenance team came to our room on two separate days, spending several hours each time trying to fix the issue. As they needed to work in both the bathroom and the main area of the suite, we didn’t feel comfortable using the room while they were there and had to leave — even having to use the public toilets to get changed. This was particularly frustrating as we had booked a private pool suite specifically to enjoy the space and privacy of the room. Unfortunately, during the repair work the toilet was damaged and needed fixing afterwards, although it was still not quite right. The bath jets also didn’t work for the first few days, but this was eventually repaired. The repairs also seemed to cause another issue with the lighting, which then didn’t work properly. By this point, after reporting so many problems, we just didn’t have the energy to keep going back to reception to report another issue. The room itself was spacious and beautiful, with amazing high ceilings and a fantastic private pool. However, the finishing touches were lacking in places, especially in the bathroom where there were visible paint marks and areas that looked unfinished. The wooden fixtures around the pool area also needed attention and really let the overall appearance of the suite down. Unfortunately, our final evening at Alazonia was disappointing. We brought my Dad and his partner because we had spoken so highly of the restaurant, so it was a shame that dinner took over 2 hours. The mains took an extremely long time to arrive, drinks were slow to be replenished, and one dessert was missing (mine — but after waiting so long, I didn’t want to chase it). It was a disappointing end to what had otherwise been a great experience there. The entertainment was quite limited. The Rock Night was fantastic and was definitely a highlight, but for a hotel of this size it would have been nice to have some daytime entertainment or more atmosphere, as the hotel was very quiet. The bar staff were excellent — friendly, attentive and always welcoming. The private pool was amazing and really made the stay special. One thing we did miss was not being able to order all-inclusive drinks to the room, especially with a private pool suite. We ended up buying drinks ourselves for the room. The quality of the drinks overall was also disappointing for a 5-star hotel. The spa was extremely expensive, but the quality of the massages was excellent. The hot stone massage I had and the back, shoulders and head massage my husband had were both outstanding. Matilda and Eva (or Eve) were incredibly skilled and the quality of their treatments was fantastic. Overall, despite the negatives, we had an excellent holiday. The hotel is beautiful, the location is wonderful, and there is so much potential. In our opinion, it is an excellent 4-star hotel but not quite a 5-star experience yet. With some attention to room maintenance, finishing details, entertainment and service consistency, it could easily become something truly exceptional. We would still recommend the hotel and would happily consider returning.

Sam Howard

Fantastic service, helpful staff. Evening entertainment is on each night but limitations of WiFi means leaving hotel in the evenings could be a good plan if not your type of entertainment as videos are difficult to stream and limited TV available. We really enjoyed the band at end of week. Spa was very pushy but enjoyed the treatment and if book early in trip can use heated pool as a hideaway whilst away. Breakfasts were amazing and enjoyed restraunt nights but vegetarian options were repetitive and limited in the evenings. Really enjoyed our stay.

Oluranti Fowler

I recently stayed at The Ixian Grand Hotel and unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you’re expecting a true 5-star experience. There were a few positives — there was always a sun lounger available which was a huge plus, some of the evening entertainment was enjoyable, and there were some lovely views around the hotel. The staff who greeted and seated guests at lunch and dinner were especially kind and welcoming, and the bed in our room was very spacious and comfortable. However, the negatives massively outweighed the positives. The food was honestly awful. It was extremely repetitive every single day, mostly consisting of dry meats and slightly different variations of pasta for both lunch and dinner. Some of the food choices were genuinely questionable — at one point they served chicken with spray cheese. Breakfast wasn’t much better unless you absolutely love eggs, as the options were basically scrambled eggs, pre-made omelette, boiled eggs, and fried eggs. The hotel itself is very outdated and in desperate need of refurbishment. The bathroom flooded daily, the air conditioning was either freezing cold or completely ineffective, and there was a strong sewage smell in the room regularly throughout the stay. The curtains also didn’t fully close, meaning you get woken up by daylight every morning. Most of the communal toilets didn’t even have toilet seats, which honestly says a lot about the upkeep of the hotel. The gym was also one of the worst hotel gyms I’ve ever seen — less than basic equipment and definitely not what you’d expect from a “5-star” resort. The pool bar snacks were also very poor and repetitive, and the hairdryer was so weak you’d probably dry your hair quicker by blowing on it yourself. One of the biggest annoyances was the spa staff constantly approaching guests trying to sell overpriced treatments with “special discounts” — it became borderline harassment by the end of the trip. Even the entertainment was misleading at times. One evening was advertised as “Diana Ross and The Supremes” which sounded brilliant, but instead it turned out to be three Italian opera singers… slightly depressing to say the least, although they were very talented. To top it off, the pictures online are nowhere near accurate. It genuinely feels like you’re being sold a dream compared to what you actually arrive to. If this hotel was advertised as a 3-star resort then fair enough, expectations would be different. But this is absolutely not 5-star standard in my opinion, and I wouldn’t stay here again or recommend it to others.