The Ixian Grand

12 readers found this review helpful

The Ixian Grand Hotel promotes itself as a 5 star hotel, and displays photographs promoting serious luxury and chic decor and layout. For this, however there is of course a serious pricetag.
Arrival was close to midnight local time, but the night receptionist was present and efficient. Others have spoken of queing at this stage not befitting of a 5 star, though I cannot comment here as there was only two couples/rooms to be seen to in my case.
They had overbooked rooms of our grade, and consequently we were instantly given an upgrade to one of their grand suites. We had paid for a sea view, and this suite had a garden view, but I found all in all it would be hard to be too churlish given the suite itself.
The rooms were mezanine style, with two shower/bathrooms (upstairs one curiously having no privacy door) plus a jaccuzi bath. Decor and fittings were all 'designer' quality. The balcony had it's own pool measuring about 12ft by 8ft. The bed was extremely comfortable. There was a bewildering selection of different lightings and corresponding switches. Useful inclusions were the digital safe in the upstairs wardrobe, hairdryer, aircon on both floors (separatly controlled), fridge and large flatscreen TV. Shortages included plug sockets. Reception claimed it was illegal to plug in appliances and this was why (?) The one upstairs socket was on the dresser, which was nowhere near the mirror. They did, after two days of requests (one of which was mislaid by a staff member so not actioned), eventually provide an extention lead- which was too short to help matters.
Pool, reception, bar and common areas were very smart and stylish. Brocheures refer to having your own designated sunbeds, but I could see no method of reservation in practice, nor was any instruction given on allocation, so one can only assume this had been discontinued at some point. There didn't seem to ever be a shortage to worry about this.
Food was buffet style and mealtimes were quite broad timings so no panic there. The food itself was in some ways quite mixed in quality and on some occasions had possibly laid out too long. Meals were a matter of careful consideration and sampling before concluding what item was good on that particular visit. Items reccuring daily were still subject to this. Variety was reasonable and in this area in particular the hotel does appear to fall below what you might expect for a luxury venue. Of course a star rating doesn't apply to it's included meals, but the whole thing felt a bit too 'school dinners' for my liking. I chose to eat out about half of my stay.
Price of drinks is another area of dssapointment. All inclusives on Rhodes have caused the hotel to stock the cheapest beer spirits and soft drinks possible. Fortunatly charging separate at this hotel at least made them palatable. Unfortunatly, the prices were very exclusive. Paying 6.5 Euro for a .4litre of beer when larger servings retailed at any other bar for about 2 or 3 at the most does put you off. Paying 7.5 Euro for a gin and tonic is quite a nasty shock. No wonder the bar area was often quiet, either near the pool in the day or the patio on the night. Folks either go out or get supplies into their room and sit on their balcony.
Ixia itself is a bit of a let down. It's a short 10 minute walk from the hotel out of the back streets on to the main drag. But do note this really is a main drag- a main highway from Rhodes town to the Airport and beyond, and so traffic is less than convivial for sitting al fresco. Side streets show a lot of decay I can only put down to the recession. Many shops and venues appear shut with to-let signs, telling of failed businesses. Other developments appear halted mid build. I know that construction work usually goes on hold during the hotter months, but this hinted of more.
Note also that Ixia Grand's beach area is quite pebbly and blustery. This part of the island is promoted as 'good for windsurfers' and I thought it can't be too bad to base beach hotels there, but be advised it is quite bracing at times.
On the plus side, it is handy for Rhodes Old Town. a 10 Euro, 15 minute taxi trip of about 4 kilometeres, this is the main benefit. If you like a beautiful and bustling medieval city of excellent hisory, architecture, shopping and dining then here's the big upside. Of course there are many, many hotels with better access.
I choose the Ixian Grand out of wanting to move up out of the usual basic accomodation, a search which results in exploring the pricier hotels. I can say I did get all the accommodation plus points I could have wanted and certainly didn't have to push the single beds together! On the down side and beyond accommodation, for the price I really can't say the Ixian Grand, or Ixia itself, were what I would have hoped for.
All in all, I can't say I gained proportionatly more benefits for a price 3 times that of a simple last minute deal. Back to basic and friendly little 2 star self catering places for me!

2 readers found this review helpful

Booked independently and got a brilliant rate for the hotel room (£380 total - not pp for 1 week).
What a fantastic hotel. The location is great as it is away from the busy streets of Ialysos and neighbouring areas, and right by the beach.
The hotel had it's grand opening in May 2008 after being refurbished, and it looks and is truely grand.
The front desk staff are really friendly and helpful. The pools are awesome, and the breakfast buffet...wow! Impressive!!
Really recommend this hotel...especially after their grand opening.
Rooms are decorated modern contemporary style with LG flat screens...nice touch!

1 reader found this review helpful

On arrival this hotel certainly appears to be 5* but as soon as you get past the impressive reception and pool areas you quickly realise that this is 3 star at a massive push.
The food was in one word - revolting, everything about it shrieked "economy" - chicken and fish were very scarce and if you are a vegetarian who doesn't like everything smothered in cheese then you've had it!
The restaurant has "themed" evenings, we went to a Spanish evening and the paella was dry and tasted liked curry, we also went to an "Asian" evening with soggy vegetables, no chicken dishes, and deep fried spring rolls. Lovely.
The wine was disgusting - it came from a large box and was usually warm. I found it very difficult to find anything that was actually edible and we ended up having to eat in Rhodes & Ixia on an evening.
We went to the a la carte restaurant and it was the worst meal I have ever had in my life, we didn't eat a thing - chicken curry was actually an undercooked chicken schnitzel swimming in grease, spaghetti salad (?!) looked like child’s baby food. Salmon was actually haddock. And to top it all off the wine was warm and when we asked if we could have a cold bottle, the waitress didn't understand and presumed that we liked hot wine. That summed that evening up.
The drinks consisted of cheap alcohol and the majority of the bar staff were surly. The "entertainment" was borderline suicidal, enough to force you out of the hotel!
To end on a positive, the rooms are serviced daily by very friendly staff, the pool although absolutely freezing is designed very well and the chill out sofas beside this are really relaxing. The fact that the hotel is right beside the beach is also a massive plus.
If this hotel wants a real 5 star rating they should focus on the quality of the food/drink and entertainment and pay less attention to the decor.

Wow - I have just got back from a great holiday at the Ixian grand hotel.
Accommodation
Our room was very clean, no cockroaches or ants. One small comment - the hairdryer should be in the room not the bathroom so that one guest can dry hair whilst other has shower.
Staff
All the staff helpful & friendly, especially yannis
Animation team
All the animation team worked really hard. The compare spoke about 6 languages fluently and everyone from UK, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany had everything explained to them in their own language. All of the team were talented in their own way and all were good dancers, especially mido (wanted to put him in my suitcase) he and all the animation team worked really hard.
Every night 9-9.30 there was a children's disco - (evie & the other girls were brilliant) ; 9.30 tombola (bingo) my son won 30 euros! 10.00-11.00 we had various quizzes, sketches & dancing by the team, competitions, etc. On our last night we had karaoke and it was brilliant.
Met lots of lovely people, yelle & his companions (Belgium) mark & wife, james & kayleigh, jan & alan, dave (collosus) & celine. Nicole & her family kindly gave us their water rings & pink floating chair when they left (our boys had great fun in the pool on these). I joined in darts & water aerobics and the pool activity games (passing the bottle between our legs had us hooting with laughter). Our boys played water polo (led by mido) and football. There was volley ball as well, and petanque.
Lots of areas to sit and have coffee/drinks. I thoroughly enjoyed the buffet restaurant food but my friend is a vegetarian and I would recommend that the ixian should address the lack of vegetarian menu. Lewis the maitre d was lovely and always showed us to our table. The a la carte was a bonus and if we hadn't had 3 boys with us I’m sure we would have dined there more often.
I didn't find it a chore at all to walk to any of the bars to get a drink or snacks it cooled me down to have a walk the weather was so fabulously hot. The sea was like a warm bath - the only recommendation I would make is buy yourself a pair of beach shoes to cope with the small band of pebbles you have to cross to get into the sea. Spoilt for choice with the number of pools - all beautiful to swim in.
Usual sun beds & towels at dawn procedure - but isn't that the same everywhere!
Visits that are a must:- the water park (wave machine fantastic especially when on a rubber ring), the butterfly park, and lindos. I went on a donkey ride up to the collosus at lindos, and the boys went on a mat ride behind a speedboat on the beach at lindos. Loads and loads of cavernous shops selling lovely cotton clothes, ceramics, jewellery.
Weather
Faultless - never saw a cloud the whole 10 days.
I could go on and on - Rhodes is a fabulous place for a holiday, and the ixian grand hotel was "grand".

2 readers found this review helpful

We arrived at the hotel in the early morning after a bad flight and we thought that we had been dropped off at the wrong hotel. It looked out of this world. The check-in was completed in record time and we were shown to our rooms. We loved the rooms. The beds were comfortable and there was a big dressing table and mirror.
The next day we went swimming and were delighted at the friendliness of the animation team as they asked people to join in with the activities. My brother and sister joined the kids club and loved it. It gave them something to do instead of swimming all day.
Our friends were due to arrive a week after we had been staying. The morning after their arrival we awoke to discover that they were down the corridor from us we were very pleased as we thought they might be in a different part of the hotel than us. The cocktail bar and snack bar were frequently used by our party.
The evening entertainment was amazing and my dad especially liked when they put on a show that you could get involved in he was in two of the sketches. My dad got very friendly with the entertainers and joined in as much as he could. I even taught one of the entertainers a dance to a song they wanted to use in the kiddies disco.
I loved the fact that it was a mixed nationality hotel because have only ever been to places with English guests. I met a lot of wonderful people that I will never forget and I still talk to some now. We would definitely return to this hotel as it is the best we have ever stayed in and I can't believe people have put bad comments on it. We understand about the kittens but the whole of our party loved the kittens.

2 readers found this review helpful

Before you start reading, I’d just like to say, don’t get me wrong, the hotel is nice, it’s just that it depends on how you view the hotel before you go there. If you look in an ordinary brochure, and don’t look at the website, you won’t expect anything too high, and it will seem like a good hotel. However, I did look at the ridiculously misleading website, so I was expecting it to be like the website which describes it as nothing short of spectacular.
It is described as a five star hotel, which is very definitely so not. The photos, I must say, were very well taken, and when you enter the hotel, there is a lovely chandelier above, and the design, it has to be said, is excellent. However, it is quite simply not as good as it makes out on the hotel website.
The food, for most of the time, was awful. There was the same thing almost every night, and a little section called “special Greek food”. I like trying specialities from the country I am staying, but wherever “special Greek food” was written, it actually meant that they had accidentally put too much vinegar in it. The food in the a la carte section was only a little better; the experience is better in having a private and quieter area, if not so much for the food. The design was excellent in the a la carte section, but the food didn’t live up to the expectations.
I didn’t expect to say it, but the only decent food was at the snack bar, or the “ethnic restaurant”, where the food is cooked in front of you, and was excellent- provided you are prepared to wait for it almost until your holiday is finished unless you choose the right time.
The service was slow at the bars, so most of the time I just went and got a drink myself at the self-service bit in the snack bar that you don’t have to wait so long for. Maybe, that was unfair, it was still slow, but good for an all inclusive hotel.
The pool was a definite up side, the best I have ever encountered actually, but what lets it down is that it isn’t really properly heated. The Jacuzzi would have been wonderful, if it did not share the same cold water with the rest of the pool, but with bubbles. The decking on the pool is nice, but I wonder why they don’t put it elsewhere, such as instead of the horrible slippery tiles.
The architecture and design gets a full ten out of ten. Excellent. But in some places, it has overtaken common sense. Like putting a pond around the outdoor eating area, and around a corner, so that if you’re not looking where you’re going, you’ll fall in. Or drop your phone in there, like my brother did (the phone was fine though.) And a bridge that goes over the main pool, separating what is actually two small pools. Problem is, it goes four fifths along the way, and so if you start walking across it to get to the other side, all that happens is that you have to clamber along the edge of the wall of the disappearing edge pool. They could have just had made it a path all of the way across.
The rooms were nicely furnished, and were well designed (except that our door didn’t work) and were comfortable. It sounds as if I am negative about what is genuinely a good hotel, but the problem is how it is portrayed as being better than it actually is. Oh, and we had the same problem as someone else, our air conditioning started crying water all over the wall, probably because of the smell of the sewage works nearby. It was fixed fairly quickly though.
If you have been to Greece, or any other Greek islands before, you will already know about the problem of stray cats they have. Some would say don’t go there if you hate cats, but I think the opposite. If you hate cats, it is less of a problem; you just make them go away from you. The problem is for people who love cats, because they go to them and cuddle them, and stroke them. One girl spent her entire holiday in the company of one kitten, and constantly cuddled it and kissed it and stroked it, and never let it out of her sight. Unfortunately, the cats are not like the ones she probably has at home, so they had fleas, some had mange. She thought she had mosquito bites. Fleas had bitten her. If you go with children, I urge you not to let them near the cats. They may be cute, but they are not pet cats, and are not clean.
The staff were also all friendly- genuinely friendly. Even the cleaners, who, despite their difficult/ near impossible job, always replied cheerfully in unison when you say good morning. Surely all hotels have friendly staff, but I think that this hotel had genuinely friendly staff.
The best aspect I have saved for last. The animation team were by far the best holiday entertainers I have ever encountered. Mido, Mehdi, Eva, Eliza, Gaby, Gino and Willy were excellent entertainers, and managed the seemingly impossible task of entertaining most of the people most of the time, Old and young alike. The action game was fabulous, and managed to encourage everyone to join in, even with the silly fun dances, which they got nearly everyone doing. The entertainment in the night was also great, except on Tuesdays where the music entertainment was dismal because the animation team took a day off. Every other day of the week they worked from morning to night, never tired despite the fact that they wake early, and entertain all day, take a short break, from 9:00pm till 11:30pm, at which point they go out for the night clubbing, come back in the morning, and start again.
Where they got their energy, I’ll never know, but they did a fantastic job, and I can’t sing their praises enough. They made the days much more interesting, great fun, and encouraged socialising, and because of all the friends I made on the holiday, and all of the fun games all day, it was the best all round holiday I have had. It may sound as if it was a negative overall comment, but really, they are all relatively small points (except the terrible food) I have made, and in any case, it is easier to remember things that were not so good, as they stick out in your mind more clearly than things which were great. It’s the same sort of thing as how you only notice some things when they are not working.
Overall, the hotel was good. My main advice to you, is to read lots of comments to get a general view of the hotel before you go there, as not everyone has a good experience, but not everyone had a terrible one. But on top of all things, do not, under any circumstances, look at the hotel website and expect it to be the same as it is in the website because you will definitely disappointed. Instead, ignore every other website or advertising, and go there expecting it to be the same as every other hotel you’ve been to, and you’ll have a great holiday, at a good hotel.
If you’ve read this far, sorry the review was so long, I just had more to say than
“it was nice”

1 reader found this review helpful

Our holiday was a disaster, we will never go back to that hotel they say it is a 5* star hotel well it isn't, it's only a 3* if you only looked at the food you saw it was horrible, my son has better food at school, there also was not enough employment, you always had to queue if you want to have a drink, there was only a few things good about this hotel and that is: the animation that was more than OK, and the climate, the weather was wonderful.
My last complaint is that the all inclusive formula is not that good when you asked for an orange juice, it was only water with powder not even juiced :s, and the gin, bacardi, are all local drinks >>>is that then a 5* star hotel :s
I’ll give you one advice DO NEVER GO to this hotel because whole our family has pain in the stomach because of the food.

Went to the Ixian Grand Hotel 1st July to the 16th July 06, before I went I read loads of reviews slating the hotel. I’m pleased to inform you that the hotel is very good overall apart from a few issues which I will cover.
On arrival we were given a Grand from Superior family room, however they was, (paid extra for this type of room prior to arriving) it was a large room with two single beds one sofa/sofa bed, one coffee table and 2 chairs lending onto a ground floor terrace/balcony over looking the garden. Included a decent sized bathroom completed with WC, sink, bath, shower, hairdryer and large mirror, good sized wardrobes with plenty of storage with safe and a half size fridge which was very cold plus a nice large bottle of fresh bottled water! First impressions of the room at 5am when we arrived was that it seemed dated but was very clears.
The following morning after inspection the room was actually the same is on the hotel website but with different linen on the beds and curtains. (The blue which was in there made it look older).
After looking at this and looking through this the room was ok. After 2 days we found a few ants in the room on the floor and went to reception to advise. Reception instantly moved us to a 1st floor room which was very much brighter and over looked the rear road with balcony, (Identical room type). Hotel staff advised that ants are common in Rhodes and it will be due to previous guess living crumbs on the floor or on the terrace which the cleaners have missed. (I have encountered this in Greece before so can understand).
The hotel is very nice throughout with marble floors, contemporary furnishings all to a very good standard.
Food. I was not impressed with the food from the main buffet style restaurant, the first few days it was ok-ish but the food never seemed to be of a good quality in my opinion.
I spoke to Hotel supervisor on many occasions late on in the bar and advised of suggested improvements. I.e. Names of dishes and what they contain, currently for beef for example it was a picture of a cow.
The supervisor did advise at the end of the season the hotel restaurant was to be increased by 150sq m and have chefs preparing the food in front of you. The head waiter was ok. However he did like to boss the waitresses around and stress at them for not trying 150% which was a bit wrong. Breakfast was nothing special if you liked a good English fry up but that’s always the case aboard, plenty continual style and fruit, also a chief to make waffles and pan cakes).
The ethnic restaurant was good in the day for snacks and bits to eat serving a different themed meal each day. (7 days rotating i.e. Chinese, Mexican, Greek gyros, Italian and others. No issues with that.
The animation team put 100% in for 6 days a week 8am till 11pm each day! There no pressure from them to join in (maybe tomorrow) but the French bowls is always good!
You get on meal in the Al a’ Carte restaurant which the restaurant is very nice and the deco is to a high standard. Food was ok again but worth a visit for free (normally 30 euros per person!)
Pools - the pools are very nice, front 2 pools are nice and look great, however you have to get down there for 07:30am to get a decent sun bed and get your towel down!! (you know how it is!)
The bars are very good serving Lowenbrau and Stella on draught and all other sprits etc. main in the lobby is good and very good staff, can get busy around 11pm when the pool bar and beach bar close.
Beach bar is good with George who does some good cocktails and the pool bar is also good.
They is a Greek night every 3rd Thursday which is a got to see, very good night, best night out of the full 2 weeks in the hotel.
The beach was ok, shingle, didn’t really bother going in the sea but it was perfect and clear!
While we were at the hotel we had a walk to the Atlantic princess which is nothing compared to this hotel in my opinion.
Overall the Hotel was very good and had a really good time. I would go back as it was calm and relaxing, not many kids (ones there was supervised)
If you go drop me a PM and let me know what you think. Also please can some one let me know how the kittens are doing?? Feed them for 2 weeks and rescued a little ginger one from the road which was about 4 weeks old!)
Thanks for reading!

Stayed at the Ixian grand and had a great time. Can't comment on Olympic Rep as we didn't attend our welcome meeting but we did get provided with a taxi to and from the airport which was brilliant.
Were very pleased with the hotel and the room allocated to us. We had emailed the hotel before we left and requested a quiet room due to having a small baby and they obliged. Check -in was quick, which, at 2am was very welcome. The staff were very helpful and friendly and the Customer Services reps were particularly helpful with regards to getting baby food etc heated. The room was cleaned daily and was in good decorative order.
The food was good, lots of variety and well cooked but like all all-inclusive deals gets a bit repetitive after 2 weeks. The waiters, waitresses and manager in the restaurant were really great although the manager stuck to the 'long trousers in the evening' rule rigidly. My husband was sent to change on the first night and I saw him send others too. Drinks were self-service at the snack bar and in the restaurant and the bar staff at the other bars were fine too. The pool areas were lovely, really clean and well maintained and pleasant.
There is a good mixture of nationalities staying there, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian, German, Italian and French so if you like to stay in a predominantly British hotel this may not be the place for you, although everyone speaks good English (guests and staff) and the entertainment is in English). All in all, we had an excellent holiday and I would recommend the Ixian Grand to anyone. We are planning on going back next year. Cannot speak highly enough of this hotel.

This was supposed to be upgraded to a 5 star hotel. So we were very disappointed. Hotel itself is nice, clean and tastefully decorated. Rooms are a good size. Food was so repetitious and quite boring.
No sauce of any description - had to buy our own tomato and brown sauce. Breakfast did not change once the whole week we there. Very bland and very boring. We had to queue up in a line to get drinks, and was only able to get 2 drinks at a time. We were in a party of 6 and so it took an hour for all 6 of us to get a drink by which time the first couple had to start queuing again. (Somebody had to stay in the seats or the Germans would steal them)
The pool bar closed at 3.00pm in the afternoon? So you had to walk miles to the nearest bar and carry your drinks back to this pool. There was only 1 barman on at the pool bar at night and so the queue for drinks was well over 40 minutes. The food was OK but nothing spectacular and very boring and the same old thing every night. The A La Carte Restaurant was a complete joke. Decor looked nice, portions were too small. Not enough choice, no coffee or cheese or biscuits. We had to keep asking for more rolls to fill ourselves up!
Had a better meal in Rhodes town in a restaurant that only cost e12 for 3 courses and we were stuffed when we had finished unlike the A La Carte at Elina. You shouldn't have to pay to eat out when you stay in a 5 star All Inclusive hotel. Animation team were great although a bit poor on some evenings but then they do not have an easy time and they are young!
We had a good time but we paid an awful lot of money for one week and were constantly hungry and fed up with lining up to get a drink. We don’t do it at home and do not expect to go on holiday to line up to get a drink. The main problem is lack of staff - hence the queues. Would not go back overrated and overpriced.