The Ixian Grand

Hotel website is first class the hotel is no more than a 3 star, the reception bar and lounge areas are superb, bar service also excellent. pool area very good all though was finding we needed to set an alarm to get a sunbed more the other guests fault than the hotel. the restaurant was a let down was very bored very quickly the food was not a high quality lots of it. The ala carte restaurant was laugable, the best meal we had was away from the hotel! the rooms were in need of redocartion, we arrived looking forward to a seaview that we had paid for and were advised it was not avaliable!! we were then placed in a superior room behind the shop and facing the public area we moved again to another superior garden view which faced the road! room very nice location not good, the 2nd day of our 7 night stay we got our sea view. we were told this happens alot sometimes people have to even be placed in another hotel!!! if this had been billed as a 3 star for the money I would say it was good, but to state its a 4 or 5 left me very very dissapointed, I would return to Rhodes and Ixia but not this hotel.

Well impressed by both the friendliness of the staff, the quality and the speed of the service, and the quality and quantity of the food. When we arrived in the hotel it was about 80% full, and when we left 100%, but I can honestly say that the sevice and quality was constant. There were 3 in our party, my wife and myself, and out 22 year old son, and all of us will be going back again. Obviously, there were the normal moaning british, who spoke as if they had just crawled out of a cesspit, and acted the same. I really think that the hotel should have just thrown them out, which would have improved our holoiday considerably.

had a lovely time at the ixian grand our family was a baby aged 1 and 4 adults Entertainment team, big hello to Blaze, Eliza, Ivana, Gino, Willy and Matey from J, jo and alexa Bar service-we found reception bar staff lovely-they always remembered what we drank and served with a smile Pool bar-big hello to George-he works single handedly 7 days a week-thanks for your special cocktails! Beach bar-lovely smoothies and cocktails-this opened on the 27th may, unfortunately we weren't aware and missed this bar until 2 days before we came home Food-i found it quite tasty, there was a good selection to suit everyone, it's true that sometimes you just get fed up by the second week but we went to rhodes town to a lovely restaurant called Alexis in one of the side streets Rooms-lovely, bright, sunny, sea view, cleaned everyday whatever time suits you, stocked up with shower gels, lotions, shoe shine kits etc Try the White Corner bar on the restaurant and bar strip of Ixia, showing all the football matches and soaps! run by Billy and Olivia-superb cocktails, he loves the footy-top bloke

have just returned from an excellent holiday travelling with mixed age family members (6 to 70) and we all had a brilliant time staying at this hotel. There was an iniitail hiccup with one family room but this was quickly resolved. The rooms were spacious having a sofa and 2 easy chairs as well as beds, wardrobe etc. and a large balcony. The hotel was extremely clean, with a large team of cleaners working long hours. The pools and surrounding areas were also immaculate with maintained garden areas surrounding them. The restaurant had a large selection of foods, with something different every day (we were there for 2 weeks). An alternative at lunch was the 'ethnic restaurant' serving meals such as Gyros, Asian chicken, pizza and was faultless. The hotel's team of entertainers (Animaton Team), also worked extremely hard providing a variety of sports and games during the day,without being intrusive if you didn't want to participate. The evening etertainment was also provided by the Animation Team, with some unusual, exciting acts. There were also opportunities for guests to particpate on certain nights, which we thoroughly enjoyed doing!! All in all, I feel this hotel provides something for every one, regardless of age, and the staff did all they could to ensure our holiday was a success. We will definitely return to the Ixian Grand.

We have just had a lovely holiday staying at this hotel. We were a party of 2 adults & a 15 year old, we booked one of the new corner suites. This accomodation was lovely, a King size bed, jacuzzi & double shower, in a seperate area there was a sofa bed, flat screen tv & dvd player, the sea view from the balcony was magnificent. I had booked directly with the hotel, as I found the travel agents far too expensive. If I had stayed in one of the rooms that was not renovated I might have been a little dissapointed. However the hotel is clean throughout and the public areas & gardens are beautifully maintained. None of the other reviews have mentioned the light and airy dining room with the terrace overlooking the pool & sea. The food is what I expected on an all inclusive, there was plenty of variety although more greek food would have been welcomed. The a la carte restaurant was very smart but food dissapointing. The entertainment kept plenty of people amused and although not to my taste you did not have to join in. The beach area was small and clean, clear blue sea and no sewage!! Yes the hotel is away from the main resort but this I think is a bonus as you do not have to cross a very busy road to get to the beach. Rhodes town is a short cheap taxi ride away & has some great restaurants when you tire of buffet food. Overall I would not rate this as a 5 star but then again they are not charging 5 star prices. We will definately return, but once again on a DIY holiday

All I can say is...what a poor hotel. The Ixian Grand looks impressive, the website makes you think you have picked up a real holiday bargain, and at promotes itself as a 5* Hotel. It isn't. The Ixian Grand does a good job of looking like a 5* Hotel, with its soft furnishings, wide open spaces and beautiful pools, but on arrival, you begin to see through the cosmetics and realise it is in fact a 3* Hotel at a push. The holiday was booked as a party of 5 (2 double rooms, 1 single) We were greeted by reception to be told that the hotel had double booked one of the rooms, and that the single room would not be available until the next day at the earliest, and to recompense one of the double rooms would be upgraded to a suite with 2 bedrooms. This was not the case. It was a 1 bedroom suite with a half wall and a sofa bed. the next day, we were advised that the single room would not be available until half way through our week long stay, and that the only solution that could be offered was a room in a different Hotel. This meant that for the first few days, the party was split. The remaining double room was located in the Garden Wing, and upon arrival, we could here that there was some kind of animal trapped in the bathroom ceiling. Going to reception to complain, we were told that it was a brid and someone would be along to see in the morning. The next morning, we went down to speak to the manager to be told that he would not be there until evening. Turns out it was a bit bigger than a bird, and was in fact 3 kittens!! Upon returning to the room, there appeared to still be some animals trapped in the ceiling, and we visited reception again. Again, the kittens were removed. The animals kept returning to the cailing, and we actually ended up going onto the roof (Very easily, as the stairs continue upwards beyond the top level) and taking a kitten down to reception. The manager was still not available (as seemed to be the situation every time you needed to complain) and so we ended up keeping hold of a kitten for about an hour in reception until he arrived. To block the hole the animals were getting in with, the manager authorised the use of a tablecloth. Very Poor, and totally unproffessional. To add to this, the air conditioning started to leak, and flooded the room. The hotel generally is poor, with a small selection of food with little variety. The bar is very busy, with 1 member of staff serving. The service overall is below standard, and glasses are removed from the pool area rarely. The pool bar was hardly ever open, and the Beach Bar does not yet exist. The location of the hotel is also poor, set right on the outskirts of the resort, next to a sewerage outlet - I wouldn't swim in the sea, put it that way. The smell of Sewerage is really noticable on the night. As a regular visitor to Greece, and Rhodes in particular, this was the worst holiday I have ever been on. A la Carte meal was fine...The soup was cold (But wasn't meant to be!) and the desserts were very poor - the same as the room next door. This hotel does a good job of looking good, but if you are looking for a 4 or 5* Holiday, do not visit the Ixian Grand.

I have to say the Ixian grand website and first choice brochure really does not show this hotel in its true light. Like the couple below, my boyfriend (30) and I (27) stayed at the Ixian on 3rd - 17th May 06 and were completely disapointed when we arrived at the hotel. The reception/ lounge and main pool area sets very high expections when you arrive as does what you have seen already of the hotel (website, brochure)... so when you get to your room you are left completely disapointed! We have a hand made washing line hanging up outside our room door so you had to duck to get in and also the floors were very dirty... 2 mins in the room and a maid barged in and started cleaning! We complained about the standard of the room to reception immediately. They said it is the same room as in their brochure just with different linen on the beds and different curtains! And also said to us that the "Photographer had done a very good job!" You can say that again!! So wasn't happy in the slightest. Spoke to the rep that evening and she listened to our feedback but said that she couldn't really do anything about it, saying that it was the beginning of the season and FC only rate the hotel as a 4* property so it was down to the hotel if we were feeling mislead by the pictures on their website. We also mentioned about the snack bar - when we arrived it only served food at lunch time so round the clock all inclusive (what we expected from the brochure description), did not happen! She said that she would speak to management about this and after the first week we did notice that food started appearing in the snack bar but only a choice of say 2 items - when we were were expecting a menu service of snacks... I think the problem is the Ixian Grand website hypes this hotel up completely. It is definately not a 5* hotel more in line with a 3/4*. Don't go expecting too 5* luxury when you book this (as the website implies), otherwise you'll be very disapointed when you arrive .

Please be aware this review is mainly about this hotel in particular but has no bearing on the island of rhodes in general or in fact the resort of Ixia as we moved to a different one the 2nd day so saw nothing of the resort itself. My boyfriend (27yrs) and I (24yrs) arrived at this hotel having had a very pleasant flight with First Choice Airways. We found that our tickets were for the premium cabin which was an unexpected pleasure with extra legroom and complimentary drinks. We had been told there was a baggage handlers strike at Rhodes airport and there may be a delay with our luggage, but despite this we got all our bags quickly and were efficiently dispatched onto our transfer coach very soon after landing. When we reached the hotel, on first entering the lobby it looks impressive and the check in is handled very efficiently by the reception staff. All the new guests are invited to sit down and have a cool drink whilst the passports are filed away (as they are retained by the hotel for the suration of the stay). The drink however is an extremely sweet orange juice and I couldn't stomach it. The room keys are brought over to where you are sitting by a receptionist and the meal times are explained and the use of the all inclusive cards. We then went up to our room and were waiting with bated breath as to what we would find. We had expected a minimum of a 4 star hotel from the First Choice brochure and had also checked out the pictures on the hotels own website which made it look very luxurious and was classed by them as a 5 star. Because of this we had been looking forward to the holiday for months. The hotel had been advertised as having had an upgrade changing from the Elina to the Ixian Grand. What we found on entering the room was what I would consider to be a 2 star plus room at a push. The furniture was of the most basic design possible, the room was very dark and dingy even with all the lights on. The bathroom floor still had the last guest's hair all over it, there was mould around the edge of the bath, the shower curtain rail was rusty and the grout from around the mirror frame had all come out. The TV in the room was a tiny 14 inch one in the corner of what was quite a large room with 3 single beds. When I peeled back the covers of one of the beds, I discovered about 10 ANTS running around it! We had booked a sea view room and paid extra for this. When we opened the curtain we found that if you walked out onto the balcony and peered around the corner leaning over, you could see the sea, but that was as far as it went. Also there was no furniture on the balcony at all. We immediately went downstairs and spoke to the lady in charge at the reception desk. Whilst she sympathised that we were very clearly unsatisfied at this, she said she was unable to do anything about it until the manager came in at 8pm. After a tired day's travel having got up at 5am we were very upset. The lady told us that the rooms shown on the website were pictures taken of their brand new Ixian Grand suites, and one other room that had the new bed sheets used to take the pictures taken away afterwards! All they had done to "upgrade" the rest of the rooms was replace the carpets with tiled floors, which they had clearly not cleaned properly in our room! So in fact although the main hotel could be considered a 4 star by some despite being a little worn in areas, the only part of it that definitely was were the new suites, and the rest hadn't been upgraded for years! We refused obviously to stay in the first room due to the ants, and phoned the first choice office in resort straightaway. Our rep very kindly came straight to us after her final drop off from the airport which took about 45 mins. We tol her everything and showed her the room. The hotel was so fully booked however they could not find us another room with a sea view, but said in the morning there were some departures so one would be available then. We consented to this as there was nothing else to be done, despite us desperately wanting to get unpacked and feel settled. The second room was of a similar poor state as the first, but was smaller! There was a smell on entering the small lobby area containing a sofa bed which led into the main room via another door. Luckily after closing the door the smell did not get through, so I'm assuming the smell came from the musty old sofa. It was slightly cleaner in the room, but it was a good job I'd had a shower the morning we left as I refused to use the bath. By boyfriend did though and found that the shower attachment was broken which was why it had been laid in the bath itself, and the soap tray was hanging off. I later found that the toilet did not flush and we had to take the top off and manually pull the cistern to get it to work. The balcony door would not lock and we made sure we locked our cases up before going down to dinner. We went down to the restaurant, which the a la carte aside was the only one. I have to admit that from the outside the a la carte did look nice as it had also had a refurb. the main restaurant however is still very dated and looks very 80's. The food was warm enough, but there were no labels at all saying what the dishes were, only a picture of either fish, chicken, cow, pig etc. The food I had was passable but nothing great, which by thispoint I had expected. We had one drink in the bar but were so disheartened and tired by this time that we then went up to bed. We did briefly watch the animation team which involved getting kids up on the stage todance, which was followed by bingo, but that was when we then left. The main indoor bar is the only one inside and is right next to reception and there is no separation of the two making it feel a very large and unintimate space. There is a pool bar by the outside pool under a big dome which makes it look very fancy in the website and brochure pictures but in reality needed a lick of paint. Behind the dome is the area where the animation is done and most of the evening entertainment appears to be outside here. The only other eating/drinking area is by the Big blue pool, but we didn't get to use this. The Big blue area is where all the sunbeds are which leads down onto the beach and it looks very nice and relaxing - its a shame the rest of the place doesn't match up to it. So after our disappointing first day the hotel still tried to appease us by showing us a third room with a sea view. The view itself was beautiful but alas the room was of the same standard as the others and also had a broken patio door lock, so we therefore asked to be moved as the hotel did not have any further rooms available. We were told by First Choice that only one other hotel in Ixia had rooms available which was the four star Cosmopolitan hotel. It was also a half board which we decided to look at and see if it was any better, if so we'd have been willing to forego our all inclusive deal. However on arrival it was no better, still no sea view and that hotel we considered a 3 star which the Rep we ended up with agreed with as well. The room was also a smoking one and we'd requested a non-smoking one. We called First Choice office back from here and they called us back within half an hour and said there were rooms at the Esperides Beaah hotel which was a 4 star all inclusive in Faliraki. We weren't entirely happy about changing resorts particularly as we had to pay for all the taxis to get there but they said we could be reimbursed back in England if we kept the receipts. we hadn't known this from the first journey to the Cosmopolitan and were a bit annoyed with them for not telling us as we'd forked out 7 euros to go a mile down the road. We paid another 17 euros to get to the Esperides Beach. When we got there the room that showed us was lovely but the hotel was very much a family one whereas the Ixian was more older couples which is what we had wanted in the first place. The grounds were much more geared towards kids activites and we didn't want this. We asked to go back to the Ixian as we had been told if we didn't like the other hotels available we could go back there. First choice had not yet given them the paperwork to release the room, but despite this the hotel staff had given our room away to someone else and said there were no more available. We were baffled by this as everyone there had clearly booked their rooms, so we can only assume they had someone conveniently turn up that day on the off chance! However we ended up staying at the Esperides Beach because although it was not what we had wanted it was an acceptable 4 star and I will add a separate review for it. all in all a bad start to the holiday, but the rep at the Ixian, Hannah is a lovely girl, whih had unfortunately just started in the job but she was very helpful to us. The only further problem we had was that the First choice coach transfer failed to pick us up on the way back. Apparently we should have been told that as we'd changed hotels we should have booked a taxi but we were in fact told that the coach would know to pick us up at a different hotel! However it all worked out in the end and we got the to airport in time for the flight and the money for that taxi was refunded by the rep at the airport. Sorry for the length of this review! But hope it helps anyone planning to book here. If you don't mind what sort of accomodation you end up in and are purely going for the sunshine and to see a lovely island then go ahead! Thanks for reading

The description on the website and the reality are two different things. The rooms are not as shown, the majority of rooms are still with the old decor and according to the staff all rooms have two single beds, not a double as in the picture. The hotel staff seem quite baffled when you ask for a renovated room, they said there were none!!! The rooms are comfortable with fresh linen and towels each day. Food is OK for all inclusive, but you get bored with the buffet after a while, you are only permitted one a la carte booking per stay. Swimming pools are freezing cold, sauna does not yet exist, gym is poor and water sports non-existant. Evening entertainment is awful. All reception areas are very nice as is the pool area with plenty of free comfortable seating. Drinks all of a reasonable standard, although wine not the best. Staff generally are very friendly and helpful. Location very good with a short walk to Ixia and close to bus stop where there is a twice hourly service to Rhodes for 1.70 Euros each way. Overall I would say that this is above average for an all inclusive hotel, however it is not 5 star, 4 star would be more appropriate.

very slow and when you did recieve your drinks you only got half a glass. also we were getting married there and were put in a room with single beds. we complained to our first choice rep and nothing was done to resolve this problem. the poolside snackbar was very nice. the older chef in there is a nice man. the beach at the back of the hotel needs to be cleaned up. also the head waiter in the main restaurant is very nice and the food is very good. overall the hotel is lovely but had a few bad points that need to ironed out.