Venezia Hotel & Studios

3 readers found this review helpful

I have just returned from a holiday to the Venezia hotel in Falaraki Rhodes and felt compelled to write about how awful the whole experience was.
We arrived at the hotel at approximately 6am, tired and stressed out. We were shown to our room. My first impression of the room was negative. The window into the bathroom from the corridor had a smashed pain and the door into the room did not close properly (there was a gap of about an inch). The bathroom door also did not shut properly and the area around the shower cubicle was infested with ants. I immediately returned to reception and asked that they attend to the problems as soon as possible. The staff told us they would fix all problems by lunch time the following day. Lunch time came and went and nothing was rectified.
We attended our welcome meeting at 3pm, the rep did a hard sell with regards to how good she was and that she wanted us all to rate her as excellent on our departure. The hotel owner’s children sat in the same room as the meeting was held in and they chatted and played very loudly and I struggled to hear what the rep was saying. After the meeting we decided to express our concerns to the Thomas Cook rep Lucie. I have never come across such a useless rep in my life. She seemed to be very nonchalant and did not seem to care about our problems. She said she would raise the issue about the room with the hotel staff. She informed us that she could not do anything about the seating arrangements on the plane on the way home and was blasé and rude about the whole situation. She did not appear to be a people person at all and badly lacked customer service skills. We also raised our concerns again about staying in the resort of Faliraki.
The rep never seemed to be in the hotel at her appointed times and we did not see her again until our departure night. On our departure night she completely blanked my travel companion and myself and proceeded to tell some other guests that we were sitting with about her sexual exploits the previous evening. She was even saying she had been with a young hotel guest at the Venezia. I was absolutely disgusted at this conduct and felt it was extremely inappropriate and wholly unprofessional.
In the meantime, after our welcome meeting, I was cornered when I was alone by a member of staff who said the window was safe (despite the panes being all smashed and cracked). He then proceeded to tell me that the door was safe and told me to try and kick the door in myself. I told him this was inappropriate and that I was not as strong as a man. He was rude and told me it was acceptable and walked off. We continued to be worried about our security as the hotel security guard that we were assured was there was non existent.
Throughout our whole holiday the attitude of the staff was appalling. We were never treated with respect. The old owner in particular was rude. He would put his head down any time you passed reception and just ignored you if you needed to ask him for something. The staff were always on the defensive and were at times very aggressive and intimidating.
On the reps advice, on our first day we asked about keeping on our room at the end of the holiday as we had to be out by 12pm and did not leave the resort until after midnight. The staff would not give us a definitive answer on whether this would be possible. Finally, the day before departure the staff agreed we could keep on our room until 8pm for 25 Euros. Other guests were not so lucky and were advised they had to leave their luggage in the bar area from 12pm. We were surprised to discover there was not a luggage room. Guests also had to hand in safety deposit keys from midday which I felt was a bit of a security risk. A couple of women who we had befriended asked if they could keep their luggage in our room for security. We agreed as we did not see this would be a problem. On our departure day we received a call from reception saying no-one could store luggage in our room. No explanation was given with regards to the reason at this point. The women and my travel companion went to reception to see what the issue was and to try and resolve any problems. The older man on reception (owner) absolutely exploded at them at this point and tried to throw us all out the hotel. No explanation was given and he had my travel companion in tears. The women managed to appease him and we were able to keep our room on. The staff then spent our final day giving us dirty looks and making us generally feel uncomfortable. We lost our final day of our holiday as we had to stay at the hotel as we did not want to leave our belongings in their care.
The Venezia is advertised as a family hotel but this could not be further from the truth. The language that we had to put up with was disgusting. I do not think this hotel is suitable for anyone not on an 18-30 type holiday. The noise was constant and went on for 24 hours a day with younger guests just running riot throughout the whole apartment blocks. We kept complaining to reception but the noise just continued despite this. We did not sleep properly all week and as a result we were constantly exhausted and unable to complete our planned itinerary. I picked this hotel specifically as it was a family hotel and felt I would have a relaxing break. Do not go here unless you are wanting an 18-30s type break.
I am surprised that Thomas Cook would associate their name and reputation with such an awful hotel.

2 readers found this review helpful

me and my 3 friends just got back after spending a week in this hotel. we arrived there at about 12:10am on the 10th July. and straight away, we were welcomed by Ricky. he showed us around the hotel, with the famous quote 'This Is The Dayyy Time Area, And This Is The Night Time Area Where You Can Have A Drink!' haha but nah, fair play he was brilliant! he then showed us to our rooms (so glad we were on the groundfloor :p) lol. our rooms were nice, only thing is when we got into our rooms, they were so hot, we couldnt stick it. so we had to get air-con. id recommend this to everyone, even though its quite expensive..its well worth it!
we just shoved our bags and suitcases in our room, and headed straight down to the bar for our free shots! ha! the bar is open 23hours, from 7am right thru till 6am, shuts for an hour then re-opens!
the rooms are pretty basic, but what more do you want? i didnt hardly sleep in mine, wasnt getting in till about 5, then i was up by 9 and straight to the pool! lol. i think the only bad thing about the room was the showers, they were a complete nightmare! their really small, like the size of a cereal box! we probably had the dodgiest shower there, as one time we had to shower under the tap because our shower wouldnt come on! but it wasnt too bad.
the people who work there were really friendly, and helpful. on the other hand though, sometimes the father of the hotel came across to me as rude and ignorant, because he shouted at us for wanting to book a late check-out room between the 4 of us! so make sure you book it when you get there.
THE FAMOUS STEEP HILL! which everybody moans about..isnt that bad actually! its a lovely trek down, takes about 15mins to get to bar/club st though. we never dared to even attempt to walk back up it though haha, because it was either too warm or we were too drunk. haha so we had a taxi up that hill every time which only cost like 5euros..which isnt bad if its a few of you... oh and on your way down, there's an english restaraunt called Mike's. you've gotta go there and see Mike!!! had a full english breakfast there everyday and it was lush (: he puts on a free bbq and kareoke and gives you the best fishbowls!! lol. aw he was a star =]
the most annoying thing about Faliraki was the roads! i swear, i was waiting to cross the road for 10mins which seemed like an hour lol, they just drive like maniacs out there! so be careful.
id recommend this hotel for anyone who is seeking a lively atmosphere, as its full of groups of boys and girls, who like to get drunk and not go to sleep all night..including me lol. obviously, if you like your wild nightlife then hit the bars and clubs in faliraki! the thing which i hated the most was all the PR's coming up to me, trying to get me into their bar. which can get a little frustrating after a while, because they dont seem to take no as an answer lol. we always made up excuses like 'We're Looking For Our Friends' thats the only time when they'll shutup! lol.
it is a nice hotel, and il deffinately be returning there very soon! x

Me and 4 other girls stayed in the Venezia for 2 weeks at the beginning of July and the hotel was amazing. Its ran by a Greek family and they wer the most friendliest people ever. We had such a laugh with them and they made us feel right at home, infact so at home that i didnt even want to leave.
We arrived at about 3 in the mornin and was met by a guy called Ricky. He was such a star throughout the holiday. He showed us round the place then we droped our luggage off at our rooms and went to the bar where we got free shots and got to no the staff. The hotel bar was brilliant. decent prices and was open until the last person left,so basically it was open all hours haha.
The entertainment at night wasnt like what you get at other hotels as Ricky mainly did it. He did a brilliant job at entertaining and putting on things for us 2 join in. There is also a pool comp every monday which Ricky put on and there was always quite abit of money to win.
The food at the hotel was fantastic. The pool bar sold everything from fry ups to sandwiches. It was dirt cheap aswel, about 4.80 for a fry up. We ate in the restaurent quite alot n yet agen the food in there was fantastic aswel. Service was quick and always with a smile!
I stayed in a 3 bedroom studio, the third bed was an arm chair folded out in2 a bed, not the comfiest bed, but it made do for the 2 weeks. The only down side of the holiday was the room, but if your goin to stay there for a clubbing holiday you hardly stay in the room much anyway. The down side of the room was, the air con was quite expensive, the shower was quite small and the maid would just walk in to clean your room, so make sure your decent in the morning haha. Apart from that i cant pick fault.
Before we went we looked at reviews on the hotel and noticed that people had commented on the hill to faliraki town. There is a little hill n we walked down it many times, and it wasnt as bad as we thought. It took about 20 minutes, if that, to get to bar street. If walkin isnt your thing then theres plenty of taxis. They can ring a taxi for you at reception and that costs 7 euros. Getting a taxi back to the hotel from bar/club street was 5 euros. Theres always taxi ranks down club street so your neva stuck for getting a taxi.
We went to the water park there and i would deffinatly recommend it. It was 20 euros to get in and well worth it. It cost 9 euros in a taxi to get there and is about 10 mins away.
I hope this review has helped and i shall be going back next summer as it was a brilliant hotel 2 stay in.

This hotel was fantasic! after myself and 5 of my other friends arrived we were involved in an accident and the staff at the hotel gave us alot of support and continually checked we were ok. when on our way to the hospital to see one of our friends they would give us small gifts to give to her and they were always asking how she was doing.
The staff would do anything to ensure we were ok along with all the other guests staying there.
They also have a lovely restaurant and small shop inside the hotel which makes it easier for guests instead of popping down to the main strip. The rooms are also cleaned daily which is great!
the only downfall would be the entertainment...ricky the bar guy was fab but because of the football being on we had to make do with the pool tables.
But overall i would reccommend this holiday to anyone the pools are lovely, the barside pool was great for food and everyone was very friendly.

In June, 2008, we will be going to the Venezia for the 8th time!! I suppose that speaks for itself. We are treated like royalty by the family who own the hotel.
The only drawback with the hotel is the walk up the hill back from Faliraki town center.
We have never had a bad holiday at Venezia - great food, great drinks, great company, very hospitable staff. Cant wait for June this year to see everybody again.

Oh my gosh, got to our room, me and my sister and what a disappointment, it was filthy, cramped and we had a view of a wall. It was awful. However, the pool was fab, Faliraki itself really fun and lively apart from all the people trying to coax us into their bars. The actual place where the hotel is situated is up a really huge hill about a mile but u do eventually get used to it. We had a really fab holiday apart from the room.

i went in july last year and it was boiling and walking up and downd from the hotel to the beach and bars was a nightmare it was very tireing.i went for two weeks paid £350 self catering and spent nearly 500 on food and drink alone .the prices have risen and it wasnt the cheap holiday i was expoecting.the hotel was poor it was dirty noisy and the staff were unhelpfull and grumpy.the shop had little in it and the tv played only greek tv.the rooms were small and smelly. i woould not recomend this holiday too any1 especialy a group of young people

The room was ok and the staff were friendly enough but you couldnt get a word from them in the morning. the entertainment was pretty poor and the hotel wasnt very clean when we were there it was a bit of a walk from the beach in the day time and the walk back up the hill well you would have to be a marathon runner too do it. the night life wasnt too far away which just about rescued the holiday for me. i wouldnt recomend goin self catering as you will just spend loads of money it woukld be alot more wise to go all inclusive or at least half board.that way you have food and drink when ever you want and dont have to worry about what your spending. the area of falaraki was very nice but i wouldnt recomend the hotel to a group of young lads or girls. i wont be coming to this hotel again

My boyfriend and I have just come back from 10 days in Rhodes, staying in Faliraki (Hotel Venezia), and we absolutely loved it. (Total post holiday depression now!)
Our room at the hotel was basic but absolutely fine. We had a pool view and a balcony. It was a double room but had two singles pushed together but that was ok. The maids did come every day except Sunday but I'm pretty sure they didn't change the bed clothes!
To be honest, this didn't bother us, as we don't change our beds at home every 10 days either. The towels I think were changed once but as they are all white it's hard to tell!
The bathroom was basic but clean with an actual shower (not just a wet room) but the cubicle was fairly small so watch your elbows!
The room had a TV which had a few channels like Sky news, BBC world etc and had a DVD player which you could choose from a range of DVDs (not free) on reception. It also had a sink with a portable hob and a kettle and a small range of cooking implements.
The only thing bad I noticed about the actual accommodation was the cruddy music they played from 8.30am (when breakfast starts) to 6.00pm which was just English pop music pretty much on a loop! Fine if you like that sort of thing!
The pool was clean and a nice size. Breakfast was quick and easy and the staff were OK. Not "go out of your way friendly" but certainly not rude.
The location of the hotel is actually about 20 mins walk down a hill to Faliraki town centre which is a bit of a slog in the heat and no good if you have young children! It's quite a steep hill so the walk back is not fun in 40 degree heat either but taxis were 5 Euros from the town centre to the hotel.
The resort itself, we felt, is misunderstood for a having huge clubbing/drunken tourist scene which it didn't - although this may be because we went towards the end of the season. We are not massive "clubbers" or pub go-ers and we really wanted just a relaxed break but not so relaxed that you could hear a pin drop. For the time of year we went it was perfect because there were still lots of people (young and old, families and couples) but it wasn't crowded with leery drunks (sorry if that's your thing!).
The only irritating thing was you couldn't walk past a restaurant without them trying to coax you in to eat in there. Eventually you end up crossing the road to avoid them telling you all about their wonderful restaurant and food etc etc. Also, if you're a young couple you'll probably get coaxed into a few bars with the promise of 3 shots for "X" Euros etc but they were usually OK and left you alone if you said no thanks.
The one thing that I will warn anyone about is the scratch cards for Club Greece. Sooner or later, someone will approach you and offer you scratch cards (free) to see if you can win anything there and then...it's a con!!! One of you will ALWAYS win (although they will tell you that only 1 in 50 wins a day which is crap) and they say in order to claim your prize (a camcorder, a digital radio or a free holiday) you just have to go on a 90 minute tour around a Club Greece hotel so they can promote their hotels to you.
They even pay for the taxi there and back (this part is true). Seems like a bit of a jolly? Why not? NOOO!!! They keep you there (on your well deserved holiday) for around 3 hours trying to sell you their holiday scheme - which on paper sounds fine but is actually a bit of a con (no, I didn't fall for it!). If you do inadvertently get lured in - JUST SAY NO!
Aside from this, we thought the island was great, loads of really pretty and scenic places to visit like Rhodes Old Town and Lindos Acropolis. Although Faliraki has all the amenities you could ever need and very locally we still hired a car and visited a lot of the more "off the beaten track" places which really made the holiday. The waterpark is also great fun so would recommend a visit!
If you're looking for a good break with plenty to do but also a relaxing time if desired then I’d definitely recommend it.
Faliraki beach is the best on the island because it's all sand and is fairly shallow for quite a way so safe for children. You can get two sunbeds and a parasol for seven Euros all day.
Sorry for the essay but hope this helps in your decision!

This Hotel is fantastic; the staff couldn't do anymore for you. The owners sit on reception during the day. Tas, one of the sons runs the hotel pool bar and restaurant and Takis the oldest son runs the 24hour bar and main restaurant from about 6pm. Yes, the bar is 24hrs but cannot be heard from any of the rooms. This is my 2nd time to the hotel, while we were there they arranged a group photo as there were 47 returnee’s to the hotel. I will definitely be returning again next year.
The pool is lovely, have some Little Tikes play slides and toys for the children. The sunbeds are good too. The hotel is situated in a great place for a fab tan! Music is always playing, for everyone tastes.
The evening entertainment is always a giggle from Karaoke to Bingo to quiz's. Ricky is the entertainment and is very passionate. His wife also does treatments around the pool, hair, nails, makeup etc.at good prices.
The rooms have a TV and DVD player in them. You can hire out DVD’s but I suggest also taking some of your own as you don’t need the remote to press play.
I promise you, if you go to this hotel, you will love it.
I would definitely suggest booking this hotel direct, because you can get late check out (if needed) and air con included in your price. Everyone needs air-con!