Ocean Blue Hotel, Ialyssos, Rhodes
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Hotel Description:
The Ocean Blue is situated on the beach, an area full of trees and gardens, with spectacular views to the swimming pools, 12Kms from Rhodes City Center. loading...
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Ocean Blue Hotel Reviews
" Don't book it....it is hideous!! "
Submitted By: jp1206
I have just returned from this hotel after a 2 week holiday. The hotel is sold as a 5 star....it is no more than 2.5 star at best!!
The write ups I saw about the hotel by tour operators were simply not true. Like, no money exchange at reception, no beach bar, the beach is dirty and all pebbles not sandy and clean. I also read on the hotel web site before I left that there was n new bar opened....this just was not the case!! The A La Carte restaurant looked very nice but was rarely used. Probably because they charged 20 Euros per person even thoug you were all inclusive, just for wine!!
The grounds were also smelly in places and it was not particularly clean and many of the staff were very rude.
The room itself was ok, and we had one with our own pool.....but it was kind of shared with the next rooms!!
We were delayed coming back and we had to be put up in The Rodos Palace hotel....now that really is 5 star!!
Below are the points I have raised with our tour operator:
1: First of all, there was no representative available for us to talk to at the hotel. There was also no information in English at the hotel regarding information about the hotel or Rhodes. I am not sure whether there should have been a Thomson or Thomas Cook Rep available to us as the flight was with Thomson but the tickets were issued by Thomas Cook. Either way, we had no welcome meeting and no contact numbers should we have needed them. This alone is very poor.
2: There was no return flight information displayed at all let alone in English.
3: In the various write ups on the hotel various facilities/information were shown which were simply not true:
a: There were supposed to be Bathrobes (for adults), slippers, body & hair shampoo, body lotion in the room, these were not there despite asking at reception several times.
b: Information was written about a beach bar which did not exist.
c: The beach is described clean and sandy. The beach is quite dirty and all pebbles ranging from small to very large!!
d: There is various information written about the bars. There was a snack bar near the pool and a main bar near the restaurant. The snack bar effectively had what was left over from breakfast. There was supposed to be a Deck bar and there was also mention of the ‘new’ Nautica Blue which is stated as new for 2009. Neither of these exist!! The Nautica Blue I have since found out is in fact another Hotel....yet to be completed.
4: Many of the staff were very rude.
5: I wanted to extend my room from the normal check out time of 12 noon until about 5.30. I asked a lady called Mary at reception about this the day before departure. She simply said it was not possible. I then returned to reception later in the day when there was a different lady working who arranged this immediately. There was a cost of 50 Euros to do this which is quite extortionate for a hotel of such poor standards. Either way, the experience of trying to extend the room just made us even more angry after the first lady was just not interested.
6: Various write ups show different cuisines being available, like Mexican, Chinese etc. At every other All Inclusive hotel I have been to each guest is allowed at least 2 visits per week to the A La Carte restaurants, included in the cost of the holiday. Not here!! There was one Ala Carte restaurant apart from the main restaurant but there was a cost of 20 Euros per person for a bottle of wine!! This restaurant was rarely open and each time it was there were only about 4 tables occupied.
7: In many areas of the grounds there was a terrible smell of sewerage. It is next to a working sewerage farm.
8: The room we were in appeared not to be finished properly. The bath leaked and also the sink leaked leaving the floor very slippery. Reception was informed but there was no evidence of it being resolved. There was also a whole in the ceiling with a wire curled around inside it. I can only assume this should have been for a smoke alarm. (I have photographic evidence of this)
9: We were in a room that had a private pool. This was not strictly private as it joined 2 other rooms. The private pool went under the balcony and under each balcony there were 2 nails protruding from the underside of the balcony. Also the wooden walk way from the balcony had screws protruding under the walkway to the pool area. Both of the above were potentially very dangerous. (I have photographic evidence of this)
10: There was supposed to be money exchange available at reception. This was not the case and the nearest bank was about 30 minutes walk away or a bus ride away into Rhodes town.
11: There was also supposed to be an indoor pool. The only indoor pool was in the reception building and the only time we saw it being used was by a father and his son who were ceremoniously kicked out of it saying it was not to be used.
12: The main pool area was often very dirty.
13: The main restaurant was not large enough to accommodate the amount of guests at the hotel. The staff in the restaurant who were clearing plates etc from the tables obviously just wanted to get people out as quickly as possible. There were many occasions when we had barely put our knives and forks down that the plates were sharply taken away from under our noses. There was no chance to have a relaxing meal. I have never been to a 5 star where you had to lay your own table, often on dirty table cloths.
14: This hotel is far from a 5 sun/star classification and as such I believe it has been mis-sold.
If anyone is looking at the Nautica Blue hotel be careful as it is owned by the same people who own this place!!
The write ups I saw about the hotel by tour operators were simply not true. Like, no money exchange at reception, no beach bar, the beach is dirty and all pebbles not sandy and clean. I also read on the hotel web site before I left that there was n new bar opened....this just was not the case!! The A La Carte restaurant looked very nice but was rarely used. Probably because they charged 20 Euros per person even thoug you were all inclusive, just for wine!!
The grounds were also smelly in places and it was not particularly clean and many of the staff were very rude.
The room itself was ok, and we had one with our own pool.....but it was kind of shared with the next rooms!!
We were delayed coming back and we had to be put up in The Rodos Palace hotel....now that really is 5 star!!
Below are the points I have raised with our tour operator:
1: First of all, there was no representative available for us to talk to at the hotel. There was also no information in English at the hotel regarding information about the hotel or Rhodes. I am not sure whether there should have been a Thomson or Thomas Cook Rep available to us as the flight was with Thomson but the tickets were issued by Thomas Cook. Either way, we had no welcome meeting and no contact numbers should we have needed them. This alone is very poor.
2: There was no return flight information displayed at all let alone in English.
3: In the various write ups on the hotel various facilities/information were shown which were simply not true:
a: There were supposed to be Bathrobes (for adults), slippers, body & hair shampoo, body lotion in the room, these were not there despite asking at reception several times.
b: Information was written about a beach bar which did not exist.
c: The beach is described clean and sandy. The beach is quite dirty and all pebbles ranging from small to very large!!
d: There is various information written about the bars. There was a snack bar near the pool and a main bar near the restaurant. The snack bar effectively had what was left over from breakfast. There was supposed to be a Deck bar and there was also mention of the ‘new’ Nautica Blue which is stated as new for 2009. Neither of these exist!! The Nautica Blue I have since found out is in fact another Hotel....yet to be completed.
4: Many of the staff were very rude.
5: I wanted to extend my room from the normal check out time of 12 noon until about 5.30. I asked a lady called Mary at reception about this the day before departure. She simply said it was not possible. I then returned to reception later in the day when there was a different lady working who arranged this immediately. There was a cost of 50 Euros to do this which is quite extortionate for a hotel of such poor standards. Either way, the experience of trying to extend the room just made us even more angry after the first lady was just not interested.
6: Various write ups show different cuisines being available, like Mexican, Chinese etc. At every other All Inclusive hotel I have been to each guest is allowed at least 2 visits per week to the A La Carte restaurants, included in the cost of the holiday. Not here!! There was one Ala Carte restaurant apart from the main restaurant but there was a cost of 20 Euros per person for a bottle of wine!! This restaurant was rarely open and each time it was there were only about 4 tables occupied.
7: In many areas of the grounds there was a terrible smell of sewerage. It is next to a working sewerage farm.
8: The room we were in appeared not to be finished properly. The bath leaked and also the sink leaked leaving the floor very slippery. Reception was informed but there was no evidence of it being resolved. There was also a whole in the ceiling with a wire curled around inside it. I can only assume this should have been for a smoke alarm. (I have photographic evidence of this)
9: We were in a room that had a private pool. This was not strictly private as it joined 2 other rooms. The private pool went under the balcony and under each balcony there were 2 nails protruding from the underside of the balcony. Also the wooden walk way from the balcony had screws protruding under the walkway to the pool area. Both of the above were potentially very dangerous. (I have photographic evidence of this)
10: There was supposed to be money exchange available at reception. This was not the case and the nearest bank was about 30 minutes walk away or a bus ride away into Rhodes town.
11: There was also supposed to be an indoor pool. The only indoor pool was in the reception building and the only time we saw it being used was by a father and his son who were ceremoniously kicked out of it saying it was not to be used.
12: The main pool area was often very dirty.
13: The main restaurant was not large enough to accommodate the amount of guests at the hotel. The staff in the restaurant who were clearing plates etc from the tables obviously just wanted to get people out as quickly as possible. There were many occasions when we had barely put our knives and forks down that the plates were sharply taken away from under our noses. There was no chance to have a relaxing meal. I have never been to a 5 star where you had to lay your own table, often on dirty table cloths.
14: This hotel is far from a 5 sun/star classification and as such I believe it has been mis-sold.
If anyone is looking at the Nautica Blue hotel be careful as it is owned by the same people who own this place!!
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2009
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Who the hell rated this hotel "
Submitted By: dawnandpaul
I am not usually one to write reports on here as I believe that every has diferent views and you will always get someone complaining about a hotel BUT I really feel the need to on this occasion - If you haven't booked yet, Don't make the biggest mistake of your life by booking in this hotel, look somewhere else. if you have already booked, I would seriously look at seeing how much it will cost you to move. My partner and I have just returned from a week in this hotel and it wasn't good. If we had booked a 3 star hotel, then it would of been fine but we were expecting pure luxury as this is supposed to be 5-star. No way. There is absolutely nothing 5 star about this hotel. Don't be sucked into the whole "private pool" speech when you are asked to upgrade your room either. We paid £200 extra to upgrade to a superior room with Private Pool. There is nothing private about these rooms. You have to share the pool with 3 or 4 different rooms and if you are like us, we had 3 families with children sharing ours so by the time they were all in the pool, there was no room for us so we never even went into the pool. as for the bathroom with the Jucuzzi bath, this was a nightmare, you either had to sit or kneel and hold the shower head if you wanted to shower and the whole batheroom was saturated afterwards. Our room was so old. All the furniture was chipped and really old, there was a big whole in the ceiling and we had a couple of dressing gowns delivered one morning - DIRTY with stains all on them - Just not what you would expect a 5 star hotel to be like. The grass outside our room was so long you couldn't sit on your sun lounges if you wanted too... and the view we had was looking onto what looked like a dumping ground, there were matresses, used li-lows and all sorts of rubbish - Lovely view. There was also a dreadful smell of sewage all week, one morning it was coming through the vent in the bathroom and woke us up with the smell. As I said earlier, we are not usually ones to moan but we really did expect to have a relaxing holiday which is why we booked a 5 star hotel, so we were massiveely disappointed, we even looked into moving resort but this was costing too much. The food in the snack bar was disgusting as they used left over dinner/breakfast and it was there all day. The drinks were not even branded drinks, its was rola-cola etc. If you are all inclusive, be warned that after 11pm you have to pay for everything. They don't even have a very good selection of drinks, no local martini, malibu etc, only vodka, gin really. One night they even ran out of lemonade and beer so we had to go to the shop and buy our own. We met a few peopl on this holiday so we made the most of it and we did have a good time, but honestly, please do not be fooled by the pictures on the internet, its nothing like what you see and you will be very very disappointed if you go to this hotel with too high standards. if you go with the view to the hotel being 3 star, you will be fine. The hotel is VERY close to the airport so its very noisy but we couldn't complain about this as i knew this before i booked, i just wish id of looked into these reviews more before i booked the hotel, save us the disappointment.
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2009
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Sunmaster
" Nothing at all like we expected. "
Submitted By: soozym71
After seeing the hotel on the web site we were really excited about visiting. Champagne reception was non existent. We were just given our key and directed to our room. After looking at the official hotel web site I was expecting luxury. I'm no snob and have stayed in some pretty low budget hotels, but after looking at the web site I expected more than what we got. There were no dressing gowns and slippers awaiting us on the bed, and the decor of the room was the bog standard you get in any low budget hotel. There was no satellite tv in the room, nor a dvd player (both promised on the web site). Not that I go away to use these facilities, but it is false advertising. We paid extra to stay in the double superior garden suites. Thank goodness we did as the other rooms around the pool were tiny. A couple we spoke to had demanded to be moved from one of these pool side rooms because of the noise. Would you believe that after paying extra for a deluxe suite, we had a camp bed in the room??? See the pics. The hotel is directly under the flight path. The first day we were there it was a novelty, watching the planes fly so low. Trust me, the novelty soon wore off. After being woken every 15 minutes during the night, we weren't the happiest of travellers. All throughout the holiday we just kept thanking our lucky stars that we weren't around the pool area. For one, the stench of sewage was really, really bad. For two, it was just extremely busy and noisy. Even though the view from my room door was of wasteland, we were happy where we were. The food was ok, apart from the packed lunch which consisted of a dry cheese and ham sandwich, bottle of water and two bananas. It was rarely hot, but we didn't havea problem with this. What really annoyed us was that the kitchen staff moved your plates as soon as you put your cutlery down. This was annoying to say the least, especially if you were having to interrupt eating your dessert in order to pass your plates over to the waiting on staff. The staff were rude - simply saying 'Finished?' before snatching away your plates. A word of warning - don't use the soft drinks dispenser in the restaurant as it is infested with crawling bugs when you pour your drink out. When we told the waiting on staff that we had a glass full of bug infested lemonade they squirted the machine and said 'it's sorted.'. But every day when we tried to use it, the same thing happened. All inclusive only lasts until 11pm. Be aware....they have 1, or if you are lucky 2, barstaff on so you can imagine the queues for drinks. The bar staff were surly, ignorant and rude. I have been to Rhodes many times and have always found the Greek people the nicest in the world so this surprised me immensely. I later found out that the bar staff and kitchen staff were Polish and Albanian, so maybe weren't happy in their jobs perhaps? One evening they ran out of brandy. They just replied 'No brandy'. By this time, our party was feeling extremely fed up by the attitude of the staff and spoke to the manager who promptly went to the beer store and returned with brandy. The truth was, the bar staff just couldnt be bothered to fetch it. They were happier to serve guests who were paying for their drinks. They didn't seem to be bothered about serving children - one of my children was waiting 20minutes before we had to go to the bar to get a drink for her. There was no entertainment on the Friday we were there as it was the Animation Team's day off. In peak season?? And on a Friday??? We weren't allowed to use the toilet near the pool for 30minutes after the cleaners had been in, and were simply blocked physically from entering! We found the reception staff and the manager very helpful and pleasant however. The a la carte restaurant wasn't part of the all inclusive deal but we knew this before we went. The entertainment consisted of the same music being played all day. We were also mithered to buy Cds and t shirts at 15 euros each. They played bingo, which cost 5 euros a game, and the prize was a CD or a t shirt. The hotel was in the middle of nowhere, but this wasn't a problem because it is so cheap to use public transport in Rhodes. The hotel is directly on the beach - it's a small pebble beach, but the sea is beautiful. There was no beach bar, as stated on the hotel web site. The bus into Rhodes costs 2 euros for an adult and 1 euro for a child which is fabulous value for money. Also, if you caught the bus near the hotel you managed to get a seat, whereas if you were further towards Rhodes and got on then you would be standing along with about 30 other people. I love Rhodes, and will definitely visit again - but will definitely never go to this hotel ever again. After working hard to save up and go on this holiday, I expected a little more customer service than what I received. If staff in hotels in Britain were as unhelpful and as rude I am quite sure they would be out of a job.
Advice: Ialyssos is very quiet, but the sea is beautiful and it is really cheap to get to other places.
Activities: Lindos by sea, Rhodes old town, Filerimos
Good for: Beach
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2009
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Aldi Travel
" I booked this hotel before reading... "
Submitted By: Mr S Gray
I booked this hotel before reading the comments on review websites. I'm glad i did.
We paid £1700 for 2 weeks all inclusive for 2 adults and 2 children. I cannot believe the people moaning about how bad the place is! The hotel has recently been refurbished to a good standard. The rooms are good and the cleanliness is excellent. All the staff were brilliant, Greeks, Polisih, Czechs and Romanians, all friendly, helpful and a pleasure to talk to.
OK the hotel is on the flight path, no great problem. The location is not the best, a bit remote. All in all this place is very good for the money. If people want international 5* they will not get it for this money.
Dont be put off, go with an open mind and enjoy!!!!!!
We paid £1700 for 2 weeks all inclusive for 2 adults and 2 children. I cannot believe the people moaning about how bad the place is! The hotel has recently been refurbished to a good standard. The rooms are good and the cleanliness is excellent. All the staff were brilliant, Greeks, Polisih, Czechs and Romanians, all friendly, helpful and a pleasure to talk to.
OK the hotel is on the flight path, no great problem. The location is not the best, a bit remote. All in all this place is very good for the money. If people want international 5* they will not get it for this money.
Dont be put off, go with an open mind and enjoy!!!!!!
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Sunmaster
" Just came back from what I thought... "
Submitted By: Ms A O''neill
Just came back from what I thought was going to be a relaxing holiday!! We were in the flight path of all incoming planes and the noise was horrendous, the planes were so low you could almost see the pilot!! As for the hotel, the staff were not at all friendly especially the bar staff because we were all inclusive they ignored you pretending to be busy cleaning glasses, there was only 1 girl who worked in the restaurant who we saw smile. We booked what was called a superior room with a plunge pool but with 2 single beds and 1 double there was no room to move. The air conditioning was not at all cold and the bathroom was like a sauna, you couldnt even get dried. The food was ok but chips for breakfast?? There was also 5 or 6 dogs running around the hotel which was scary when they all ran to you at once. This was meant to be a 5 star hotel which it will never be, if the staff had been pleasant or friendly it might have been a bit better. Now we are home and with the noise of the planes all night we are shattered and would need another holiday to recover from this one but im afraid we will pass on Greece it will probably be Egypt next year were the people are truly friendly and helpful.
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:grate late deals
" I booked the Ocean Blue Hotel back in... "
Submitted By: Miss A
I booked the Ocean Blue Hotel back in January and then read all the reviews which were not all good and made me very nervous about the hotel, but I have just returned from a week there and I can say I think a lot of the reviews have been a bit harsh and I had a really good time.
It is a beautifully decorated, clean, light hotel, yes the are a few drawbacks but on the whole it was definately much better than I had expected after reading some of the reviews.
We arrived after midnight and were given a drink and a sandwich as the bar was closed which was very much appreciated. Our room was a standard room and it was a good size for 2. The bathroom was lovely, modern and clean. The only drawback is the jacuzzi bath is very small with a hand held shower attachment which is a bit annoying as you have to kneel or sit in the bath to shower. I think the hotel would have been better to put a stand up shower in, but the shower attachment worked fine so its not really a problem. There is a cd player in the room and a fridge and tv, I found 2 channels that showed English programmes.
The pool area is really nice, but I prefered to lie in the garden areas as found the pool a bit noisy, great for families though. There are plenty of sunbeds but not plenty of the comfy mats to put on them (to be found in a shed in the garden area by the pool). I would recommend getting up early to bag one as we waited until after breakfast one day and they had all gone. The beach that is part of the hotel does have some sunbeds on as well. It is quite small but very pretty, but if you walk just 2 minutes up the road there is a bigger section of beach where you can rent a sunbed for 3 euro's a day, do watersports etc which I preferred, although the beaches are stoney the sea is fantastic to swim in and turns to sand as soon as you get in.
The hotel is in the flight path but after the first day I got used to it and they did not bother me. Any resort that end of Rhodes is going to be in the flight path and it's the price you pay for only have to travel 5 mins to the airport in a taxi and not sit on a coach transfer for hours.
There was a good selection of food everyday, always soup, salads, pasta's, rice, fruit, cheese and bread selections with the hot food varing each day and at lunch and dinner there is a deserts selection and ice cream. I have been all inclusive before and for the price you pay the buffet is very good. The only downside is that the snack bar is not very good its fine for drinks or a coffee but not for any food - it is just leftovers that are kept hot all day.
The hotel is a bit isolated on first appearances but towards the end of the week we discovered its only a short walk to kremasti which is a small resort and there are bars and restaurants there. Also about 5 mins walk away if you head to the main road is a tarverna called pegasus which is a family run place with very good food.
Rhodes town is 11 - 13 euro's each way so it can be expensive going there all the time but worth it. The old town is amazing good to go in the daytime to get photos as it gets busy at night. We walked to the marina and there are lots of different boat trips you can take. We did a 3 hour one to Kalathia which is definately worth it and it only cost 15 euro's. They take you on the boat to Kalathia (a restored spa and springs) and you get off and stay there for a few hours, there is a cafe, bar and sunbeds or hammocks and or you can swim or snorkle.
Overall I would say that the hotel is not a 5 star hotel but for it is not a 5 star price either, I did get value for money from my week there, compared to how much it would have cost to go self catering and then to buy all your food as well. The main drawback is that the hotel lacks a greek atmosphere - it could be a hotel anywhere that was hot and sunny and there really is not much to do at night time if you stay in the hotel, but I would go there again.
It is a beautifully decorated, clean, light hotel, yes the are a few drawbacks but on the whole it was definately much better than I had expected after reading some of the reviews.
We arrived after midnight and were given a drink and a sandwich as the bar was closed which was very much appreciated. Our room was a standard room and it was a good size for 2. The bathroom was lovely, modern and clean. The only drawback is the jacuzzi bath is very small with a hand held shower attachment which is a bit annoying as you have to kneel or sit in the bath to shower. I think the hotel would have been better to put a stand up shower in, but the shower attachment worked fine so its not really a problem. There is a cd player in the room and a fridge and tv, I found 2 channels that showed English programmes.
The pool area is really nice, but I prefered to lie in the garden areas as found the pool a bit noisy, great for families though. There are plenty of sunbeds but not plenty of the comfy mats to put on them (to be found in a shed in the garden area by the pool). I would recommend getting up early to bag one as we waited until after breakfast one day and they had all gone. The beach that is part of the hotel does have some sunbeds on as well. It is quite small but very pretty, but if you walk just 2 minutes up the road there is a bigger section of beach where you can rent a sunbed for 3 euro's a day, do watersports etc which I preferred, although the beaches are stoney the sea is fantastic to swim in and turns to sand as soon as you get in.
The hotel is in the flight path but after the first day I got used to it and they did not bother me. Any resort that end of Rhodes is going to be in the flight path and it's the price you pay for only have to travel 5 mins to the airport in a taxi and not sit on a coach transfer for hours.
There was a good selection of food everyday, always soup, salads, pasta's, rice, fruit, cheese and bread selections with the hot food varing each day and at lunch and dinner there is a deserts selection and ice cream. I have been all inclusive before and for the price you pay the buffet is very good. The only downside is that the snack bar is not very good its fine for drinks or a coffee but not for any food - it is just leftovers that are kept hot all day.
The hotel is a bit isolated on first appearances but towards the end of the week we discovered its only a short walk to kremasti which is a small resort and there are bars and restaurants there. Also about 5 mins walk away if you head to the main road is a tarverna called pegasus which is a family run place with very good food.
Rhodes town is 11 - 13 euro's each way so it can be expensive going there all the time but worth it. The old town is amazing good to go in the daytime to get photos as it gets busy at night. We walked to the marina and there are lots of different boat trips you can take. We did a 3 hour one to Kalathia which is definately worth it and it only cost 15 euro's. They take you on the boat to Kalathia (a restored spa and springs) and you get off and stay there for a few hours, there is a cafe, bar and sunbeds or hammocks and or you can swim or snorkle.
Overall I would say that the hotel is not a 5 star hotel but for it is not a 5 star price either, I did get value for money from my week there, compared to how much it would have cost to go self catering and then to buy all your food as well. The main drawback is that the hotel lacks a greek atmosphere - it could be a hotel anywhere that was hot and sunny and there really is not much to do at night time if you stay in the hotel, but I would go there again.
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
" The Ocean blue hotel is in first... "
Submitted By: Mr S Halbert
The Ocean blue hotel is in first impressions a gorgeous, clean and weel maintained hotel. The rooms are as in any hotel very basic. You have a room with anything up to 4single beds in a row with a television with no british speaking channels and a bath/shower room where you require to kneel down to shower. There is no dvd as advertised and if you wish the mini fridge to be stocked, even though you are all inclusive you need to pay for all drinks wich you use. The food at the hotel is varied and not as previously reviewed elsewhere aways cold. Some items were look warm but on the whole the menu was varied and tasty. I suggest the people who complain are people who will not try different things while on holiday . The surrounding area of the hotel are well kept and always very clean and tidy. Our first week was soured by some sour faced Italians with very little or no manners within the dining room who seem to think they should be first for evrything and were very ignorant to waiting staff. The animation team were our highlight as they kept everyone happy rom 9am til 11pm every day of our 2 week break. On the whole a great holiday if you can put up with the ogmorance f other guests and also the bullying of staff from the manager who made their life hell and therefore they were quite miserable for the most time.
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- Date of Holiday:Jun 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:i4travel.com
" Very disappointing holiday. This... "
Submitted By: Mrs C A Milward
Very disappointing holiday. This hotel is no where near the 5* rating it is being advertised as, it would struggle to recieve 3*.
The staff were rude and not interested in serving, everthing was too much effort. The food was ok but the same most of the week and we were concerned to find leftover lunch on the snack bar kept warm all afternoon {this included a large tray of cauliflower one day!} and then put back out for supper, the food was bland and only ever warm not hot. Really not much to do, evening entertainment was quite awful, they had a magician one night which was more comical than magical. I booked this as a luxury 5* holiday and expected to be well treated, this was not the case and we are very disappointed. The hotel is in the flight path but that is really the least of the hotels problems. It is in a very quiet area with very little to do and although only a 10 minute taxi ride to Rhodes town, if you want to ecape the hotel on a regular basis this can work out quite expensive. The hotel is near the beach but there is no sand only stones, the view on the beach is lovely though. We hired towels from the hotel only to be given towels other guests had left behind. If you are going to the hotel expecting a 5* hotel you will be very disappointed if you have not booked yet I stongly advise going elsewhere.
The staff were rude and not interested in serving, everthing was too much effort. The food was ok but the same most of the week and we were concerned to find leftover lunch on the snack bar kept warm all afternoon {this included a large tray of cauliflower one day!} and then put back out for supper, the food was bland and only ever warm not hot. Really not much to do, evening entertainment was quite awful, they had a magician one night which was more comical than magical. I booked this as a luxury 5* holiday and expected to be well treated, this was not the case and we are very disappointed. The hotel is in the flight path but that is really the least of the hotels problems. It is in a very quiet area with very little to do and although only a 10 minute taxi ride to Rhodes town, if you want to ecape the hotel on a regular basis this can work out quite expensive. The hotel is near the beach but there is no sand only stones, the view on the beach is lovely though. We hired towels from the hotel only to be given towels other guests had left behind. If you are going to the hotel expecting a 5* hotel you will be very disappointed if you have not booked yet I stongly advise going elsewhere.
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Teletext
" 5 star, who came up with that... "
Submitted By: Mrs S Thorne
5 star, who came up with that rating!! we are writing this from the hotel as there is nothing else to do in the evening. The hotel itself is very nice in appearance and gernerally clean.But located in a very run down quiet area with nothing to do, however it is a short distance from the airport which was handy, but there are very loud low flying planes every few minutes.We arrived late after a delayed flight, to be greeted by the receptionist that pointed us in the general direction of our room. The first morning we went to get a sun bed which were all taken by 8am! the towel service is a joke, we waited 2 hours to get our towels only to receive them and they were previous guests towels that they had left behind and not 5 star quality we were expected to have these without being washed for the whole week. The staff are all very rude and we have just been ignored at the bar for 20mins, this may be because of the all inclusive deal as they have your money so seem to make no effort as there is little chance of a tip. But we suspect that this may be because we are english. The hotel is mainly italians and Dutch and English do not seem to be treated equally. All inclusive deal is a really bad idea here and alcohol seems very watered down. There is very limited information available from the reception about excursions.There is a bath and a shower head but no actually shower or curtain. No way would we ever return to this hotel and resort and will be putting an official complaint in. Dont make the same mistake we did.
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- Date of Holiday:Jun 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Like many other reviewers, we booked... "
Submitted By: Ms J Mac
Like many other reviewers, we booked this hotel based on the claims made by the website then panicked a bit when we read some of the reviews on the net.
We know Rhodes well, so we knew the hotel was close to the airport and that the resort was a bit quiet so we were prepared. That said, the hotel may officially be in Ialyssos but it is actually mid-way between Kremasti and Ialyssos itself, so apart from a few bars and some other all-inc hotels there is not much to do. There is a small water park about 5 mins walk and a bowling alley about 10 mins away up on the main road though, both of which are okay. Walking into either Ialyssos or Kremasti is a bit dodgy as they are down a busy main road with hardly and footpaths.
We arrived in the hotel about 10pm in the pouring rain and were escorted to our family suite by the manager. Unfortunately in his haste to get us to the room and to get himself out of the wet he neglected to mention that the steps and ramp from the reception building were treachorous so my 9 year old took a nasty tumble - not a good start.
The room itself - consisting of 2 adjoining rooms (no doorway, just an arch) was a great size and had 2 single beds and a small table and chairs one side and a king size bed with sofa and an armchair, as well as the bathroom the other. It was on the end of the block and leaked a bit in the corners when it rained. The maids were very sweet and efficient though and the rooms and public areas of the hotel were always spotless. We also had 2 little balconies out onto the long thin stream pool that you see in the hotel blurb. That was a bit dirty as the pool guy didn't bother to clean it. When I asked him why he said that no one was using it. He didn't seem to get that they were not using it because it hadn't been cleaned!
The food was fairly typical all-inc fayre, we have had better and worse and we didn't eat in all the time anyway, too much to do and see in the rest of Rhodes. We found that the staff were at best curt and mostly quite rude, with the exception of the red-headed lady in the pool bar and Giovanni the lone entertainer, who actually finished his stint for the season midway through our stay. There had apparently been other animation people there but the owner sent them away in sept beacuse of the cost. The little entertainment we did see was awful. Someone I spoke to who had been earlier in the season said that she had never seen a kids club or childrens entertainer so be warned.
The main issue for us was the lack of Kids club, as advertised on the website. There was literally nothing for our older son to do apart from swim, but unfortunately we had quite a few days of bad weather so ended up spending quite a bit on entertainment elsewhere and buying bits and pieces from the toyshop in Rhodes Town.
The a la carte restaurant was not open at all except for one day when the buffet was moved there to accomodate the owners daughter's wedding, which rendered the bar and restaurant out of bounds to the paying guests, which was disgraceful.
One of the things that let the holiday down a bit were some really rowdy, drunken guests, who were unfortunately british. The hotel didn't really act on the problem and its not nice when you have children to be woken in the small hours by swearing, screaming and shouting and people being thrown in the pool. It is also not nice to see thugs in football shorts eat food straight out of the buffet, swaying around barechested in the dining room, smelling like a polecat. Call me sensitive, but thats just me!
On the whole it would have been okay for the money we paid, which was not excessive, had the promised kids club materialised and the a la carte been open. The owner was a bit of a menacing presence and took over the bar on a number of evenings. When anyone complained to the manager you very much got the impression that he was forbidden from resolving any issues that would have cost money. We did manage to get a late check out for nothing, as we pointed out that they had not provided some of the services their website stated (it helped that we had a print out) and that the hotel was closing for the season later that week, so no one would have been going into our room. They did want to charge 70 euros, which is extortionate.
I would give this hotel a miss if you have a kids of any age, but for a couple it would be fine if you just wanted to veg out and are not fussy eaters.
We know Rhodes well, so we knew the hotel was close to the airport and that the resort was a bit quiet so we were prepared. That said, the hotel may officially be in Ialyssos but it is actually mid-way between Kremasti and Ialyssos itself, so apart from a few bars and some other all-inc hotels there is not much to do. There is a small water park about 5 mins walk and a bowling alley about 10 mins away up on the main road though, both of which are okay. Walking into either Ialyssos or Kremasti is a bit dodgy as they are down a busy main road with hardly and footpaths.
We arrived in the hotel about 10pm in the pouring rain and were escorted to our family suite by the manager. Unfortunately in his haste to get us to the room and to get himself out of the wet he neglected to mention that the steps and ramp from the reception building were treachorous so my 9 year old took a nasty tumble - not a good start.
The room itself - consisting of 2 adjoining rooms (no doorway, just an arch) was a great size and had 2 single beds and a small table and chairs one side and a king size bed with sofa and an armchair, as well as the bathroom the other. It was on the end of the block and leaked a bit in the corners when it rained. The maids were very sweet and efficient though and the rooms and public areas of the hotel were always spotless. We also had 2 little balconies out onto the long thin stream pool that you see in the hotel blurb. That was a bit dirty as the pool guy didn't bother to clean it. When I asked him why he said that no one was using it. He didn't seem to get that they were not using it because it hadn't been cleaned!
The food was fairly typical all-inc fayre, we have had better and worse and we didn't eat in all the time anyway, too much to do and see in the rest of Rhodes. We found that the staff were at best curt and mostly quite rude, with the exception of the red-headed lady in the pool bar and Giovanni the lone entertainer, who actually finished his stint for the season midway through our stay. There had apparently been other animation people there but the owner sent them away in sept beacuse of the cost. The little entertainment we did see was awful. Someone I spoke to who had been earlier in the season said that she had never seen a kids club or childrens entertainer so be warned.
The main issue for us was the lack of Kids club, as advertised on the website. There was literally nothing for our older son to do apart from swim, but unfortunately we had quite a few days of bad weather so ended up spending quite a bit on entertainment elsewhere and buying bits and pieces from the toyshop in Rhodes Town.
The a la carte restaurant was not open at all except for one day when the buffet was moved there to accomodate the owners daughter's wedding, which rendered the bar and restaurant out of bounds to the paying guests, which was disgraceful.
One of the things that let the holiday down a bit were some really rowdy, drunken guests, who were unfortunately british. The hotel didn't really act on the problem and its not nice when you have children to be woken in the small hours by swearing, screaming and shouting and people being thrown in the pool. It is also not nice to see thugs in football shorts eat food straight out of the buffet, swaying around barechested in the dining room, smelling like a polecat. Call me sensitive, but thats just me!
On the whole it would have been okay for the money we paid, which was not excessive, had the promised kids club materialised and the a la carte been open. The owner was a bit of a menacing presence and took over the bar on a number of evenings. When anyone complained to the manager you very much got the impression that he was forbidden from resolving any issues that would have cost money. We did manage to get a late check out for nothing, as we pointed out that they had not provided some of the services their website stated (it helped that we had a print out) and that the hotel was closing for the season later that week, so no one would have been going into our room. They did want to charge 70 euros, which is extortionate.
I would give this hotel a miss if you have a kids of any age, but for a couple it would be fine if you just wanted to veg out and are not fussy eaters.
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- Date of Holiday:Oct 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:On The Beach
" We got there late at night. First... "
Submitted By: Mr L Dunn
We got there late at night. First reactions was lovely hotel. Woken up the next morning to breakfast which was a poor standard. By 3 days in to the holiday we refused to eat breakfast.
The rest of the food we just ate to survive the rest of the week. We were going to the local shop for pot noodles and ham and cheese to make our own sandwiches.
Also the hotel is situated in the middle of nowhere. So if you have kids please don’t bother wasting your money like us.
The hotel said there was entertainment every night but there was none at all. It was that boring at night every couple had a pack of cards to occupy there mind. That's Rhodes for ya.
The rest of the food we just ate to survive the rest of the week. We were going to the local shop for pot noodles and ham and cheese to make our own sandwiches.
Also the hotel is situated in the middle of nowhere. So if you have kids please don’t bother wasting your money like us.
The hotel said there was entertainment every night but there was none at all. It was that boring at night every couple had a pack of cards to occupy there mind. That's Rhodes for ya.
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- Date of Holiday:Oct 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
" I booked this holiday purely on the... "
Submitted By: Ms A Non
I booked this holiday purely on the looks of the hotel itself on the website and the offer of a private pool seemed brilliant. I was going with my boyfriend and it seemed perfect for the type of trip we were after!
On reading reviews after booking the trip I was a bit worried as people were stating the hotel did not live up to expectation and I started to panic! We arrived at the hotel at around 5am in the morning to be greeted by a friendly man who gave us the all inclusive wrist bands and showed us to our room.
The room was lovely, fair enough there was a few holes, I could pick for example it looked like the main light for the room was yet to be fitted but apart from that I think that was it, it was modern, spacious, the bathroom was big enough for what we wanted, jacuzzi bath and shower, cd player and fridge all in good working order.
The only thing I would say is arriving at that time and no-one being around we were unsure of the arrangements for breakfast and what we needed to do, as it turns out we slept past breakfast anyway but were still unsure about lunch. Being hungry though we just helped ourselves at lunch time and turns out this was all we needed to do.
I'd give the food about 7/10, the main thing being that the temperature wasn't always as hot as you'd expect but the selection was fine and the bread was nice and fresh. It is true though that they do a lot of recycling and snacks throughout the day would be leftovers from breakfast or lunch.
Being a young couple the entertainment wasn't really our sort of thing but wasn't too bad, and we had a few nights out in Faleraki (along with a few games of bingo!).
The low flying planes were not a bother to us at all, the main pool was lovely and clean but it was nice to go back to our room put the cd player on and spend some time by our private pool!
Overall our holiday was excellent 9/10 the only thing I didn't enjoy was the late flight home! But that is nothing to do with the hotel itself! I would definitely return to the Ocean Blue it was fantastic!
On reading reviews after booking the trip I was a bit worried as people were stating the hotel did not live up to expectation and I started to panic! We arrived at the hotel at around 5am in the morning to be greeted by a friendly man who gave us the all inclusive wrist bands and showed us to our room.
The room was lovely, fair enough there was a few holes, I could pick for example it looked like the main light for the room was yet to be fitted but apart from that I think that was it, it was modern, spacious, the bathroom was big enough for what we wanted, jacuzzi bath and shower, cd player and fridge all in good working order.
The only thing I would say is arriving at that time and no-one being around we were unsure of the arrangements for breakfast and what we needed to do, as it turns out we slept past breakfast anyway but were still unsure about lunch. Being hungry though we just helped ourselves at lunch time and turns out this was all we needed to do.
I'd give the food about 7/10, the main thing being that the temperature wasn't always as hot as you'd expect but the selection was fine and the bread was nice and fresh. It is true though that they do a lot of recycling and snacks throughout the day would be leftovers from breakfast or lunch.
Being a young couple the entertainment wasn't really our sort of thing but wasn't too bad, and we had a few nights out in Faleraki (along with a few games of bingo!).
The low flying planes were not a bother to us at all, the main pool was lovely and clean but it was nice to go back to our room put the cd player on and spend some time by our private pool!
Overall our holiday was excellent 9/10 the only thing I didn't enjoy was the late flight home! But that is nothing to do with the hotel itself! I would definitely return to the Ocean Blue it was fantastic!
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- Date of Holiday:Sep 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Olympic Holidays
" We read all of the current reviews... "
Submitted By: Mr SJ Ash
We read all of the current reviews and thought it would be completed by the peak period of last week of July and first week of August. Arrived at midnight expecting a family room for 3 adults and one 7year old but none available, just a double room with 2 extra single beds (all had seen better days).
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The room and ensuite had been refitted but due to the extra furniture you could not navigate room unless you stood on beds. The wardrobe had 5 hangers and the shelving only 150mm deep and insufficient for 2 people, but we were 4. The ensuite was refitted with jacuzzi bath which is not fixed to floor or walls and not sealed so flooded floor on first attempt. It is unsuitable for showering as you have sit down in order to ensure you do not flood room.
The hotel has only basic fire instruction notices and no designated fire assembly points in or local to the buildings. I am sure that should an incident occur due to the nature of the complex that tragedy could be on the cards as noone would know what to do in the event of - have yet to see evidence of emergency lighting and fire signage is limited hardly right for those in sleeping accommodation a fire officer would have a field day in Britain.
We complained about the accommodation on 1st morning and were still waiting 4 days later as I write this. People from other countries who arrived after us were given family rooms as they booked in, but however polite you are being British means you are treated less favourable than those who arrive from a similar country as the origins of the staff.
Speaking of staff a number of them were very polite but some of the female bar staff are ignorant and turn their back on the holiday makers as soon as they approach the bar, however if you are known to be from the eastern block, as some of the staff are, you get served in front of those who are waiting.
Did I mention the fact that the hotel is under the flight path of all incoming flights from Europe and Greece and Turkey mainland - they have their landing gear down and headlights during night time landings perhaps the guides also forgot this?
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On exploring the complex you realise this is not a family friendly site if you have or are expecting a pool room this means you step out onto a verandah and then the canal of water is immediately in front of you with no barriers and the depth ranges from 1 metre deep to 1.6 metres deep - scary for those with young children or persons who have enjoyed a little to much drink.
The food is reasonable but nothing special. Salad being the main ingredient and same fish or meat with desserts ranging from fruit that has been in frozen store rather then cold store, fresh cakes and ice creams which are popular and not replenished once all taken.
In short if you planning on staying here look elsewhere first, if you have already booked do not expect to find 5 star facilities or a perfect stay as sadly it will not be .
July 27th 2007
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The room and ensuite had been refitted but due to the extra furniture you could not navigate room unless you stood on beds. The wardrobe had 5 hangers and the shelving only 150mm deep and insufficient for 2 people, but we were 4. The ensuite was refitted with jacuzzi bath which is not fixed to floor or walls and not sealed so flooded floor on first attempt. It is unsuitable for showering as you have sit down in order to ensure you do not flood room.
The hotel has only basic fire instruction notices and no designated fire assembly points in or local to the buildings. I am sure that should an incident occur due to the nature of the complex that tragedy could be on the cards as noone would know what to do in the event of - have yet to see evidence of emergency lighting and fire signage is limited hardly right for those in sleeping accommodation a fire officer would have a field day in Britain.
We complained about the accommodation on 1st morning and were still waiting 4 days later as I write this. People from other countries who arrived after us were given family rooms as they booked in, but however polite you are being British means you are treated less favourable than those who arrive from a similar country as the origins of the staff.
Speaking of staff a number of them were very polite but some of the female bar staff are ignorant and turn their back on the holiday makers as soon as they approach the bar, however if you are known to be from the eastern block, as some of the staff are, you get served in front of those who are waiting.
Did I mention the fact that the hotel is under the flight path of all incoming flights from Europe and Greece and Turkey mainland - they have their landing gear down and headlights during night time landings perhaps the guides also forgot this?
.
On exploring the complex you realise this is not a family friendly site if you have or are expecting a pool room this means you step out onto a verandah and then the canal of water is immediately in front of you with no barriers and the depth ranges from 1 metre deep to 1.6 metres deep - scary for those with young children or persons who have enjoyed a little to much drink.
The food is reasonable but nothing special. Salad being the main ingredient and same fish or meat with desserts ranging from fruit that has been in frozen store rather then cold store, fresh cakes and ice creams which are popular and not replenished once all taken.
In short if you planning on staying here look elsewhere first, if you have already booked do not expect to find 5 star facilities or a perfect stay as sadly it will not be .
July 27th 2007
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" My friend and I visited the Ocean... "
Submitted By: Mrs Vanda Outram
My friend and I visited the Ocean Blue in June 07. It is a wonderful hotel with excellent food and surroundings. We had a room with its own pool, and this is to be recommended. There was sometimes a shortage of sunbeds, but never a major problem. We would visit this hotel any time. If you want a relaxing week, try it.
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- Date of Holiday:Jun 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
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Advice: dont bother, go somewhere else to get married.
Activities: