Bayside Katsaras Hotel

Absolutely Awful
First of all let me say that we are family of two adults, and two boys aged 15yrs and 12yrs. I have never written a review before but feel so strongly about this hotel that I felt I must. We have been to Greece many times before and know that accommodation in Greece can be basic to say the least. Nevertheless we love Greece, the food, the culture and the friendly people. We booked this holiday only three weeks before we went. Yes we read the reviews and indeed some paint the hotel as an excellent place to holiday. Other reviews tell a story of horrors. Knowing that different people have different views we decided to ignore the negative reviews and give it a go. Surely it can’t be that bad. Unfortunately it was and the negative reviews are disappointingly accurate. Although I will be reiterating what the other reviews have said I think you should know about this hotel and would advise that it is avoided at all cost. How anyone would work hard all year for a break in the sun and accept this hotel in any way satisfactory or even acceptable is beyond me.
1. The food is absolutely atrocious. Bland, tasteless, little choice, I could go on and will. The dining room is a school canteen where you have to do everything yourself down to clearing your table and tipping your left over food into a plastic slop bucket. The table clothes are never changed for different guests other than a quick wipe by the bald headed man whom you don’t want to cross as we soon found out. The breakfast choice is mass produced budget food. I would defy anyone to tell the difference between the orange juice, water or grapefruit juice other than its colour. Everything was again tasteless. You will queue for your evening meal if indeed you want to eat it, as the quality of the food is extremely poor. No drinks will be provided with the evening meal unless you buy from the bar. Food is left out on trays and not refrigerated. Tables are in short supply and if you ask to eat in the adjacent bar area be ready for an argument with the bald man who will show little sympathy for your predicament. “We can’t cater for everyone” is a standard argument. Despite not wanting a confrontation with this man he kept coming back over to me to argue his point. It made me angry and my wife was most upset. This is the tip of the ice berg. To summarise, this is not an enjoyable experience in any way and resulted in me taking my family to eat elsewhere throughout our stay at extra cost.
2. The entertainment is, Karaoke, Karaoke and Karaoke. Even the advertised Greek night will end in Karaoke. The Karaoke will start at 9.30 pm and go on until 2.30 am the following morning. We know. Our room was directly above the bar/canteen. Don’t get me wrong. I’m no kill joy. You’re on holiday after all and yes, I also love and sang on the Karaoke. To keep this going on every night to the early hours was ridiculous. Despite numerous complaints from others we spoke to, this just continued night after night. Bearing in mind that if you want to eat the breakfast or go on a trip you will be up in a few hours, the lack of sleep becomes unbearable. To make matters worse, if the Karaoke was packed out until that time of the morning I would concede that I was in the minority. However, due to the noise we would stop of the hotel, returning as late as possible to find the Karaoke still blasting out with only three people singing. Sometimes only the organiser. What’s the point?
3. The Sun bed challenge. I know that this is always a contentious area and that this sometimes brings out the worst in people but the situation was ridiculous. Being a family of four we only wanted two sun beds and parasol. Not too much to ask? It was. Every bed taken by towels being placed on them the day before or left on them for the entire stay and basically no where near enough beds for the amount of rooms. Lots of broken sun beds and chairs around the pool. This was pointed out to the rep but nothing changed. Unless you are ready for the confrontation of removing towels, don’t get the impression that you will be lounging around the pool enjoying the sun. You won’t.
These are my three main issues. This was not the holiday experience that me and my family were expecting. We weren’t expecting the Ritz but the three stars would suggest some expectation of quality. There is non. The rooms are adequate but you will pay 50 euros per week for air conditioning and 50 euros per week should you want a fridge. You will receive clean towels but our bed linen was not changed throughout our stay. The hotel is quite isolated and surrounded by all inclusive hotels. There are very few local tavernas so you will need to travel to find alternative entertainment or places to eat out which you will most definitely need. My tip, to avoid any of the above just stay somewhere else.

1 reader found this review helpful

Having just returned from a holiday in Rhodes staying at the Bayside Katsaras hotel in Kremasti, we cannot praise it enough.
It is a family owned and run hotel, it is spotlessly clean, and a fantastic base to use for the whole island of Rhodes.
Nick and Irene could not do any more for their guests, you must remember this is a family run hotel, not part of a massive corporate chain, and the GREEK experience, ie the greek style meals and entertainment are what we look for when travelling to Greece. If you want english food, english bingo, english breakfast my advice to you would be to stay in England!!!, the people who moaned at this hotel were totally out of order, you cannot possibly compare this lovely hotel to a massive Spanish hotel on the costas- greece is greece and NOT spain- the 'moaners' are the only downfall to this beautiful holiday. We have travelled to Rhodes now for 5 consecutive years, staying in Tholos and Kremasti, but never at this hotel as we have been in apartments. but to be honest value for money just does not compare, this was an absolute bargain when you look at the prices of eating out now, it really is quite expensive, and we would only have been buying the same type of meal provided at the Bayside anyway. The rooms were cleaned every day, fresh linen, all beds made with no day an exception. We always have a car, and travelling around is a breeze and to be honest a must as Rhodes is an absolute gem of an island. The best route for us is always out past the airport, through Tholos and Sorini, and out over the coast and mountains to Monolithos and Sianna- stop and look at Sianna the little mountain village where they make all of the Souma local drink, and olive oil and honey. In 20 minutes you will be at Fourni beach- fantastic.
All in all, yet another fabulous holiday on the beautiful island of Rhdes. If you like Greece, like spending time with Greek people, and getting away from the rat race- this place ticks all the boxes.

After reading some of the reviews, we were expecting the absolute worst. My husband and I have just returned and can honestly say it wasn't as bad as we expected.
Our room was cleaned daily, the beds were made and changed, we also got clean towels daily too. I have to agree that the food was pretty poor but my husband thought it was OK, I lived on the salads and bread and we ate out some evenings. We walked to Ialysos (about 30 minutes away) at night as there is nothing around the hotel except the Ideal Bar across the way from the hotel.
The beach was all pebble so we spent more time around the pool.
All in all it was cheap and cheerful and would probably go back.

1 reader found this review helpful

we holidayed in the bayside 4th to 18th of aug. The weather was hot hot hot touching 50! The hotel wasnt that bad clean towels and bed linen but the maids didnt clean the rooms we found a brush and did it ourselves. It was a good job the beach is crap and we didnt go on it so the room wasnt sandy, the beach is made up of crush and run!!!
The food is basic and rubbish there is no choice and it really is catered for the foreigners(russians,Germans,Poles etc) One night the label said beef stofado-no beef??...No me neither! My husband had chips and cheese one night cos thats all he liked and if there are any left overs they mix it in mayonaise for the next night(yes peas and carrots in mayo was a revelation and cauliflower cheese cold covered in ketchup to disguise the fact it was cold cauliflower cheese!)Eggs in the morning could have been sold as laxatives they worked that fast! The coffee wasnt half bad tho.
The people that run the hotel are really nice yes they will do any thing at all for you and will stop and chat and are genuinely nice except for bald Nickos who is a mardy bad tempered snidey git. Our holiday was a laugh cos we made it that way but Rhodes....... never again!!

after reading the reviews i dreaded going on hol,but once i got there it seriously wasnt bad. if youre expecting really good food in greece you need to be realistic as hotel food in greece is pure crap , unless you go self catering. hotel staff were friendly and couldnt do enough for you especially curly haired nick. the only staff member who had a severe attitude problem was bald nickos whos just a first class pleb.theres no kettle, fridge, air con is 100 euro and safety deposit is 30 euro for two weeks. dont need safety deposit, hotel take passports on arrival but give them back to u 24hrs later if u ask.internet is 20 min for 1 euro but u get a better deal if u go tommies bar up the road. we went aug 11-24 and in 90degree shaded heat yes u do need air con. maids put clean sheets on top of beds every day but didnt clean rooms unless we asked them to. no entertainment at night only karaoke, the bar across from the hotel next to supermarket has same singer every night, with songs in the same order. if u are taking young children take everything. baby milk is hard to find even in supermarkets and tend only to stock fom 9months to 3 yrs,and on average costs 10/12 euro. baby wipes on average were pk 24 for 4/5 euro.nappies tended to be pampers in small packs for 10/11 euro,we didnt see any sterilising tablets anywhere in rhodes.babies bottles were 15 euro and that was single bottle. shampoo costs 4/6 euro and conditioner on average 6 euro. shower gel on av between 6/11 euro suncream for the tiniest bottle costs 12 euro which was cheapest. soft drinks in hotels/bars/rest cost on av 2.50 euro, in supermarkets,1.20 for sm bottle of coke etc 1.80 for 1.5ltr coke etc and 90c for cans. dont take marmaris trips with any tour rep r travel company. if u get bus to rhodes town 2.20 euro on bus kids half price ,walk from bus station to harbour (2min walk) u can get a daily boat to marmaris but need passports and need to pay 15 euro each for taxes total cost 17.20pp instead of paying tripple.all prices of goods are in turkish lira. if you pay euro its cheaper. faliraki is quiet in daytime u can get cheap large drinks in mc donalds but theres nothing to do in day,if u take bus to rhodes town and from bus station take a no 40 that will take u to falirakki. if u want to go to the waterpark take the bus to rhodes town n trans onto the free bus to the waterpark instead of paying extortunate rep fees. buses from rhodes town also go to valley of butterflies n everywhere else. check out tommies bar on line which is in kremasti. if ur gagging for cheap snacks, drinks and tea and coffee n great entertainment youll find it all here.lindos is not suitable for children especially in buggies.the shopping area contains very narrow pathways of polished pebbled mosaic flooring which was very slippy.also very very steep and the shop doorways were very narrow and cramped ext diff to get pram through.lindos is just p**stakingly expensive. the cheapest meal you will get in rhodes is gyros in pitta for 2.50 euro. if you want money changed go left to the scooter/bike hire shop where u will get a better rate. dont eat the hard boiled eggs in the hotel for breakfast. whatever is left over gets stored underneath the trolleys and is kept for next breakfast n so on. have a look under the salad n butterbeans to see what i mean. coffee and morning juice is also watered down so much theres no flavour.pool was always clean. noise from planes werent bad u get used to it quickly.dont buy anything that doesnt have prices displayed especially in restaurants. bike/scooter hire for the day costs 12/15 euro on average but then u need helmets on top and full insurance otherwise dont bother. tap water will give babies diarrohea so dont give. it can upset adults tummies too. theres a toy store 10 min walk from hotel kou kou where u can buy bottles nappies toys nursing items blankets etc a mini toys r us.if u havent booked this holiday yet and still wanna go rhodes go online and log onto tommies bar kremasti. u can book through them to stay at angelas apartments which are so dirt cheap in high season.

after reading the reviews i was not looking forward to my holidaay,now i am home i can say i had a great time,the hotel is what you expect for a 3star, rooms cleaned daily food ok not to my taste but my son loved it, my only complaint was the entertainmenet unless you like kareoke there is none,good job we found a bar called tommies where the entertainment is brilliant

1 reader found this review helpful

Not long back from our holiday in the Bayside Hotel Kremasti, the hotel was great value for money the food was fine and the pool was well kept.
Nick and staff are more than helpful, nothing is a problem, would like to say a big thnaks to all for making our stay very enjoyable.

3 readers found this review helpful

We arrived very early in the morning after a long and trying journey. We were taken to our room which looked out onto a load of bushes. We then got offered an up grade to 2 floors above, the view was wonderful, but it was only what we had booked in the first place.The room was offered only if we paid 100 euros for air conditioning for the 2 weeks we had booked. Being so tired we just took it and paid.
We were charged 30euros for a safety deposit box which was very small.Later that day we went for a welcome meeting with the rep. She was ok, a little vague. Told us that the pool bar closed at midnight, in fact it was open till 2am EVERY morning.We complained and was offered another room at the front of the hotel. Nice if you like Kareoke across the road every night. We think our main gripe is with the travel agents as they didn't seem to listen to anything we asked for. We asked for a very QUIET holiday.
The aircraft for the 1st day seemed to be a real problem but after that we didn't notice them too much.
Well let's get onto the food!!!!!
Everything is done on the cheap. We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw FISH FINGERS on the menu. The menu's consisted of 2 choices every evening. Breakfast:- choice of 3 fruit juices (machine being broken more times than not)choice of toast or bread roll,ham,cheese,jams,cocktail sausages.Boiled eggs available as and when.
The man who served the evening meal's was a real grump!
He didn't serve the food on the plate, he threw it on. He was really rude most of the time,if you asked for more meat than he had put on your plate he would take off some of the other food already served to you.We could go on and on.
You could relate every member of staff to the staff in FAWLTY TOWERS.
No doubt, the staff are friendly (apart from grumpy) and really do wish to help you.
Unfortunately this doesn't compensate for all the awful bit's.
We could never recommend this hotel to anyone but Rhodes and Rhodes Old Town is wonderful.

2 readers found this review helpful

One of the best hotels I have every been to

2 readers found this review helpful

Me and my friend wanted a cheap relaxing holiday somewhere in Greece, we came across the Bayside Hotel in Rhodes and it seemed to meet all of our needs.
The hotel was nice although basic. The food was standard and did become boring after a few days, so found ourselves venturing out for food some of the evenings.
The hotel is in a quiet area of Rhodes and found we had to walk quite a trek into the town for evening entertainment as the hotel didn't really provide any evening entertainment other than bingo. There is a nice friendly bar across the road from the hotel although it was the same act on every night!! One of the best bars we ended up in was Tommy's Bar which is a 15 minute walk into the town, it is an English bar which seems a bit typical of a Brit on holiday, but it was a good laugh!
The off putting bits of the hotel was the fact that the pool bar was never open during the day, so had to walk to the shop or the bar in the hotel reception area to get a drink when sunbathing - this was a pain as it was really hot and didn't want to walk to far!! The pool bar only opened after dinner which was at 8 in the evening and then this would continue every night untill sometimes 6 in the morning, and the music was LOUD.
As the hotel is very close to the airport the aircraft noise really isn't that bad and you do get used to it after a few hours of being there.
The very worse part of the holiday was our last day. During packing all of our stuff away to go home a cockroach appeared on my friends shoulder. It was so disgusting thinking that this could have been in our room the entire week. We did not mention this to any members of staff as we just wanted to leave at that point. So we ended up sitting in the reception for 3 hours watching Jeremy Kyle and Coronation Street, not the way we wanted to end our holiday!!
Over all it was a good holiday as it is what you make it.