Stella Aparthotel, Pefkos, Rhodes

" Fantastic holiday "

I booked this as a last-minute getaway for my 18-year-old daughter and myself. Having read some of the reviews beforehand, I was a bit apprehensive about what I was letting myself in for. I was pleasantly surprised. That person who gave the review 1 out of 10 was either incredibly unlucky or very fussy.
I found the Stella Hotel to be extremely clean. The maids came in every day to supply fresh towels, empty the waste bins, straighten the beds, sweep and mop the floors. They even swept/mopped the balcony. They brought fresh bed-linen twice a week. I felt very sorry for them as they worked so hard in the extreme heat and yet they were always cheerful. The studio room was very comfortable and it had all we needed including a hair-dryer in the bathroom. The kitchen area was well-equipped with utensils, plates and cutlery, a fridge, hob, microwave and kettle. The hotel staff were friendly and helpful. There was a bar in the main block which provided a reasonable food menu, although we did not use this. The pool and grounds were kept very clean and there were always enough loungers and parasols to go round even though it was the height of the season.
The hotel was centrally situated, being 30 seconds from the main street where all the bars, restaurants and supermarkets are situated, 30 seconds from the main taxi rank and 30 seconds from the hotel’s own supermarket which has its own bakery and everything ranging from food to drink to beach stuff to clothes to presents. Having said that, I did not hear any noise from the street when I was in the hotel. Just 20 yards up the hill behind the hotel is another bakery/supermarket which has the most amazing selection of pastries and bread and a lovely little chapel next door which is worth sticking your head inside (in fact it is so small you can really only just stick your head inside!!) There are countless restaurants and even if you went to a different one every night for a month, you would still not be able to go to them all. They cater for all tastes – Greek, international and English (for the unadventurous). There are even two Chinese ones! The resort comes alive at night, but is mainly full of young families and couples, so not somewhere for teenage rampages. It is really the sort of place where people just stroll looking for somewhere to eat, then maybe have a drink or two before heading home again.
The beach is a bit further away and takes about 10 minutes to walk although it can seem longer in the heat of the day. The beach is sandy and the water shelves gently so is safe for children. There is an 8 Euro charge for 2 sun loungers and a parasol, whatever time of the day you arrive, so this can seem a bit much if you don’t turn up until mid-afternoon. The sand can get too hot even to stand on, so we always hired the loungers and parasols.
There is a list of organised tours (day trips to Symi, day trips to Turkey, day trips to Rhodes Town, Greek night, WaterPark at Faliraki etc) or you can take the very good local bus service to other parts of the island. We took the local bus to Lindos (costs 1.50 Euro each way and takes about 10 minutes) but if there are 4 of you, you might consider taking the taxi as they only charge 7 Euro and take you door-to door. We had intended to take the local bus to Rhodes Town as well, but the tour rep had warned us they take three hours to get there and the buses are not air-conditioned. We later discovered the buses ARE air-conditioned and only take about an hour to Rhodes Town, so this might have been a ploy to make us buy the organised tour. The old part of Rhodes Town is definitely worth a visit, as is Lindos with its quaint streets. We also went on the glass-bottomed boat from Pefkos to Lindos and back. It anchored offshore for a while to allow you to jump off and have a swim out at sea.
We had a great holiday and came back rested, but I do just have a few tiny niggles in what was otherwise a perfect holiday. Firstly, if you like your Greece plain and simple, you may not like Pefkos. The resort did not exist until about 7 years ago and has been built solely for tourists. It is new and sophisticated and not at all like the Greece of the past. The restaurants are bright and modern, some of them even adorned with flat-screen televisions showing Sky Sport which irritated me a bit. But there were still places which seemed to be Greek in spirit (try the Delizia rooftop restaurant run by an elderly Greek couple - just across the road from the hotel). Secondly it was very hot in July (temperatures were in the mid 40s Centigrade) and the weather would probably be more comfortable in April/May or September/October. The hotel charged extra for a remote control to activate the air conditioning unit in our room… 50 Euro per week per unit (the studios have one unit, the larger apartments have two units). The temperatures did not drop below 30 at night, so it was worth the extra cost, but I have never been charged extra for this in my travels before. We heard that one man at the hotel spent the night by the pool on a lounger to get a bit of cool air at night!
I would certainly not hesitate to return to the Stella Hotel and would thoroughly recommend it.

Advice: Great place for families and couples

Activities: Lindos, old part of Rhodes Town

Good for: Beach 

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