Relaxing in Rhodes
October 2017
Last year for my 30th birthday in October we wanted a relaxing holiday with long, lazy days on the beach, food to hand and cocktails on tap and there was no better place than Rhodes. We searched high and low for somewhere which was still warm that time of year yet cheap to fly to. We searched SkyScanner everyday trying different dates either side of the school holidays. The children were due to break up on the Thursday 19th October so we tried for the Tuesday 17th that way they only missed 3 days of school. The flight times were great flying from London Stansted at 6.35 arriving into Rhodes at 12.35 giving us time to get to our hotel and start exploring. We also wanted an all inclusive hotel so that the children could help themselves whenever they wished without keep raiding dads wallet plus it saved the hassle of having to go out and find somewhere to eat late at night. I'm not very sociable when I'm 'hangry'!
We were so lucky to find this beautiful hotel located on the south-east coast, 1 hour away from Rhodes Airport. Kiotari, a small, peaceful place with a handful of hotels. Perfect. The hotel itself was Mitsis Rhodos Maris Resort. We booked with Sunshine Holidays for £514 for the 4 of us All-Inclusive, we wasn't really sure what to expect. We checked the hotel out via Trip Advisor before booking and the reviews were hit and miss but with a 4* rating.
This 5* hotel was beyond our expectations. The apartment room was spacious and clean, there was a double bed (which was comfy) and two put-up beds for the boys, a mini fridge filled with drinks (which was included in the all-inclusive) and a balcony which had a fabulous view of the sea. I love being able to sit out on the balcony on an evening or first thing in the morning with a cup of tea listening to the sound of the sea.
The beach was just a short stroll from our apartment. It was sandy at the start and then became more shingle as you reached the waters edge. A well-maintained beach with plenty of sunbeds. The bonus for the kids was the snack bar. They served the most delicious pizza all day long straight from a pizza oven. The bonus for us was the bar! Banana Colada was my favourite cocktail they served here ...it was like a banana milkshake which made it very easy to keep going up for another! In the end, the lady behind the bar would see me and my drink was made without even being asked.
We spent most days down on the beach as there was so much to do …volleyball, football, bocce, the kids club and kayaking all included in the all inclusive price. They also had water sports like jet skis plus the Ringo's and Sofa rides (for a small charge).
The sea was so clear you could see your feet, take some bread in with you and see how many fishy friends you make! The sea was cooler this time of year but perfect to cool down in the 28 degrees heat.
The resort itself was impeccably clean, and the staff couldn't have been more helpful and friendly. The gardens are very pretty too. There were 3 swimming pools, 1 which had a slide although we didn't use the pools much as they were colder than the sea! You also needed goggles on as they were salt-water pools.
The resort has 4 restaurants. The main restaurant is where the buffet breakfast is held and in the evenings there are different 'theme nights' buffets but generally there is plenty of choice even for the most fussiest of eaters.
The other restaurant's consist of an American, Greek, Asian, Mediterranean and Hot Crepes and Waffles!
The entertainment in an evening was mainly aimed at younger children but we was lucky enough to catch the fire dancers who were fantastic! There is a games room for older children too.
Onsite is also a reasonably priced supermarket, coffee shop, ice-cream parlour, fish spa and beauty spa.
We decided we wasn't going to do much on this holiday as we was so busy when we went to New York we just wanted to relax this time, but we did take a trip to the Waterpark in Faliraki. There was a free courtesy bus that picked us up just outside the hotel and took us straight there in about 1 hour. We happened to visit on their last day before closing up for the winter so the park was virtually empty which meant we near enough had the park, sunbeds and slides to ourselves! Entry cost us 24Euros each which we didn't really mind paying as it was our main day out. I'm not a big fan of extreme rides so I left the big boys to that and enjoyed the wave pool and lazy river instead! Check out their website here for all the other crazy rides they have - https://www.water-park.gr/
We had a great holiday in Rhodes and really felt like we got a bargain for the price. The hotel actually recieved a Travellers Choice 2018 reward which is very deserved. Memories and friends were made here and we will definitely return to Mitsis Rhodos Maris hotel in the future!
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Mitsis Rhodos Maris Resort and Spa - https://www.mitsishotels.com/hotels/rodos-maris/
Sunshine Holidays - https://www.sunshine.co.uk/
Trip Advisor- https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/
