~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Atlantica Princess Hotel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have just returned from two weeks staying at the Atlantica Princess in Rhodes and had such a wonderful time that I felt compelled to write this review. Rhodes is a Greek Island which is situated in the eastern Aegean Sea just 11 miles from the Turkish Coast (on clear days you get a magnificent view of Turkey).
Our choice of this hotel and destination was purely through last minute panic at the beginning of the year where we realised that everywhere was quickly getting booked up! We began hunting through the various Thomsons brochures whilst checking availability on the internet. We were attracted to the all inclusive package that the Atlantica Princess offered as it worked out at around £12 on top of half board per adult per day and £8 on top of half board per child per day which seemed reasonable given that we are more than capable of drinking enough to make that worth while!
We booked a family room (3 adults and one child) for the last two weeks of the summer holiday and by crossing over three days into term-time made a saving of £800 compared to what we would have spent going a few days earlier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check in ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a three and a half hour flight we arrived at Rhodes airport (Rhodes actually has three airports but only one is open to the public). We were met by a Thomson coach and our transfer to the airport was a smooth one taking just 15 minutes. When we arrived at the hotel it was 8.30pm Rhodes time, we were greeted by a friendly receptionist who promptly checked us in, sorted out our room keys ensuring that the three of us adults all had an individual key card and gaves us some basic information about the hotel in the form of leaflets. There were other guests arriving at the same time but there were three members of staff manning the reception desk at this time so there was no waiting around. A porter was available to carry luggage to the room but as we were on the first floor and all had wheeled cases we took them ourselves. Our passports were kept at reception for the timebeing and would be returned to us on completion of the standard personal details form.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Room ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On opening the door to our room we were very impressed, it was very spacious, attractively decorated and immaculately clean. The room had two twin beds and a bunk bed (the top bunk is obviously intended for the child). The bedroom floor was carpeted and this was beautifully clean. The room had two large areas of cupboard space and there was a large desk, bedside cabnets, a small table and chairs, small fridge (free of charge), safety deposit box (additional charge), large mirrors, television, telephone and tea and coffee making facilities. The ensuite bathroom was also very spacious, incredibly clean and well decorated, it even had a phone by the toilet which was intriguing! Our room had a sea view from the balcony which was beautiful, the only thing that was a shame was that often there was a slight sewage smell from the ground below which made the balcony unuseable a lot of the time, we couldn't work out whether this was just a blocked drain or faeces from all of the stray cats. Other than that the room was brilliant and exceeded our expectations while we were there, the fridge was very useful for keeping bottled water in and milk for cups of tea. As with many hotels the electricity to the room is turned on by putting the room keycard in a slot by the door - we used my brothers co-op discount card in the slot to ensure that the electricity remained on while we were out (to keep fridge, airconditioning etc running). The airconditioning was brilliant as the controls were in the room and so we were able to get it just right.
The maid service was daily and their attention to detail was amazing - we had squashed a mosquito with a magazine onto the wall in the night and it had left a small mark on the wall. The next day about half hour after the maids had made the beds, changed the towels and cleaned the room I was in the room when a maid came in with a cloth and some disinfectant and she scrubbed away the mark on the wall so they obviously paid good attention to the cleanliness of the room. Our room was situated on the first floor which was nice as it meant we could use the stairs rather than relying on the lifts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reception Area & Shop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The hotel is one main building and there are some apartments owned by the hotel over the road. The main entrance area is tastefully decorated with clusters of comfortable chairs and sofas, the reception desk, five computers with internet access and endless games for the kids to play on (computer access is 1 euro for 10 minutes). Everything everwhere in the hotel is spotlessly clean. Within the main reception area there are also information boards for all of the travel companies. The hotel has its own shop which sells all the little things you might have a need for (plasters, snacks, drinks, a small selection of souvenirs, toiletries, sandals, beach and swimwear, suncream, toys etc). This shop is open all morning and then from 6pm till 10pm in the evening which we found really useful when we ran out of things like suncream and shampoo!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All Inclusive ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I mentioned above the all inclusive option at this hotel is part of what attracted us to it. On arrival we were given wristbands to indicate that we were all inclusive. The under 18s get a different colour to indicate that they are not to be served alcohol which initially devastated my brother who was just a month off of 18 but he soon found that the barstaff would happily serve him drinks anyway, one of them even asked his age - my brother said 17 and they complimented him on looking older and then served him anyway! The nightime bar manager did ask my dad at one point if it was ok for my brother to be drinking as he didn't want to get moaned at!
The all inclusive basically meant that on top of our halfboard (breakfast and dinner) we got lunch and what they deem as locally produced drinks as free. We were expecting to just get the ropey cheap stuff in terms of drinks but were very pleasantly surprised. Even bottled water was included which was brilliant as we would get a bottle of water each to take up to bed. You aren't meant to take drinks from the bar to the rooms but they aren't fussy on this as long as you aren't taking advantage. The drinks included were various cocktails including popular ones such as tequila sunrise, planters punch and sex on the beach as well as carafes or glasses ofred, white and rose wine (all very nice), beer, spirits and mixers (not brand names but their gin and tonics were amazing.) and fizzy drinks such as coke, 7up, lemonade etc. Scoop ice creams were also included as were hot and cold snacks throughout the day. We more than got our moneys worth in terms of our consumption of both food and drink!! During the two weeks the only money we spend on food or drinks was on the couple of days out that we had.
We were so impressed with the all inclusive service as it made the holiday so hassle free. To get drinks you literally just give your room number at the bar when ordering and have to sign the receipt and that is all so it means no worrying about carrying money down by the pool. We certainly did drink more (including water) than we would usually do on holiday but even if you aren't drinking alcohol it makes it worth while just in terms of the softdrinks and bottles of water as the cost of these soon add up if you are buying them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Facilities ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The hotel has a large freeform swimming pool which was always kept very clean. We were there during a heat wave where the temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit everyday and got up to 118 degrees on some days so the pool water was always the perfect temperature as it was cool and refreshing but not icy cold to get into! The pool was a good size for the number of guests at the time that we were there and the large shallow end allowed daily water aerobics to take place.
Next to the main pool is a small, shallow paddling pool with a sprinkler intended for the younger children. This always seemed very popular with the toddlers.
In the pool area there is a toilet block which includes two showers as they do not want people trapsing through the hotel when wet. As with everything else these were kept very clean.
The area surrounding the pool was very clean and there were lots of sunbeds spread out around the pool and on the grassy areas. As we wanted four sunbeds together we generally put out our towels when we went to breakfast although there were always beds available its just a case of getting them early if you want them in the shade (in 118 degrees you don't want to be laying in the sun allday long!). There were a limited number of umbrellas although if you wanted shade there were trees that gave a nice mottled shade.
In the outdoor bar area there is a full sized pool table and an air hockey table which you pay for by putting money into the machines. There was also a dartboard and archery area which were used for the tournaments arranged regularly by the animation team.
There is a childrens playground area with two large climbing frames and a mini football area.
The hotel has a laundry, room service and babysitting service which can be booked and they strive to help you with anything you may need assistance with.
The childrens club has a large indoor play area which looked very nice and child friendly although we did not use that.
There is a conference room for hire and the hotel is particularly popular for weddings (there were three during the time that we were there). From what I observed the hotel is a really great place to get married as they make up the seating area beautifully for the weddings and the staff are great.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Food & Drinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Breakfast and the evening meal are served in the 'Othello' restaurant which is a spacious, clean, well decorated, non-smoking indoor restaurant. Both meals are buffet style and there was always a brilliant selection of food. Breakfast was quite a casual affair where the restaurant manager finds you a table and you help yourselves. There was always the basic fried breakfast stuff, bread, cheese, salad, pancakes, cereal etc and there were also a wide selection of delicious desserts! The food quality was very good, this is the first hotel I have been to where the bacon actually tastes properly like bacon!! There was a selection of juices, tea and coffee available during breakfast from the machines. Dinner was more formal and they very strictly adhered to the rule that men should wear trousers in the dinning room (twice I saw men in knee length shorts being asked to go and change). Each evening had a theme, from Chinese night to greek night and the food was always well prepared and beautifully presented. The selection was good and I noticed that there were always chefs on hand to assist people with allergies when chosing food. As a family we all have very different tastes in food and there was no occasion where any of us felt that there was nothing we liked. Literally as soon as you are seated at dinner a waitress takes your drinks order and unless you order a specific wine from the wine list the drinks are part of your all inclusive including bottled water, house wines, beer, softdrinks etc. Breakfast and dinner always included a smaller service counter with childrens favourites so that they could help themselves easily. There was also always a good selection of salads and vegetarian options aswell.
Lunch was served in the 'Taverna Pergola' which was an outdoor dinning area covered over with huge umbrellas. This is also done buffet style and much of the food is cooked on a huge barbeque thing. The selection of food was huge every lunch time and was all delicious and fresh. Drinks were served to the tables and we often had a nice cold carafe of white wine with our lunch!
Overall this is the best food I have had at a hotel abroad and the selection was very impressive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Local Excursions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This review is about the hotel but the location of it means that there are a few particularly good excursions available. Rhodes Town is equivalent to the capital city of the island, the whole town is within an ancient fortress and so it is an amazing place to visit. We spent a few hours there and part of that was a highly interesting walking tour organised by Thomson. It is a lovely place to walk round and from the hotel you can get a bus for less than 2 euros into Rhodes town. Alternatively a taxi costs around 8 euros and the hotel reception desk will book you a taxi and give you a slip of paper with the hotel address on so that you will be able to tell the driver where to return you to!
The Valley of the butterflies is a good excursion to do as it is one of the only two places in the world that the beautiful tiger moths go to mate and it is naturally the coolest place on the island (although still incredibly hot!)
Lindos is a town known as the jewel of Rhodes, it is a very interesting place to visit and the greek orthadox church there is one of the most amazing small churches that I have ever seen. Its worth trecking up to see the acropolis of Lindos if you have the energy although it is a lot of steps in extreme heat!! Alternative you can get a taxi in the form of a donkey!!
Falaraki waterpark is a 15 euro taxi ride away and is also worth a visit but TAKE SOCKS!!!! The ground is unbearably hot so wear socks around as you can keep them on during the rides.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Staff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Every single member of staff from the maids to bar staff are welcoming, friendly and work very hard to try and make everything perfect for you. All of the staff speak amazingly good English and it put us to shame for not being able to speak a word of Greek! The staff take a very personal approach remembering who everyone is and they seem to know everyones room numbers for when you order drinks. I cannot fault a single member of staff, they were all amazing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check out ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We had until midday to check out of our room on the day that we left which was good as it gave us plenty of time to get our stuff together. Checkout was easy as all we had to do was return our room keys. There is a luggage room where we put our suitcases and they had a room available for us to use to shower and get changed before leaving for the airport. Late room checkouts are available at an additional charge of around 50 euros. Our flight wasn't until early evening but we were more than comfortable spending the afternoon around the pool and then sitting in the reception area while we waited for our transfer coach.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Location ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The resort itself is in Trianda and is fairly small with limited local shops and Tavernas. There is a small shingle beach literally a 2 minute walk from the front of the hotel which is nice and the sea is very clear. Some people are put of by it being a shingle beach but that is how it is naturally! If you venture out a bit further you can get to sandy beaches and the beach of Tsambika is beautiful. Right outside the hotel doors is a station for the hourly 'little train' which is a small train which for a small fee takes you on a 45 minute tour of the local area. There are various small shops and places to eat and drink directly outside the hotel but you do have to venture a little further to get anywhere busy. Being near to the airport you often see planes coming in to land but the noise is nothing to worry about as you can hardly hear them by the pool and not at all from the rooms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weather ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I mentioned, we were there during a heat wave so the weather was amazingly hot. The hotel is well designed to accommodate both those wanting to enjoy the sun and those wanting a nice big of shade! I think there are literally only a few days of rain per year on the island so everything is very dry (although the hotel sprinklers keep the flowers and grass looking fresh). At the end of August it was very hot right through to 11pm and beautifully sunny everyday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Entertainment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The animation team working this summer were lovely people who were always cheerful and worked their socks off from morning till night. The daytime activities are good including archery, darts, football, quizzes, bingo, giant connect4, daily water aerobics (great fun!), aerobics etc. The nightime entertainment is fairly amateur and in some cases pretty dire! But they tried so hard and it was still fun to watch and after all - if you want to watch a broadway show then go watch one!! There was a show each night which varied from Karaoke to greek dancing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Safety ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the things that always amuses me with places abroad is the varying standards of health and safety. Whilst the hotel itself is well designed with brightly coloured markings on steps to stop people tripping and high walled balconies, the surrounding roads and areas make you realise how standards differ. Large metal spikes and wiring sticking out from the middle of the pavement are quite common along with large potholes, lack of kerbs etc! Mopeds are very popular with locals and there are so many incidents where they are the cause of accidents. One evening while we were there a woman got hit by a moped right outside the hotel and was seriously injured. I think she was crossing over from the main hotel to the apartments and being from the uk looked left and then right rather than the other way round. The hotel staff were very efficient at dealing with the incident while the ambulance arrived but it shows that you need to be extra aware when near roads there.
There is good visability of the swimming pool from the sunbeds and the bar but there is no lifeguard on duty so it is parents responsibilities to supervise their children in the pool.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Summary of Advantages ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Great facilities in terms of swimming pool etc - well suited to families - very good all inclusive package - faultless staff - spotlessly clean hotel and facilities - good sized rooms which are well equipped - nice bar areas - brilliant selection of food, well prepared. - lovely weather - good location - right by the beach - short transfer from the airport
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Summary of Disadvantages ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - unpleasant smell below the balcony - potentially dangerous road separating the hotel and apartments - no lifeguard on duty at the swimming pool
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overall I was incredibly impressed with the hotel. It catered for our needs as a family very well and seemed to be well suited to young families right through to older couple. I would love to go back to this hotel and would absolutely recommend it - particularly with its all inclusive package. A brilliant, clean, friendly hotel.
