Firstly, I’d like to say that this is not necessarily a negative review, as the things mentioned in the title were truly spectacular, which I will go into in this review.
We are a couple from the UK who stayed with Lindos memories for 10 nights. When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted very kindly and given a class of Prosecco on arrival. The reception staff were wonderful and explained everything perfectly. We were too late for dinner service so had some sandwiches, water and fruit brought to our room which was extremely welcomed and kind.
When we had chance to look around our room, I can echo what others have written in other reviews regarding the decor. This hotel is marketed as ‘premium luxury’ and 5 stars, however the room was unfortunately far from that. The decor is definitely outdated, the blue sofa in the room has a rip in it and the bath has a large chip out of the side. The hairdryer is dated and yellowing, one of those white ones that is fixed to the wall that blows out hot air, it didn’t dry anything which meant I had to go to dinner every night with wet hair unfortunately. The shower situation was very difficult. I am a UK size 10 and my partner a L, we are regular sized people and average height. We couldn’t shower comfortably because of the following reasons. The shower was on the side of the wall and so was the tap. This faced outwards, meaning you had to pull the shower curtain over you and it stuck to your skin when you showered. If you didn’t want this to happen, it would result in the tap banging against your legs. There simply isn’t enough room to shower comfortably in this room. I did speak to reception about this and they were very understanding and told me to come back to speak with the reservations manager. This was a few days in and the thought of potentially moving rooms at this point wasn’t the best thought. (I have bad anxiety so going back the next day to speak about it all again filled me with dread. I simply couldn’t do it). I just wanted to leave the feedback for the team to please look at room 107. Take a shower in there and try not to either have the shower curtain stick to you, bang your legs on the tap or don’t use the shower curtain and have water all over the floor. I can’t imagine how it would be for someone larger than I am. Some more feedback for the room would also include the lighting. There was no main light, only bedside lamps. But the curtains were dark and we were on the ground floor. Meaning we couldn’t have the curtains open as people walking by could see in, but if we shut the curtains then we would be getting ready in darkness. We stayed in another hotel in Pekfos last year which was only a 4 star I think but they had new modern decor in the rooms. The curtains had a dark set for the night and a light coloured voile curtain for privacy but still allowed natural light in. I noticed some in your reception that would’ve perfect in the rooms. I think all in all the rooms are reflective of a 3 star hotel and not a 5 star. The positive though was the bed and how comfortable it was!! Now that’s something that definitely doesn’t need to change.
Some more feedback would be cleanliness around the pool area. There is green algae in the crevices of the pool and again … this just isn’t representative of ‘premium luxury’. My partner has green stains on his swim shorts because of this. Please deep clean the pool area on a more regular basis. There was a piece of chewing gum stuck to the side of the pool, it didn’t move from day 3 of our holiday and was still there when we left on our last day.
I have to mention the price of water that is being offered here at the hotel. We knew before arriving that there was a shop on the hotel site so thought we could buy water from there. We went in on the first day and it was 4€ for a 1.5L bottle. 4€?? That is crazy prices when in Lindos you can buy a bottle for 0.60€. You need at least 4 bottles a day between 2 people in the heat, if not more. The bar sold a 1.5L bottle for 3.50€, but that was from a bar so prices like that are to be expected. We ended up walking into Lindos at 6am before it was too hot to do so, or grabbing a 6 pack for 1.90€ when we went out for dinner. There aren’t any walkable supermarkets near the hotel unless you wish to walk 20-30 minutes into Lindos. Something to be aware of if you’re staying at the hotel. Taxis are 10€ each way into Lindos and 12€ into Pefkos so it’s very very expensive to move around the area. Not the hotel’s fault of course, just again something to budget for if you wish to see more of the area.
Around the pool area, although a very beautiful setting, was occasionally ruined by lack of atmosphere. We are not party people at all, but some relaxed music being played around the pool would help the ambience in my opinion. Without this, it meant you could hear (every day) the taverna staff shouting at each other which often sounded hostile at times!
These pieces of feedback are small things that unfortunately made a huge difference in our experience here. We thought we were walking into a luxurious, exclusive and premium place but it just wasn’t the case.
Now, there were definitely some aspects of the holiday that we were over the moon with and are very very happy to talk about.
Firstly, the staff! As many others have said, the staff are the gem of this hotel. Every single person we interacted with, was kind, friendly, welcoming and couldn’t do enough for you. We had a laugh with them at dinner and breakfast, it was fabulous. They are an absolute asset to this place and should be praised every day for their hard work. Thank you for everything you did for us during our stay. Our cleaning lady was so lovely and kind, she made us laugh even though her English was slightly broken, I loved that she tried each day to chat with us.
Another positive was the food. The breakfast was lovely and our favourite part of the day. Freshly made crepes were amazing. We often went late and everything was still perfect. We miss the breakfast already! The food on the evening was no exception, the buffet was always an option as well as an Al a Carte menu some nights too. The Greek night was great with a Greek band and traditional Greek cuisine!
Finally, the setting and the area this hotel is in. The views of the Naverone cliffs, the sea and the plants around the hotel were just spectacular. Every morning walking down to the pool and looking over the bay was amazing and just beautiful!! It was something I cherished every morning it really was.
To conclude, we had a lovely holiday overall but it wasn’t a 5 star experience. I do believe this hotel is better suited to mature couples who have endless cash to burn. We were by no means ‘on a budget’, however we just felt it wasn’t suited to us. The staff, setting and food would be reasons to return, if the rooms are given an upgrade.