Absolute Kiotari Resort

We had a wonderful stay at Absolute Kiotari Resort! The food was varied and delicious, with themed evenings featuring Greek, Italian, and Asian cuisine, which made every dinner a lovely experience. The staff were incredibly kind, friendly, and always welcoming. The hotel was very clean, and our room was cleaned every day, which made our stay even more comfortable. The pool bar was also a highlight — a great place to relax and enjoy a refreshing drink. We absolutely loved the beautiful interior and stylish design of the hotel, which created a warm and relaxing atmosphere. Overall, we had a fantastic experience and would happily recommend Absolute Kiotari Resort to anyone looking for a relaxing and enjoyable holiday in Rhodes! 💙🇬🇷

We have just returned from a wonderful 10-night stay at Absolute Kiotari Resort. The hotel itself has a lovely, classy boutique feel. Being a relatively small resort gives it a much more relaxed and personal atmosphere, and everywhere was beautifully clean. Our room was lovely and comfortable, although the storage space was very limited. There are various swim-up rooms available, but we were actually very happy that we didn’t pay the additional cost for an upgrade, as the main pool area is so lovely and spacious. We were particularly impressed by the fantastic staff and genuinely exceptional customer service. A special mention has to go to Laura and Angelo, who were both brilliant, and Kiki's guest services team who were all very efficient with our questions about the hotel and the local area, although every member of staff was incredibly courteous, friendly and welcoming throughout our stay.

The large lagoon-style pool is fabulous, with plenty of comfortable sunbeds available (please don't reserve one with a towel, you really don't need to). The pebbled beach is just a two-minute walk away, although definitely take some proper water shoes as it was very uncomfortable getting in and out of the sea. The beach here was incredibly quiet and peaceful when we visited and the water is crystal clear. The sea gets very deep almost as soon as you enter, which was perfect for us as we love swimming in the sea, but something to be aware of if travelling with younger children.

Breakfast had a good variety of choices, while the poolside à la carte restaurant for lunch was a real highlight. Everything was cooked to order and the food was delicious; exactly what you want from a relaxed lunch in the sunshine. You can swap dinner for lunch twice during your stay, which we did, and we also paid to eat there again because we enjoyed it so much. It was excellent food and very good value.

The evening buffet dinners offered plenty of choice, including different international-themed evenings, although this was probably the one area that felt a little hit and miss. Some of the meat and fish dishes were occasionally under or overcooked and, while there was a good selection, we found it difficult to feel like we were having a truly different meal each evening. The poolside bar is a great addition, with a good selection of soft drinks, alcoholic drinks and cocktails. We particularly enjoyed the fresh smoothies and iced coffees in the mornings, followed by a few good-quality cocktails in the evening. Prices were reasonable too, around €6 for a smoothie, €3 for a beer and €10–12 for cocktails.

This is a very quiet resort, so if you are looking for peace, relaxation and a chance to completely switch off, you will absolutely love it here. If you want to explore further afield, you’ll probably want to hire a car, book excursions or make use of the local bus service, with the bus stop only a minute's walk from the hotel. The buses are air-conditioned and more like coaches, although we found the information about routes and timings quite confusing, so we relied on the hotel to give us the specific times for the places we wanted to visit. Evenings at the resort are also very quiet, with entertainment on only a couple of nights. The Greek night with dancing was great fun; the live singer, unfortunately, was a little more questionable! There are also cards and board games available on the terrace and a music quiz was held one evening.

There are some lovely places to visit locally. We took a taxi to Gennadi, about 4km away, which is an authentic little Greek village that really comes alive in the evening, with some fabulous traditional tavernas. We had a great night at Zorba's, which was lively and really enjoyable. We also walked to Stefano's fish restaurant, around 10 minutes along the beach road, and had a wonderful meal. You are taken into the kitchen to choose your fish, which was a lovely experience. There are a few other tavernas along the way, including La Strada, which has a lovely beachfront veranda and became another favourite of ours for lunch and a beer.

For days out, Lindos Acropolis is a must, although be prepared for it to be extremely busy. Rhodes Old Town is also beautiful and full of history. We also booked the Calypso boat cruise, which was a fantastic day out; an all-day trip with various swimming and snorkelling stops along the coastline around Lindos. The water was an incredible shade of turquoise and it was one of the highlights of our holiday.

There are a few small things that we think would make an already lovely four-star resort even better. The pool towels were quite thin and some were becoming threadbare, so these could definitely be upgraded to something a little more luxurious. Storage in the bedrooms could be better, perhaps with some bedside tables with drawers and more hangers in the wardrobe space. We also felt the evening meal could be improved by keeping the buffet-style starters and desserts but offering a smaller selection of main courses cooked to order. Given the heat, a water station providing really cold water would be a great addition, or at the very least a complimentary bottle of water in the room each day. Complimentary sunbeds on the beach specifically for Absolute Kiotari guests would also be a fantastic touch, particularly as the beach sunbeds cost between €15–€40 for two, depending on where you hired them.

Overall, we absolutely loved our stay. The wonderful staff, beautiful pool, cleanliness, excellent lunchtime food and relaxed boutique atmosphere made the holiday very special for us. It’s the perfect place if you want to slow down, relax and enjoy a genuinely peaceful Greek holiday. We would definitely return and would happily recommend Absolute Kiotari Resort.