Blue Bay Beach Resort

"We arrived for a week as a family of five at the very end of July. Before arriving, I was apprehensive due to some of the negative reviews written in the weeks leading up to our holiday. It was a relief to discover that in our opinion, the hotel wasn’t anywhere near as bad as some had made it out to be. However, we did agree with some of the points highlighted by some already, there are improvements that could be made to make guests’ visits more enjoyable. General hotel and pool areas The views from the hotel are stunning. We loved eating breakfast each morning at the beach front cafe. At night, the beach is a perfect location to watch the sunset. There is a good choice of pools. We avoided the main activity pool and chose most days to sit at the slightly quieter one, next to the children’s park. This still had a lively vibe to it but without the hustle and bustle of the main pool. To get a sun bed here, we were down for around 7.45am. We also enjoyed the much quieter pools at the annex. Although you lack the sea views here, they are set in gorgeous gardens surrounded by olive trees. Here, a number of sun beds were still available when we arrived at 10am. There are areas of the hotel that are in definite need of maintenance and TLC; cracked tiles around the pool, uncomfortable and damaged sun beds and poor quality umbrellas all require attention. Accommodation We had two rooms, one in the annex and another in the main hotel. The rooms are worn in places and in need of general maintenance and upgrade. However, they did have everything we needed, were comfortable and cleaned thoroughly every day by friendly and helpful housemaids. In the annex, we experienced issues with our shower flooding into the main area of the bathroom which became unsafe due to the risk of slipping. We were required to use towels to stop water running out of the shower area. Fortunately our towels were changed daily. The annex was very quiet and we rarely heard anyone after midnight. It was accessed by crossing a road. Although the road wasn’t necessarily busy, it was used regularly for coach and taxi pickups throughout the day so we were always very cautious when crossing, especially with our young child. Food and drink We enjoyed the food in the main restaurant. As a vegetarian, I can struggle to find a variety of choices but didn’t experience this here. We particularly loved the salads, great variety and lots of flavour. Desserts were really good too. The kids enjoyed the snack bar. We didn’t access any of the à la carte restaurants due to lack of availability but that was our fault as we didn’t book soon enough. Unfortunately, we found the drinks to be very poor quality. The cocktails were inconsistently made depending on who made them and which bar you went to. Soft drinks weren’t great either. We spent a lot of money, either buying the premium drinks or bringing our own in from the local shops. By the end of the week, we noticed numerous other families doing this too. There was no waiter service for evening drinks and queues were long which made trying to relax in the evenings hard. Drinks were limited to three per person. Location The hotel is reasonably close to Rhodes Town and we had two lovely visits there. We used the public bus on one occasion and the shuttle bus the second time. The public bus is the cheapest option but can get very busy as it’s a direct bus to and from the airport. Other than a few shops and restaurants, there isn’t really much else around the hotel itself within walking distance. We were aware of this beforehand though and it didn’t bother us. Staff working in the local shops were very friendly and they stocked everything we needed. Again, we were aware before we arrived that the hotel is on the flight path and this wasn’t of a concern to us during our stay. In fact we quite enjoyed watching the planes fly over! Overall we did have a very enjoyable holiday. The location of the hotel in terms of views, and the variety of locations to relax and eat, outweighed the negatives. We loved Rhodes and would consider returning to the hotel if the areas of concern highlighted on mine and the reviews of others in terms of general maintenance were addressed."

"The hotel was nice. Food was decent, every evening different cuisine. Also was option to go to à la carte"

"We have just returned from a week's stay at Blue Bay Beach Resort and, honestly, we had a fantastic holiday. We travelled as a group of three families, with 5 adults and 6 children, and before arriving we were quite nervous after reading some of the negative reviews online. Looking back, I would say take many of those reviews with a pinch of salt and make your own mind up. We had a great experience and would happily return. We stayed in the main hotel on the 4th floor with a sea view and balcony. The view was absolutely amazing and one of the highlights of the holiday. Watching the sea from the balcony, especially at sunset, was brilliant. Room Our room was cleaned every day, fresh towels were provided, and bottled water was replenished regularly. We had no issues at all with the room during our stay. Beach towels are available from the hotel if you don't bring your own. As we had a late flight home, we chose not to pay for a late room checkout. Instead, we booked the shower room in the spa before leaving. This was spacious, clean and ideal for getting ready before travelling home. Just be aware that you'll need your own towels. Food & Drink We thought the food was good, especially for an all-inclusive resort. The main buffet restaurant offered plenty of variety and had themed evenings throughout the week. There was always something available for the children, which made mealtimes easy. We also ate at both the Asian and Italian à la carte restaurants and really enjoyed them. Drinks are chargeable in the à la carte restaurants, but this didn't bother us. You can always bring drinks from one of the bars if you don't want to purchase any. The street food available during the day was a huge hit with the children. We particularly enjoyed having breakfast at the beach restaurant because the views were incredible. Ice cream is included at lunchtime and dinner time. Outside of those hours, it can be purchased from either the hotel shop or the shop just outside the resort. There is a good selection of soft drinks, mocktails, spirits and hot drinks. The cocktails were decent, although some were a little sweet for my taste. It would be great to see a mojito added to the menu. The Zythos beer was particularly refreshing in the heat. There are four bars across the resort, so finding somewhere for a drink was never a problem. We also attended the beach party at Yiannis one evening, which had a DJ and a great atmosphere. Drinks were payable there, but it was definitely worth a visit. Beach The beach was one of our favourite parts of the resort. The views and sunsets were stunning, some of the best I've seen. It's a pebble beach, so I would definitely recommend bringing water shoes. If you walk a little further along the beach, you'll find a selection of water sports at reasonable prices. There was also a lovely breeze coming off the sea, which made the August temperatures much more comfortable. Entertainment The entertainment team work incredibly hard and deserve a special mention. They were constantly engaging with guests and created a really welcoming atmosphere throughout the week. The evening entertainment was varied. Our personal highlight was the Shaggy tribute act, while the children absolutely loved the magician. There was also karaoke one evening, although that wasn't really our thing. Bingo takes place nightly and costs €5 per game. The animation team have their day off on a Wednesday. Throughout the day there were plenty of activities including water polo, aqua gym, darts and French boules. The animation team gave everything 100%, and it genuinely felt like they wanted everyone to enjoy themselves. I was especially pleased to win a medal, which was presented during the evening entertainment. It's a small touch but made it feel special. Pools & Waterpark There are several pool areas across the resort. The main pool is where most of the activities and music take place. There is also a smaller pool and a lazy river-style pool with a shallow splash area at the end. Additional pools are located around the waterpark accommodation blocks. Despite visiting in August, we found the pool temperatures perfectly fine. The waterpark itself is excellent, with a good range of larger slides as well as smaller slides and a pirate ship area for younger children. The minimum height for the larger slides is 1.2 metres. Soft drinks are available as part of the all-inclusive package in this area too, although ice cream, popcorn and slush drinks come at an extra cost. There are plenty of sun loungers around the resort and on the beach. We did find that if you wanted loungers around the main pool, you needed to get there a little earlier. Location The hotel is incredibly convenient from the airport. We booked a private transfer and arrived in around 10 minutes. The hotel is directly under the flight path, which we knew before booking. It genuinely didn't bother us and, in fact, the children loved watching the planes come in and out throughout the day. There is a supermarket nearby, along with a couple of bars / restaurants within easy walking distance. We visited Billy's to watch the Newcastle match and would definitely recommend it. It's only a short walk away and offers a good selection of food and drinks. Facilities The hotel has a gym, spa, arcade, play park and several pool tables. The children loved spending time in the arcade. The hotel offers shuttle buses to Lindos and Rhodes Old Town. They also offer other trips too. It cost €28 for 2 adults and 2 children for a return visit to the Old Town. Our children used the kids club during our visit. They loved it and the staff were really friendly and engaged well with all children. We also noticed that the hotel was being cleaned throughout the day, and most of the public toilets were modern and well maintained. The only negative feedback I would give relates to the men's toilets near the entertainment area. They are looking quite tired, the doors don't lock properly and they could really do with some refurbishment. I mean this as constructive feedback because, honestly, it's the only issue we encountered during our stay. One thing that did concern us slightly was a man who appeared to be walking around the resort regularly taking photos and videos of guests and then disappearing. It would have been reassuring to know who he was and what the purpose of the filming was. Overall, we felt Blue Bay Beach Resort offered excellent value for money. It has everything you need for a family holiday in one place: great pools, a fun waterpark, good food, lovely beach views, plenty of entertainment and hardworking staff. Despite some of the negative reviews we read before travelling, we had a brilliant week and made some fantastic family memories. We would definitely recommend the resort and would happily return in the future. Thank you to everyone at Blue Bay Beach Resort for such a wonderful holiday!"