"We recently stayed at The Port Royal Villas Resort and Spa, and overall, had a fantastic holiday. I would personally describe the hotel as a very good 4-star hotel, rather than a 5-star, and it is the staff who really make this place what it is.
The hotel itself is absolutely spotless. Everywhere is exceptionally clean, and the overall layout has clearly been very well designed. The pool areas in particular are beautiful, clean, and relaxing, with plenty of sunbeds available if you get down around 9:30 am. The main pool beds tend to go quickly, while there are usually still beds available around the relaxing pool. We personally preferred the main pool and reserved our sunbed most days, as we liked coming down around 10 am rather than rushing down early.
One thing worth mentioning is the sunbed towel policy. Towels can be removed after 30 minutes if the sunbed is not being used. Personally, I think this could be changed to an hour, as 30 minutes doesn’t really give guests enough time to enjoy breakfast or lunch without worrying about losing their bed. That said, the service to the sunbeds for drinks and snacks is a really nice touch and adds to the overall experience.
The Staff – The Real Highlight
The staff genuinely make this hotel special. Everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful, but Katerina, who worked between the Armira Poolside Restaurant and La Pasteria Restaurant, deserves a special mention.
Katerina was absolutely amazing and looked after my partner and me throughout our stay. Her service, friendliness, and attention to detail really stood out, and she is a credit to the hotel.
The Concierge, Apostolis, was also excellent. We had several issues with items in our room during our stay, but once reported, they were dealt with straight away. The concierge was particularly helpful and did a fantastic job throughout our stay.
The Restaurants
Armira Poolside Restaurant was one of our favourite places at the resort. The lunchtime à la carte offering was superb, with a really good choice of food, especially the grilled Sea Bass, all served overlooking the stunning pool and sea. We enjoyed lunch here so much that we didn’t eat lunch at the main restaurant during our stay.
La Pasteria Restaurant was also excellent. Huge kudos to the chefs here — every meal we had was brilliant. The food was cooked fresh and consistently very good. The pasta dishes were some of the best I’ve ever tasted.
Royal Blue Main Restaurant was particularly good for breakfast, with a great choice of both hot and cold options. The evening choices throughout the week were also good and offered plenty of variety. Unfortunately, the biggest downside was that the food was often only lukewarm at best. The heaters simply don’t seem to work particularly well, which is a shame because the quality and selection of the food itself was good.
Cibus Asian Restaurant could definitely be improved. We didn’t find the choice particularly good, and unfortunately the atmosphere felt quite strange and wasn’t especially welcoming. This was probably our least enjoyable dining experience at the hotel.
Cheek to Cheek Canteen was, in my opinion, a real disappointment. The choice available for All Inclusive guests was very limited, and I felt that the space was a bit of a waste given its prime position overlooking the sea. Personally, I think this location would be fantastic for a seafood restaurant and could become a real highlight of the resort.
All Inclusive
We stayed All Inclusive, and I would absolutely recommend doing so.
I believe that if you choose Bed & Breakfast, you could end up spending quite a bit extra during your stay, as the prices for food and drinks are not particularly cheap. The resort itself is also quite small, so there aren’t loads of alternative places to eat and drink within the immediate area.
Restaurants in resort
We did eat out three times during our stay. Twice we visited Ouzaki, a traditional family-run Greek taverna, and it was by far some of the best Greek food I’ve tasted in a long time. The food was fantastic and the staff were incredibly friendly.
We also ate at Zeus, which is a very local restaurant and offered very reasonable prices. Both are worth considering if you want to venture outside the hotel.
We went to Kapari seafood
Restaurant which was located next to the hotel beach. This was a real disappointment, food was underwhelming and the service was poor. This was also quite expensive, I would advise to avoid.
The Beach
The hotel’s private beach was probably one of the biggest disappointments for us.
I certainly wouldn’t describe it as an award-winning beach. It is very stony and, in my opinion, below the standard you would expect from a resort of this level. The sea itself is lovely, but the beach could definitely be improved.
Rooms
The rooms were clean and maintained to a good standard and were perfectly adequate for our stay. However, I would describe them as fairly basic, particularly considering this is marketed as a 5-star hotel.
This was another reason why, personally, I would rate the overall hotel as a very good 4-star experience rather than a 5-star.
Gym
The gym is another area that could be improved. It gets very busy because it is relatively small, and some of the equipment could definitely be better or updated. If you’re someone who likes to train regularly while on holiday, it’s worth bearing this in mind.
The Resort
The resort itself is small but not too bad. There isn’t a huge amount going on outside the hotel, which is another reason why we were pleased we chose All Inclusive.
If you’re looking for a quiet, relaxing holiday rather than somewhere with lots of nightlife, shops, and entertainment outside the hotel, then this probably won’t be an issue.
Things to Do
There are some fantastic places to visit on Rhodes if you want to get out and explore.
Rhodes Old Town is beautiful and definitely worth visiting. We also highly recommend taking a trip to Symi. The island is stunning, and the swim stop at St George’s Bay was a particular highlight.
Tsambika Beach is also well worth a visit. The water is incredibly clear and, unlike many of the other beaches on the island, it has lovely sand rather than being predominantly stony.
Lindos/Acropolis was a good day out, lots to explore and an interesting walk through the old town.
Overall
All in all, we had a great stay at The Port Royal Villas Resort and would absolutely recommend it.
For me, it is a very good 4-star hotel that sits somewhere between 4 and 5 stars, with some areas that could certainly be improved to justify a true 5-star rating. The private beach, rooms, gym, Cibus Asian Restaurant and Cheek to Cheek Canteen all have room for improvement, and the temperature of the food in the main restaurant was disappointing at times.
However, the hotel is exceptionally clean, beautifully laid out, the pool areas are fantastic, the food at Armira and La Pasteria was excellent, and most importantly, the staff are what make this hotel so good.
A special thank you again to Katerina, who went above and beyond throughout our stay and made a real difference to our experience.
Would we return? Absolutely. Would we recommend it? Definitely.
Just go with realistic expectations of what a 5-star hotel should be, and you will have a fantastic holiday."
