Gennadi Grand Resort

"We stayed at Gennadi Grand Resort & Spa for eight days, and unfortunately, while there were some genuinely positive aspects, the overall experience did not meet the standard we would expect from a five-star resort, particularly considering the price and the all-inclusive package. The hotel itself has a lot of potential. It is a large and beautiful property, the rooms are spacious, and most of the staff we encountered were lovely. However, there are too many inconsistencies in the service, food, housekeeping and overall guest experience for us to consider this a true five-star experience. Check-in and reception My own check-in was excellent. I arrived two days before my friend, and everything went perfectly. Unfortunately, my friend’s check-in experience was the complete opposite. When she arrived, she was not offered a welcome drink or invited to sit down. There was barely a proper welcome. She was essentially given her key without even being informed of her room number. Nobody explained the hotel facilities, restaurants, all-inclusive arrangements, app, timings or anything else she needed to know during her stay. The hotel appeared to rely entirely on me to give her all of this information simply because I had arrived two days earlier. That should not be my responsibility. Every guest should receive the same proper welcome and introduction to the hotel, regardless of whether somebody they know is already staying there. Most staff members throughout our stay were friendly and helpful. However, we did encounter some reception and OTK restaurant staff who came across as passive-aggressive when we asked perfectly normal questions. This is not something we would expect from a five-star hotel. All-inclusive package This was probably one of our biggest disappointments. We specifically chose all-inclusive because the entire point is convenience. You should be able to enjoy your holiday without constantly thinking about prices or checking whether something is included. Unfortunately, at Gennadi Grand, “all-inclusive” does not really feel all-inclusive. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included at one main buffet restaurant, and during our eight-day stay we were given three free dinners at three other restaurants within the resort. Beyond that, you constantly have to check the hotel app before ordering at the beach, pool or elsewhere to find out whether something is included or whether you will be charged extra. Even freshly squeezed orange juice costs extra despite having the all-inclusive package. This defeats much of the purpose of choosing all-inclusive in the first place. If guests constantly have to check an app and think about what they can and cannot order without paying extra, the experience is no longer particularly convenient. Breakfast, restaurants and food quality Breakfast is literally the same every single day. For the first couple of days, this is fine. However, during an eight-day stay it becomes extremely repetitive. The variety is also much smaller than we would expect from a five-star resort of this size. At this level, we would expect both a wider selection and at least some variation from one morning to another. The coffee is particularly bad. We tried several different types of coffee throughout the hotel, and unfortunately none of them tasted good. The hotel needs to reconsider the coffee beans or machines. Another issue is that some dishes simply do not resemble what they are advertised as. Calling something “Eggs Benedict” does not make it Eggs Benedict. What we received was a tiny piece of flatbread topped with a small fried egg and mayonnaise. That is simply not Eggs Benedict. The same applies to several desserts. The tiramisu neither looked nor tasted like a proper tiramisu. A “strawberry tart” contained essentially no strawberries apart from a tiny amount of strawberry jam on top. If something is advertised as a strawberry tart, guests reasonably expect actual strawberries. At a five-star hotel, menu descriptions should accurately reflect what guests are actually served. Lunch at the main buffet was particularly disappointing. Dinner was better and generally okay, but still nothing exceptional. The Greek restaurant was another major disappointment. The sea bass carpaccio tasted so unpleasant that we were genuinely concerned about its freshness. The beef tartare was even worse. Overall, the food did not reflect the quality of Greek cuisine we expected to experience while staying in Greece. The Italian restaurant was inconsistent as well. Again, simply calling a dish “cacio e pepe” does not make it cacio e pepe if the dish being served does not resemble what it is supposed to be. The tiramisu was also nothing like a proper tiramisu. Overall, the hotel needs to focus less on putting recognisable names on dishes and more on making sure those dishes are actually prepared and presented accordingly. Buffet service and organisation The service at the main buffet is unnecessarily complicated and poorly organised. When you arrive, you first give your room number to the hostess. You are then shown to your table by another member of staff. However, once seated, it is completely unclear who is actually responsible for your table. If you want to order a drink, you have to try to find a waiter yourself. On multiple occasions, when we approached a member of staff, we were simply told, “I’m not your waiter.” The problem is that nobody tells you who your assigned waiter actually is, so you are left trying to find someone without even knowing who you are looking for. Then, when another waiter eventually comes to the table, you are asked for your room number again, despite already providing it to the hostess when entering the restaurant. The whole process feels unnecessarily complicated and inefficient. This also contributes to the extremely slow service. There were occasions when, by the time our drinks finally arrived, we had already finished eating. There are much simpler ways this could be organised. There were also some surprisingly unprofessional moments. On one occasion, we asked the restaurant manager whether an egg dish could be prepared without bacon. He asked where we were seated so that he could come back to us with an answer. A short while later, he approached us again and told us that he had forgotten where we were sitting. While this is a relatively small incident on its own, combined with the overall organisation of the restaurant, it further contributed to the impression of a service that lacks the attentiveness and coordination expected from a five-star resort. Service at the beach Slow service was not limited to the buffet. Service at the beach was consistently very slow. We regularly had to wait a long time to place an order or receive what we had ordered. We completely understand that a large resort can become busy, particularly during peak hours. However, this happened frequently enough throughout our stay to become frustrating. Housekeeping Housekeeping was another area that did not feel five-star. The rooms were not always cleaned thoroughly, and even the beds were sometimes poorly made. More concerningly, we had bedsheets with visible stains. Regardless of the category of hotel, stained bed linen is unacceptable, but it is particularly surprising at a five-star resort. Basic amenities such as cotton pads and cotton buds were not regularly replenished. In fact, they were not replenished at all until we specifically contacted reception to request more. We understand and support the sustainability policy of only replacing towels when they are left on the floor. However, when towels were taken away, the same number of clean towels was not always returned. On several occasions, towels were simply missing after housekeeping had been. Slippers and bathrobes were also not proactively replaced during our stay. Sustainability is important and we fully support sensible environmental policies, but it should not result in inconsistent housekeeping or guests repeatedly having to request basic room amenities. Spa and gym The gym is surprisingly small considering the overall size and positioning of the resort. A tour of the spa was also never offered to either of us at any point. This stood out because the spa’s own guest survey specifically asks about the spa tour, suggesting that this is supposed to be part of the guest experience. Despite this, neither of us was offered one even once. Unfortunately, our interactions with the gentleman managing the spa/gym were also unpleasant. His manner came across as rude and unwelcoming, and the way he communicated with guests did not feel appropriate for a five-star hospitality environment. My friend was taking part in an online fitness class in the gym via a video call. She deliberately positioned herself so that nobody else in the gym was being filmed. In the middle of her class, the gentleman managing the gym interrupted her session and made her leave the gym to speak to her outside, unnecessarily disrupting a class she was already participating in. He then told her to make sure she did not film anyone, despite the fact that she was not recording other guests and nobody had complained. His manner throughout the interaction was rude and unnecessarily confrontational. We completely understand that a hotel may have a no-filming, no-video-call or similar policy. However, there were no visible signs stating that cameras, video calls or online classes were prohibited. If this is a hotel policy, it should be clearly communicated in advance. More importantly, the situation could have been handled politely and professionally without unnecessarily disrupting her class and taking her out of the gym in the middle of her session. The issue was not simply the policy itself, but the way the situation was handled. The spa treatments also felt overpriced for what was offered. The young female therapist we interacted with was lovely and deserves to be mentioned positively. However, my hammam treatment itself felt somewhat incomplete compared with other hammam experiences I have had. Beach and pool safety Another point that surprised us was the apparent lack of lifeguard supervision. During our stay, we did not see a lifeguard stationed at the beach. For a large five-star resort with its own beach area and a significant number of guests, this was unexpected and concerning. If the hotel operates the beach without lifeguard supervision, this should at least be made very clear to guests so that they are aware of it. Entertainment Evening entertainment is probably one of the weakest aspects of the resort. The astronomy evening was genuinely excellent and easily the highlight of our stay. It was interesting, different and memorable. We would genuinely love to see more experiences like this. Unfortunately, most other evenings were extremely quiet and lacked atmosphere. There is some live music, including piano and violin, but in our opinion, background live music alone does not constitute a proper entertainment programme for a resort of this size. The property itself is huge and has enormous potential. There appears to be more than enough space to create a proper entertainment area or stage with varied evening programming, performances, music and activities. Instead, evenings can become extremely boring, especially if you are spending most of your holiday within the resort. Considering this is an all-inclusive property where guests are encouraged to spend a significant amount of time on-site, this is a major missed opportunity. Kids’ club We were not travelling with children, so we cannot comment on the actual quality of the children’s activities. However, the kids’ club itself is surprisingly tiny, particularly in comparison with the enormous size of the resort. The interior also feels extremely bare, with mostly white walls and very little visual stimulation. It has an almost clinical feel rather than looking like a fun, inviting space designed for children. For families considering this hotel specifically because of children’s facilities, we would recommend checking what activities and entertainment are actually available before booking. The positives Despite all of the above, there are definitely good aspects of Gennadi Grand Resort. The resort grounds are large and attractive, and there is clearly a lot of potential here. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, and the majority of staff members we encountered were friendly and pleasant. The pool service is very efficient and staff are lovely. A special mention should go to the buggy drivers. We met two of them during our stay, and they were genuinely some of the sweetest and most welcoming people we encountered at the hotel. They were always incredibly friendly, kind and pleasant to interact with, and their attitude really stood out. The young female therapist at the spa was also lovely. My own check-in experience was excellent, which shows that the hotel is absolutely capable of providing very good service when standards are followed consistently. Finally, the astronomy evening was fantastic. It was easily the most interesting and memorable entertainment experience offered during our stay and exactly the kind of activity we would expect a resort like this to provide. Overall The biggest issue with Gennadi Grand Resort is consistency. A five-star resort should not provide one guest with an excellent check-in and another with almost no welcome or information at all. Guests paying for all-inclusive should not have to constantly check an app to determine what they can order without being charged. Food should resemble what is written on the menu. Housekeeping should consistently replenish basic amenities and provide clean, unstained linen. Guests should not have to search around a restaurant for “their” waiter just to order a drink. Staff interactions should always be professional and respectful, and service should not routinely be slow across the buffet, beach and pool. Gennadi Grand has a beautiful, spacious property and a huge amount of potential. There are also some genuinely lovely members of staff who contributed positively to our experience. However, after staying here for eight days, we feel that the service, food quality, housekeeping, entertainment and all-inclusive offering need significant improvement before the overall experience genuinely matches the resort’s five-star positioning and price."

"Superb service, great food. Very niet rooms, wellicht designed."

"We had an overall very pleasant stay and found the hotel to offer very good value for money. The hotel is located quite far south on Rhodos, in a rather quiet and remote area. This is great if you are looking for a relaxing stay, although it obviously means longer distances if you want to explore other parts of the island. The beach itself is fine, but nothing particularly exceptional. The hotel has excellent infrastructure. The rooms are modern, bright and spacious, there are several large pools and a good variety of restaurants. We also liked the spacious and light lobby area. The entire hotel was very clean, and housekeeping was consistently polite and did a very good job. One drawback in the room was the lack of proper closets and storage space. For three people staying for a week, there was simply not enough space for our clothes and belongings. We had a room with our own swimming pool, which we used quite extensively! :-) Breakfast offered a very good variety, and the live piano music in the morning was a particularly nice touch. Food quality overall, however, was rather average. The à la carte restaurants were noticeably better, while the food offered around the pool and beach areas was unfortunately quite poor and did not match the otherwise good standard of the hotel. The evening entertainment was somewhat inconsistent in quality. Also, having most of it around the pool bar did not create a particularly special evening atmosphere. On the positive side, we really enjoyed the fitness program in the open-air area. A particular strength of the hotel is its staff and service. The team at the Kids Club was very pleasant and competent, room service was efficient and extremely convenient, and the reception team was exceptionally helpful and customer-oriented. Unfortunately, our daughter became ill during our stay, and this is where the quality of the service really became apparent. The reception staff and hotel management showed genuine interest in her condition and went out of their way to support us, including helping to organize special food for her. We greatly appreciated the personal attention and flexibility during a difficult few days. Overall, despite some weaknesses – particularly the food quality at the pool and beach and the limited storage space in the rooms – we had a positive impression of the hotel. The modern facilities, cleanliness, spacious surroundings and, above all, the excellent attitude of the staff make it a very good choice for a relaxing family holiday in the south of Rhodos."