"We spent 10 nights at the Virginia Family resort in May.
We arrived at approximately 10 pm. The transfer was over an hour as there were a few drop offs on the way, with the coach driver driving in a large loop from the airport, dropping those at Virginia nearly last, even though we were closest in one direction from the airport. This obviously meant a much longer journey for us. We also waited some time at the airport for other passengers, presumably from other flights to arrive and join the coach. For the return journey, the coach seemed to have done the same loop, we were the penultimate pick up, so we’re at the airport within 20 minutes.
On arrival at Virginia, it was a quick check-in. No information provided about the resort, amenities etc except those on display at the front desk - namely Wi-Fi code and meal/bar times across the resort. As we’d arrived late, we’d missed dinner, with the restaurant closing at 9 pm. We were told there was a selection of sandwiches and soup for our late dinner. In the restaurant we found a container of lukewarm warm nondescript soup, some dry rolls (no butter), slices of some sort of loaf cake and two bowls containing badly bruised apples and pears. As there was nowhere else locally that we were aware of serving food, we ate a little of what was provided, as it was that or go to bed hungry. Reading other reviews, this is not a unique experience. Over our time at the hotel, I did notice with other late arrivals around 9 pm, guests were encouraged to get food prior to checking in before the restaurant closed.
Room
We had booked a comfort room. Ours was located in one of the independent buildings, which was set across three floors to the side of the main hotel building. There was no assistance to carry suitcases up the stairs and no lift in our block. We are able bodied, so could manage, but this would be an obstacle to less able or those with small children.
The room had a king sized bed, two single beds and a cot set up. We had to ask reception to remove the cot, which was a weird addition to the room considering there was only two of us. The room felt grimy and poorly lit. We sanitising and cleaning the room with our own products, to make it feel less grimy. The room was basic but functional for the most part. The mattress was reasonably comfortable but as others have said, the pillows are awful, lumpy, flat and small. A mark of a good hotel is the quality of the pillows, these are awful and caused neck pain.
There was a wardrobe with two small drawers and eight clothes hangers. A small safe by modern standards, just big enough for two iPads sitting upright, along with other personal items. It was a game of Tetris every time we loaded the safe back up. The wardrobe was big enough for two adults, but I’m not sure how you’d manage if there was 4/5 people as the room clearly accommodates.
In the bathroom there was a rainfall shower and separate hand held shower head. We did not have an issue of the floor flooding as others have noted. There was a slight lip in the tiles at the edge of the shower preventing the majority of the water escaping, the tiles also slopped towards the drain. Frustratingly there was only one small hook for all towels. Nowhere to hang hand towels by the sink, so towels remained damp. There was also limited storage area for belongings and no shower caddy, so toiletries sat on the shower floor. There was also no extractor fan in the bathroom. The bathroom itself was a generous size and could have easily accommodated some very basic additions to enhance the users experience.
Whilst there are blackout curtains on the main patio doors, there were two small windows, one in the bathroom and one by the front door without curtains or blinds. The bathroom door was frosted glass. This meant at night, external lights streamed into the room, hampering sleep. In the end we had to purchase eye masks. There was no aircon, which we’d been made aware of after booking the holiday. Though the easyJet advert does state it’s only available in the summer months. The room was insufferably hot at night, but not wanting to risk mosquitoes entering , we did not want to leave the patio open. Also, we were facing the road and a lorry park opposite, which was noisy enough with the door closed. There was a thin duvet and blanket provided that we utilised on and off throughout the night as the temperature dropped considerably in the middle of the night. It was evident from the state of both that they are not washed in between guest stays. I don’t want to think about it but include pictures of some of the stains 🫣. After a few days of poor sleep, we asked reception if they could provide a fan, the receptionist said she could open the aircon, which was a god send, but frustrating that we had to ask. The temperature was set by reception so we had no control in the room.
Towels were changed frequently but not daily. Bed linen was changed a couple of times and the floor was wiped over. There was a fridge, two small bottles of water provided on arrival, but never replaced. A kettle, but no plug nearby unless you moved the whole dresser unit, which hid a socket. There were a couple of teabags and one sachet of coffee. No iron as other reviews have stated. If there is a laundry or ironing service, there was no freely provided information about this.
As stated above, our room overlooked the main road at the front of the hotel, we could see the sea in the distance. However, this is marred by a local refuse centre with large bins, next to derelict land/dumping ground/ lorry park and the hotel car park to one side. The balcony had a glass table which seemed to attract dust from the road despite our attempts to wipe it down, two rattan chairs, plus a small clothes horse attached to the wall.
The cistern to the toilet in our room had an internal leak. It took maintenance a couple of days to fix, which was done when we were out for breakfast. When we returned, it looked like someone had vomited in the sink or there had been some sort of back-flow from the sinks drain. As we needed to use it, we had to sanitise ourselves. Not pleasant. The maintenance person also appeared to have cut themselves (hope he’s ok), leaving a few drops of blood on our hand towel. By one of the single beds, there was an electrical junction box with exposed wires, as we weren’t utilising the bed, this wasn’t an issue.
Food and drink
Breakfast was ok and provided in the main restaurant. It was a reasonable selection, omelette station, fried eggs, freshly made pancakes etc. A very small selection of cold meats and even less of cheese (no feta), just nondescript, cheap tasteless white cheese. There was also bacon, a type of ultra processed sausage, different types of cooked eggs, beans etc. Bowls of yogurt, jams, cut and dried fruit etc. bread and cereal so you could find something. Coffee was nondescript and weak. If you want a barista coffee from the bar, there is an additional charge.
Lunch was served at the main pool bar. This included a small salad bar, cooked foods such as pastas, bolognaise, fish, and other baked dishes, pizza, there was pork kebabs once that we saw, chicken gyros was served daily and chips. It was pretty much the same every day. There were desserts too and self-scoop ice cream. They continued to serve gyros, chips, pizza and ice cream as the “snack bar”.
There was a pool bar where you could get alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks including tea and coffee. There was also a separate self service station that you could get beer & wine on tap, unbranded fizzy drinks and water.
The bar tender doubled as the lifeguard- not sure how that works. She infrequently walked around the pool collecting glasses and at the end of the day tidied sun beds. Very hard working and helpful.
Dinner was served in the main restaurant. There were a selection of salads, oven baked dishes, occasional there would be freshly grilled meats. A selection of desserts and fruits. As others have said, you can always find something, however dishes are repetitive and often lacking in flavour- but this is mass catering for a variety of palettes. We found ourselves eating out a few nights just to mix it up. The chairs in the main dining area are dirty and covered in ugly stains, they are really off putting and frankly unhygienic, they could do with a good deep clean.
À la carte
Only one of the three à la carte (Greek) restaurants was open when we visited in May. We had no issues booking, this could be done at reception or via the app (which we only found out about after booking at reception). Like other reviews have stated, this is a set menu of meza - coleslaw (that traditional Greek dish), cream cheese, tzatziki, fried sliced paprika sausage, butter beans in a tomato sauce, moussaka, some sort of fried cheese balls served with a bread roll each. For the main meat platter - pork slovaki, ground beef kebab, chicken breast, some sort of nondescript sausage, a chunk of roasted lamb on a bed of chips and a very large dollop of Greek yogurt. You could purchase wines, beer, branded drinks, or you could request the AI wine or beer. The meza was passable, but the meat was awful, dry and tasteless.
Drinks in the lobby bar were ok, non-branded spirits/beer. The local wine served at the restaurant and bar was ok. People seemed to be enjoying the drinks on offer and we didn’t hear any complaints.
Pools and entertainment
There are two main pool areas. A quieter one by reception that comprises two small pools and a jacuzzi that never worked. We found the loungers there uncomfortable.
The main pool, which had a small area for kids with a small self contained pool. There was one water slide that finished at the end of the main pool. When we were there, there was always sufficient sun-beds and no 7am scramble. The poolside and beds were always covered in bird poo, which did not seem to be cleaned frequently. Weeds were growing along the side of the pool overflow/filtration system and tiles were broken and coming up along various sections of the pool area. The pool was unheated and so in mid May, few takers. You can use inflatables in the pool.
There were a few activities in the day, such as darts, aqua aerobics, pool volleyball. I only saw kids in the mini club a few times. The entertainment team were really friendly and energetic, always coming round and trying to get people involved. There were paid for games, such as pool and air hockey. Lots of people seemed to enjoy the evening entertainment, but we really didn’t get involved. We did enjoy three men who sang opera type music, they were clearly very talented and there was another trio who sang more modern music another night, who were also good. There were other various activities in the evening like quizzes and audience participation comic activities that people seemed to really enjoy. Music was also played at a reasonable level by the main pool during the day and in the lobby bar in the evenings, which created a nice atmosphere.
Towels
Beach towels are hired from reception, you pay a €10 deposit per towel, you need to keep the receipt for a refund. You can change the towels daily. Towels were of variable quality, some okay standard, whilst others were visibly old, stained, some with holes and tethered in places. As we were using for a few hours, it wasn’t the end of the world. Towels in the rooms on the other hand were supposed to be white, but were badly discoloured presumably from years of reuse. They are also small.
Staff
As others have said, the staff on the ground really make this place. They are very friendly, hospitable and hard working, but are clearly understaffed, overworked and doing multiple jobs, stretched across the entire hotel. This is shameful practice on the part of the hotel managers.
Onsite supermarket
The onsite supermarket prices are standard for a convenience store in a tourist location. €1 for a bottle of water, €3.50 for an ice cream. They were well stocked with a variety of everyday items and gifts.
Local area
As you exit the hotel and cross the road slightly to the left of the hotel, there is a steep road that takes you down to the local beach. This is not affiliated to the hotel, who does not have its own beach. When we visited, there wasn’t a business set up hiring out sun loungers or umbrellas, but you could lay your towel on the sand. We visited one late afternoon and it appeared unwelcoming, so we opted for other beaches that we drove to.
At the end of the road (less than 5 mins walk) is a taxi rank, with set prices to various locations in the island, this I understand is cheaper than hiring directly from the hotel, but taxis aren’t always stationed there in the day.
At the end of the road, if you turn right, there is a bus stop on the same side going to Rhodes old town, price €2 each way. Buses every 20 mins, but sometimes these pass as they are full. There is a timetable on the noticeboard by reception. There is a bus from Rhodes town that drops you back on the other side of the road, ask for Eden Roc. We opted for the bus to Rhodes old town as parking is a nightmare.
If you continue walking in the same direction along the road, about a mile, you’ll come to three different supermarkets, one of which was a lidls.
In the opposite direction, you’ll come to a section with bars and restaurants and a small supermarket. We didn’t try any. There is a car hire place there too - Independent rent a car and a massage place with very reasonable prices, though ran out of time to try.
There is a restaurant right next door to the hotel, to the right, which seemed to be popular.
We hired a car from cars 4 rental, which operates from the hotel. It was €110 for three days. We had a Hyundai i10. The car was very basic, there were issues with the tyre sensor, we checked the tyres, which were ok, but the light remained on. There was no water in the windscreen wiper reserve, when we topped this up, it poured out at the bottom. The car had seen better days and was clearly on its last legs, rattling away as we drove. But not wanting to waste our holiday dealing with the issues, we made do. We had looked at Independent rent a car they wanted €35 a day for a VW up or a panda both manual. However we opted for convenience than anything else, which we regretted as the car we were given was a banger. Based on this experience I would not recommend cars4rental. In hindsight and given the longer than needed transfer, we would have booked a hire car direct from the airport, which would have been more predictable and given us greater freedom.
We visited Lindos, which was disappointing due to being overly commercialised and packed with tourists. We didn’t visit the acropolis as one of us had done it years ago and was overpriced.
We visited a couple of lovely beaches.
We visited the butterfly nature trail, no butterflies at this time of year and €3 entry. It’s a tough walk if not fit, please also wear sensible shoes/trainers or you will struggle with the uneven terrain and steep steps.
We visited a local village )Koskinou Κοσκινού) during the day, pretty quiet streets. We visited again in the evening when it came to life with some lovely restaurants. We ate at Karavelladika which was exceptional quality and good value for money. Would highly recommend.
Final thoughts on the hotel. We paid £750 each for flights from Gatwick for 10 nights. We came out of school holidays and at the start of the season. We think this was a fair price for what we got, although cleanliness around the pool was an issue and uncomfortable pillows. Had we paid more for the holiday, we would have been very upset. We can therefore understand some of the bad reviews, as prices are considerably higher at peak times. The staff really make this place, evident by repeated visits from tourists who report loving the place, but notice how it’s going downhill. It was noticeably quiet whilst we were there and we overheard that bookings are really down at the moment, which could also be due to geopolitical factors outside the hotels control, but it does make you wonder how much is also due to poor management and upkeep.
We don’t regret booking the holiday, we made the most of it and so would recommend based on the price we paid, but wouldn’t return."
