Solemar Hotel

The hotel has had a revamp and whilst i cant fault the room itself there are a few things which let it down. Our family room was in a small annex with a terribly kept back garden area , the balcony was shocking- barely room for 4 chairs and a bottle of volvic water to collect water from the downpipe from the roof, we had to empty this twice a day otherwise it would overflow and spill dirty water all over the balcony floor, no view and there were a collection of empty glasses sat on the landing for 3 days. This was the 2nd room we were offered as the original family room on arrival was in a different annex , the balcony was completely enclosed by a huge hedge (to disguise the side of another building) but the noise from the local live music bar round the corner was ridiculously loud until 1am, and could still hear it with the balcony doors closed- thankfully they managed to move us to the other family room with the unsightly garden area and waterlogged balcony for 2 people. Our flight home was 10pm and we were not able to keep our room past 11am, it was only the evening before we then were told we had to prebook a time to use the shower, and the only slots left were lunch time of after our coach was due to collect us. Never heard anything so ridiculous as booking shower slots, allowing people on first come first served basis seems to work in every other hotel. you are provided with 1 small water bottle on arrival, under the guise that they are a “eco labelled hotel” and therefore promote the reduction of single use plastic. Would be a commendable thing to say however the number of single use plastic containers for snacks is unbelievable! They also like to cut up bananas into 4 pieces and put each piece individually into its own plastic container. , rather than just leave out whole bananas for people to enjoy. So either a lame excuse to provide minimal offerings of refreshments in room or they should be *****ped pf their eco friendly label. Ixia in general was a disappointment, its a very busy road with just typical holiday resort souvenir shops and restaurants with the same menus / same prices and therefore a poor standard of food in general- was surprised at how pricey it was to eat here - €100 for a family of 4 that was bread and dips, 4 mains and drinks, It was unfortunately a necessity as the food in the hotel was very hit or miss. Breakfast was ok and the snack bar for hot food was too, dinner was disappointing with much of the food lacking any flavour or heat at all. Snacks consisted of tiny portions of fruit, dried up cake and poor sandwiches. The AI drinks are poor, the wine is self pour from a big metal machine which has seen better days and really not nice and the beer isn’t even Mythos the local beer, this one isn’t enjoyable- all drinks are served in paper cups if not being drank in the bar in the evening - why not invest in some good quality reusable plastic glasses to stop us feeling we are at a kids party. To be honest, we

We loved Rhodes and had a lovely holiday but this particular hotel wasn’t the best choice for us. As a couple in our early 50’s we like a nice relaxed atmosphere. Here around the pool it was far too overcrowded, sunbeds all on top of eachother & that’s my idea of hell. So most of our days we explored other areas on the island or they were spent relaxing down at Velon beach bar which I would highly recommend if you want to chill and have your own space. ( go out of the hotel, walk left for about 5 mins). We ended up going out every single day so spent quite a lot of extra money. Its not something we would usually want to do when we’ve paid for all inclusive. If we were to visit Rhodes again we would probably choose to go B&B as there are so many nice places to eat. Ixia is a lovely area though, the sea was beautiful. We we’re allocated a room on the 5th floor with partial sea view, it wasn’t massive but was nicely decorated with good air con, we slept well, the bed was creaky but really comfy. The bad points the shower was tiny and the wood sink unit was falling apart, the water from the shower soaked it every time and it flooded the bathroom, it was definitely a slip hazard. Also being on the top floor with only having one tiny lift that fit 3 people in, this could be a problem for some with mobility issues, it didn’t bother us walking up and down the stairs until the last day when everyone seemed to be checking out at the same time. We waited for almost 30mins trying to get downstairs with 2 cases, the lift being full every time it was an absolute joke, we ended up carrying the cases down which wasn’t easy. The carpets on the stairs were also quite grotty. The food I found to be ok. I suppose you could always find something to eat. Breakfast the yoghurt wasn’t the best it looked very artificial colouring and was tasteless and the orange juice out of the machine wasn’t great, but the freshly squeezed juice we discovered on day 2 was very nice, some melon would have also been nice at breakfast. Plenty of other choices though. The restaurant can get quite busy and with there being lots of different nationalities in this hotel, some that don’t seem to know what a queue is, it wasn’t always the best experience at meal times. We we’re never there for lunch in the restaurant so can’t comment on that although we did eat late one afternoon in the upstairs snack bar, it was nice enough food for a snack but we found the lady who worked up there could do with being a bit more cheerful, I accidentally spilt a drink and told her and she wasn’t best pleased, she seemed annoyed and put out, If she’d have given me a cloth I would have wiped it up myself. Also the different music from the poolside and the music from the snack bar could be heard at the same time which was enough to give anyone a headache. Evening meal was all fine, no complaints there. I really don’t mind having to get your own drinks but some may not like the lack of waiter service in th

Holidayed with my 14 y/o daughter. Hotel was really clean and tidy. Room was compact but had what we needed. Sea view was lovely. Air conditioning was good. We did have a leak from the bathroom sink that was mended really quickly. I agree that the pool is small for the number of people particularly with inflatables and balls. It was cloudy sometimes. It was hard to get a sun bed after 8am but this is a problem at most hotels in peak season. There are notices about not reserving sun beds which are ignored and it was frustrating seeing people having to use chairs when some sun beds remained unused for a lot of the day. People complaining about the beach obviously didn’t do their research beforehand and it’s not the fault of the hotel that it’s pebbly! Food was tasty, good selection. Drinks were fine, although a lot of Grenadine used so all cocktails tasted pretty much the same! My disappointment is with checking out. I appreciate they have a quick turnaround time but the facilities they offer for showering (if you have a late flight so are hanging around all day) are not great (really hot, no AC) and you have to book a slot only to then find out the slots have been double booked. Was really easy to get the bus to Rhodes Town from right outside the hotel. It was a good holiday. Would I come to this hotel again? Probably not. Would I recommend it to others? Yes but would manage their expectations.

We have just returned from 10 days here and just wanted to warn others about the reality of choosing this hotel. We chose this hotel as we traveled with another family and all wanted to ensure we had Family Rooms for our children (we paid a lot extra for these rooms) We arrived in the early hours of the morning and were shown to a double room, with two single beds pushed against the wall! Not the two connecting rooms we had paid for. We were told by reception that was all that was available and to speak to reception in the morning - awful start to a holiday! We soon learned there were countless others in wrong/unsuitable rooms and reception were inundated with complaints. We were not spoken to by a manager once when we were there and it became clear (to avoid spending our holiday complaining at reception) we simply had to stick with the room we were in and try and get compensation once home. The pool situation is truly dire. There are nowhere near enough sunbeds for the guests and all are taken by 8am. The sunbeds that are there are mainly broken and extremely uncomfortable. If you are expecting the white parasols that are shown in the pictures don’t be! Instead they have rope parasols that offer no shade whatsoever. Not suitable at all for small children to enjoy a day by the pool. The pool is also far too small for the number of guests. The All Inclusive drinks, (other than the beer) are sadly undrinkable. Kid’s Club was in a small room with no air conditioning and we were instructed by a sign outside not to leave any food or drinks. After half an hour we decided to check on the children as we were concerned by the heat, only to discover the animation team could not offer any water to the children! Thank goodness we went back to check and needless to say we did not bother with Kid’s Club again. I had such high hopes for this hotel from previous reviews but having holidayed countless times in Greece and at other 4 Star hotels, this just sadly is not up to par. Providing guests with the rooms they have booked and paid for and with a sunbed and parasol by the pool, is not really asking for much. I hope the many other unhappy guests we encountered take time to write a review, in the hope this hotel can make some urgent changes. Finally, the one saving grace of our holiday was Annita, who managed the restaurant. She was incredible from start to finish and made our families feel so welcome. She manages the restaurant impeccably well and we always found something delicious to eat. I hope she is recognised by the hotel for her hard work and dedication and I would highly recommend her being promoted - she would have that hotel running like the 4 star it should be, in no time!

Nice location in Ixia not far from Rhodes Town - public bus is nearby. Too many people in the hotel by the pool, in the restaurant. The food was average. The room was not comfortable (double room). Animation show in the evenings was very good..