I'm not familiar with the Rodos Palladium but it looks to be a much bigger hotel than the Mare. I'd say a lot depends on your prefered location. The Palladium is in an area to the South of Faliraki with many similar large hotels, Mare is in a more isolated spot in between Kalathos and Lindos. Being on a hillside the Mare has fantastic views across Vlicha Bay. I can't tell you if the music by the pool is a problem as i've only been into the Mare to drop off or collect people but it's not a blaring music, party kind of place.

For real Greek charm i'd hop in a cab from either hotel. From the Palladium take a cab to Rhodes Old Town and from the Mare into Lindos or for a small very greek village, Lardos (Kalathos is your nearest but built along a main road it's not the prettiest of places).

I'm with you on the Tina Turner tribute... not my kind of holiday

the entertainments manager at the palladium is a friend of mine so i know this place pretty well and it's a lovely hotel,very modern and plush by greek standards and extremely international,a lot of wealthier eastern europeans stay there though and i fiond them to be the most unpleasant people on earth but hey! Can't really comment on the lindos mare as i dont get down that way much(beautiful but far too hot and stuffy even for locals!)but it does have an excellent reputation as being a premier hotel,if you want a big corporate style place similar to those in spain etc then any of the aldemar/mare/grecotel style places are for you,but if you want a 'traditional greek' experience i personally don't think you'll find it in either place,nor in any of the other branded chain hotels,what you really need to do is stay in one of the higher quality apartment style properties,these are almost exclusively family owned and run and are the only way to really experience tradition on this amazing island,hard to find that when all the staff are wearing waistcoats,speaking 6 languages and serving mass-cooked stew in a giant buffet hall while a bunch of poorly paid 'professional' teenagers sing abba songs on a stage!

Hi,

Thank you both for your replies.

Marcuschap, I must remember to take a trip to Lardos - is it tucked away in the mountainside or is it by the beach?

I have been to Rhodes Town a few times and I visited Lindos (just for the day) but it was a long time ago now, and I dare say it may have changed a lot. I used to stay in Reni Koskinou (sp?) near Kalithea at the Paradise Royal Mare Hotel, which at the time was a really lovely hotel, but reading reports its now changed beyond recognition and seems to get a lot of bad reports: so I've totally ruled that one out.

Sambacasual, it sounds like the Palladium Hotel has similar guests to the Paradise Hotel if the reports are anything to go by. I know what you mean about large hotels - they could be almost anywhere in the world in a way. But we definitely want something beachside, and that's good standard. We prefer to go half board (or even B&B) as we like to choose where and when to eat. The Palladium is all-inclusive, which did me off a bit, anyway - we like to eat out in the local restaurants on holiday - so all-inclusive would be a waste of money I suppose. But we also want somewhere that lays on traditional Greek entertainment (even though it can sometimes be cheesy - I still like it!)

Are there any apartments you could recommend that are by the beach and have entertainment?

Thanks again.

Strawberry

I'd seriously look at Pefkos,most of the apartments there are either right by or 1-200yds from the sandy beach and the resort has a good mix of traditional tavernas and international restaurants,a few british type bars and a few more greek places,a good mix that tends to attract couples and families rather than big groups although if you do want some 'nightlife' there a couple of places open really late with a DJ and so on,most of the properties that are right i the resort are family run as most of the large hotels tend to be out of town and Pefkos on the whole tends to be of a higher standard accomodation wise than some of the resorts further north and the ones with a bar area tend to be the best bet for 'greek night' type entertainment,but as with all of greece you're always extremely welcome to visit neighbouring hotels for there shows and activities,that to me makes a holiday in a way that the animation teams in the big hotels will never match. there's plenty of info on here regarding pefkos and from what i've seen bad reviews are rare,it's a lovely place and my favourite resort on the island,apart from faliraki but that's more because it's home!

Hi Sambacasual,

Thanks for that advice about Pefkos - I have taken a look at it, and it does like nice. I'm still unsure where to actually stay, though; I would prefer a hotel, preferably right by the beach.

As you live out there (lucky you!) you obviously know the island really well. When you say non-residents can visit neighbouring hotels to join in their Greek nights: does that apply to most of them? I'm now wondering whether to stay at the Lindos Mare, and if they have those animation teams in the evening we could take ourselves off to a neighbouring hotel (or taverna) where they have something traditionally Greek going on - we'd definitely want to eat out quite a few times in local tavernas, anyway. Are there any hotels or tavernas you could recommend in Pefkos or Lindos which has good food and Greek entertainment?

One more thing, although we're looking for a nice hotel to stay in, the only downside to that is sometimes it can be a bit too formal, and we want to get into holiday mode if that makes sense. So we want somewhere that has all the nice facilities etc, but isn't too stuffy. Do you know if the Lindos Mare has many Brits staying there? I always think it's nice when you get to meet other Brits on holiday so you can have a drink and chat in the evenings, rather than being the only English-speaking people amongst a hotel full of Eastern Europeans who may not speak English (no offence to Eastern Europeans!) It's just nice to meet new people on holiday and be able to chat to them, I think that's part of the holiday - besides meeting the local Greeks too, of course.

Thanks again.

Strawberry

Hi Strawberry, got my north and South mixed up a bit there, obviously the Palladium is North of Faliraki!

Lardos is inland but not far from the coast (about 5-10 mins drive from Pefkos). From the Mare it would also be a 10 minute drive as there's a road nearby that takes the inland route via Pylona. Not sure about the mix but there's at least two uk tour ops in the Mare so there does tend to be quite a few Brits.

If you've only seen Lindos as a daytripper you'll see a totally different side to the village at night. It has a much more intimate (and a lot less crowded!) atmosphere with some great restaurants and bars, where you can sit on a roof terrace and take in the views. You won't find entertainment in the village though as it's difficult to get a licence. They do offer greek nights, etc at the complexes up on Krana and they are open to non-residents, Lindos Gardens and Lindos View being two of the biggest. Lots of great restaurants depending on what you're looking for, Dionysos and Olympia are very good or Timi's if you like meze, there's To Kamariko for greek dishes but something a bit different and upmarket options Ambrosia and Arhontiko. In Lardos Roula's is my favourite, a great family run place, i've also heard great reports of Savvas.

Sorry didn't explain that clearly. Because of the preservation order on the village, building in Lindos is very restricted so quite a few modern, apartment complexes have been built just above Lindos on Krana hill. That's where you'll find Lindos Gardens/View where they hold traditional greek nights... as well as the dreaded Karaoke, so pick your night wisely! lol

i can't really say whether there's many eastern europeans in the mare but i'd hazard a guess there's a few around,as for pefkos,there's a lot of properties right on the the little lanes that lead onto the main beach,the pefki village resort is a nice one,not sure which company has it now but before they got taken over by TUI first choice had it. With regards to outside of your hotel,most of the places that have a bar that has entertainment tend to be built with access to the street so as they can get other customers in so yes,i'd say over 90% of them would welcome you,you'll find in a resort like pefkos all the hoteliers have been living in that resort or the nearest inland village for generations so very often all the apartments,bars,restaurants,watersports,shops and even taxis are owned by brothers,uncles,cousins and so on,or they've grown up and been in the industry together as friends since their school days and have family members married to friends family members,village of the damned style in a way,for instance the family i work for own the bar i work in,4 shops in the same group of buildings,all the apartments above,the internet cafe 5 doors down,a local 24 hour pool bar,one of the niteclubs,a hotel,part of the local football stadium and 2 or 3 tavernas between the various arms of the family,all in the same square mile or so of resort,so EVERYONE that is a patron of one business is seen as a special guest of all the others!

One thing you can do also is just approach a taxi driver and ask him to take you to a taverna in the hills that has some kind of music or dancing on,or to a village bouzoukia somewhere,chances are he'll tell you 'my cousin nikos has a beautiful restaurant,i will take you!' and you'll have the night of your life while all the other tourists are sat watching some sunburnt drunk ruining a frank sinatra song

God i love Greece