Lydia Maris Resort & spa

Absolutely fantastic experience with Gustavo! He is such a happy, positive and genuinely welcoming person who puts 100% into everything he does. From the moment you meet him, you can tell how much he cares about making every single guest feel comfortable, valued and truly welcome. Gustavo is absolutely amazing at his job. His energy, enthusiasm and attention to every person really stand out, and he goes above and beyond to make sure everyone has a great experience. He is a real asset to the hotel, and his positive attitude makes such a difference. Thank you, Gustavo, for being so wonderful and for making everyone feel so welcome. You are truly amazing at what you do! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was our first visit to Rhodes and we have fallen in love with the place! Kolymbia is a great area to stay with plenty on offer to keep our family of 7 entertained. As other reviews state - Lydia Maris is officially a 5* hotel, which will cost you the highest rate of tourist tax €105 per room. However, I would say it is between a 3/4 star. We took a few trips through Kolymbia on Hoppy electric Scooters and saw a number of true 5* hotels that were clearly luxury complexes . That saying, for the price we paid for a week during the 6 week holidays, I think Lydia Maris was reasonably priced for the standard. It could just do with an accurate rating. What we liked: Lydia Maris is a good sized complex for families. It was a short walk from our rooms to the pool, meaning that it wasn’t a trek to nip back to the room. There were plenty of sun beds on offer. Although poolside loungers were already taken by around 7am but we preferred to be a bit further back anyway. The Animation team were extremely hard working. Each day, they offered Aqua Gym, Water Polo, Darts, ping pong, a kid’s disco ant 9pm and an evening show. Kid’s club activities don’t happen every day but during the week, my youngest took part in pizza making and cookie making which he enjoyed. Gustavo - the animation team leader - must get a shout out for his skills in multi languages, remembering names of guests and making everyone feel like his long lost friend from the moment you arrive. He’s fab. My youngest loved Kiki who led on kid’s club. The food was good, with delicious Gyros available from 11-5 from the grill. The lady who works there deserves a medal! There was also the pizza bar open daily and the restaurant served a good range of food 3 times a day. We enjoyed trying new dishes at the themed evenings. Drinks were readily available throughout the day. Beer and wine on tap, soft drinks and spirits/cocktails at the pool bar or lobby bar. Our rooms were of a decent standard and the cleaners are exceptional. They keep the rooms and grounds spotless. The pool is a good size, particularly if you have children younger than 10. We felt comfortable to let them play and make friends with other children and they were never too far away. There was good variation in the depth of the pool and it never felt over crowded. The location of the hotel was great. There was a bus stop opposite with buses to Lindos and Rhodes Town available. The centre of Kolymbia was a few minutes away with a good range of shops, restaurants and bars. We made use of the local car/motorbike hire, and hired a scooter(bike) for just €30 for the day so that we could get to other bays for snorkelling. There were many groups of multi generational (grandparents, parents and children) families from all over Europe which added to a lovely atmosphere at the hotel. We met some really lovely people. What could be better: The all inclusive alcoholic drinks were on the watery side. If you wanted something stronger then it would cost you €8 per drink. Our room was at the front of the hotel overlooking the carpark, generator and septic tank meaning that we didn’t sit out on our balcony due to the noise and smell. If we’d had a room further into the complex it would be quite noisy throughout the day until 11pm. We would have liked a double bed rather than 2 singles pushed together. The mattresses were very hard too. The swim up rooms look lovely and of a very high standard. We’d consider one of those next time. Our balcony door didn’t lock. However, we didn’t have any problem with safety or security thankfully. The animation team could do with varying their daily activities as it was repetitive. Also, some daily activities and entertainment with the children including pool games would have been welcome. We played bingo on the first night. This cost us €50 for 5 cards. The prizes were great but I was expecting the entertainment to be included in an all inclusive holiday. It would have been good to have had some external entertainment like a singer, dancer etc… just for some variation on an evening. This doesn’t take away from the hard work of the animation team though. We paid €70 to keep our room until 6pm on our final day as we weren’t leaving until 9pm. The hotel could do with some better options for guests not leaving until late. All in all, we really enjoyed our week at Lydia Maris. We loved Rhodes and could have easily spent another week there exploring the island. It is beautiful. For the price we paid, we were satisfied with Lydia Maris.

Really enjoyed this hotel. Everything was clean and ready to go. The food was excellent every day, I normally have a few rough meals at an all inclusive, but we loved every meal. We have a son that uses a mobility chair and we were able to use this around the hotel. We had a room with a swim up pool - this was fantastic as we could have some quiet time before going out to the main pool area. Everything was brilliant, the ONLY criticism I have is that the bar staff weren’t very cheery. Sometimes they didn’t even make eye contact when sliding a drink across the bar. Our cleaning maid was called Maria, she was absolutely fantastic. So friendly and seemed so excited to see us every day. She is a real asset to the hotel team. I would definitely go here again and definitely recommend it to others.

We stayed for a week July into August.  For reference, this is my 10th time in Rhodes, and 2nd time in Kolymbia.  Stayed in Kalethea and Ixia prior.  We love Rhodes.   We had an enjoyable stay, but a couple of things to note, which on reflection was apparent on good and bad reviews.   Hotel is labelled as a 5* but it just isnt.  This is a 3* with a few bells on.  A walk around Kolymbia at what 4* or 5* gets you in Rhodes in 2026 will tell you this hotel falls short.  Look, feel and quality.    This hotel seems to be a favourite with large groups / families.    Location within Kolymbia also isnt too bad, but not great. With a decent walk to the beach, if its hot, its not an enjoyable walk. /but you are about 5 mins to a stretch of bars and restaurants and a handy bus stop outside.   Ill start with the positives: -Spa facilities are decent, and nicely priced £20 euro for 20 mins, £40 for 30 mins I think maybe £60 for 60 mins… I might be wrong.  I paid £40 for a 30 min  foot and leg massage, and it was enjoyable.  A great price. -Food is pretty decent, with Gyros and Pizza offered for lunch options whilst outside in pool clothes, evening and breakfast I found enjoyable.  Always found a table even at the busiest of periods.  A lot of repeatable items but some decent occasional items.  Food was well cooked and seasoned.  Gyros were excellent.  I would say better than average compared to other local hotels I've stayed at. -Plenty of sun beds, but pool side beds are snapped up by 7am. -The pool itself is excellent with lots of different depths depending on activity you want.  My daughter loved the pool. - Animation staff try very hard and make everyone feel welcome and always adding a bit of energy to the guests. They do an excellent job.  though has to be said by day 5 hearing titanic theme tune at 11am was getting tiresome. -Staff are probably the best asset of the hotel.  They seem genuinely happy and work as a team.  Lots of laughs and jokes being shared which creates a lovely atmosphere. They remember people, and their preferences. - Our room was lovely and spacious  - we had a swim up room – these rooms seem to be a lot more spacious than some of the others we saw.   Negative -              Unexpected things that cost which I wouldn’t expect at a 4*… let a lone a “5*” -Safe costs £20Euro.  (free in literally any other hotel ive stayed in within Rhodes) -Pool towels £10 per towel -Pool side coffee  - Not included in All inc -              Layout is all over the show and tight.  Being near the main pool has its pros and cons.  It can be quite loud, but also gives excellent access to everything. Consequently around the pool area it is VERY slippery and I saw alot of guests slip over due to narrow walkways and water from the pool. Alot of people on grass which was quite muddy by the end of the day.  again leads to wet/mud on paths, which again I saw people slide and nearly fall on a few occasions.  I doubt this can be avoided but something to be mindful of. -              Theres a general feel of tiredness on the look and feel we saw.  Towels we were provided on occasion had holes in and thread bare.  A lot of cracked tiles, broken steps, and general look in places of wear and tear. -              We didn’t see any entertainment , it seemed to be all animation team led.  Ie a singer, or musician.  Again, other 4* hotels ive been to in Rhodes this is a standard.   I know I am probably being nit picky on these points… but as a “5*” hotel, if you want that status, this is the standard you are holding yourselves to. The reason I say this, is that you are charged for the 5* rating.  If it was a 3* hotel all these points are probably ignored and you are charged a lot less tourist tax.  As it stands you are charged £105 Euro so the hotel can call itself 5* and I think that’s where my grudge is from.  If you call yourself and charge me for a 5* then Ill hold you to that level.   We arrived and in total we paid an extra £145Euro before we had even got to our room.  (Tax, towel, safe)    One other thing that just let the experience down was lack of decent shower facilities.  We had a full last day and had a airport pick up around 7pm.  So enquired about a shower / change room.  Was advsed there was a shower in the pool toilet.  The experience of showering my daughter and myself in a dark hut with a soaking wet and sand filled floor, whilst someone is knocking on the door to use the toilet just really irritated me, “is this a 5 star experience?”  I had the lightest of rinses and walked wet to the reception toilets and changed there instead.   Doesn’t scream 5* However if you expect 3* and a few extras, its not bad.  We still enjoyed the holiday, but just felt short changed the way through as we had been taxed for 5*.   Majority of good reviews on here seem to be from large groups and I think it serves that crowd really well with the setup and facilities.  You wont have a bad holiday here, but with the points Ive made, will definitely irk you.