Blue Bay Beach Resort — Hotel in Municipality of Rhodes

Food is really nice, great varieties and have different themed nights eg, Mexican, BBQ, i recommend the italian restaraunt over the Greek one. Entertainment isn't the greatest and in need of improvement. Music around the pool area all day would be nice but there is only music when the entertainment crew around. No ent crew on a Monday. Why not have alternate days off between the team? Nice bar staff but waitresses often do not acknowledge a thank you when clearing tables even when we have tried to help clear them,however they do work very hard. Had to queue nearly 2 hours for nearest bus to Rhodes old town when it came was packed and couldn't get on. Locals told us they do not stick to a time table they do what they want so after waiting so long we ordered taxi via reception said it would be 15 minutes and it took nearly an hour. Taxi man very nice showed me message he recieved and he had only just been notified after we complained so somebody somewhere didn't send the taxi. We arranged with him to pick us back up €45 each way for 8 people. Clean towels given when needed. Go to spa for pool towels every morning and always have the same response - all in laundry. If you want a sun lounger you need to be at the pool between 6am and 8.30am on busy hot days. Watched somebody at 7.30am go out put 11 towels down and they didn't even use half of them all day. These were resort towels so it seems as though guests borrow from resort to save a lounger. People needing a towel have no luck so still bring own. They were clamping down on people saving loungers towards the end of the week. If it rains there is no entertainment as nowhere for it inside. Too windy at night. The ent crew were cheering clearing the pool saying yes we still get paid for doing nothing. Some of bar staff at breakfast not very friendly.(women) They are rushed off their feet but a smile or acknowledgement of a thank you would be nice. Gyro man rude! Basket ball/tennis court very run down other than that for older children there are a few pool tables and air hockey tables near the main pools. There is another kids club area for younger children but have not used this as more for nursery school age. Variety of pools is great. Any problems reported are fixed quickly and lots of people around to help so lots of positives aswell as the negative points. First time to a resort like this didn't realise how high up the rooms can be. Been put on the top floor and not good with younger children that like to climb as balcony wall low down. Emailed to request next to family as away for partners birthday, they put the birthday suprise in their room instead of ours which was funny. When I told man(possibly a manager) he kept just saying 'very nice' so maybe didn't understand us. Again having a great time so far. Pool areas to be more fun and more music and holiday vibes needed for us. DO NOT BOOK IF AFRAID OR HAVE ALLERGIES TO CATS there are lots of ferrel cats aloud to roam the resort even in the restaurant whilst your eating they come under your table and they let this happen. Some will climb and take food from your plate so do not leave it unattended. Also have token for drinks and given plastic half pint cups which to my partner is a few mouthfuls of lager. Then you have to queue again. Some bar staff tonight are quite arsey about the tokens too.(Nikos) Why not give pint cups? It is all inclusive. Ice creams not included in this. Have to buy bottles of water if leaving resort, although get 2 litre bottle free a day in room fridge put in by house keeping. Great resort but would give it 3* because of entertainment staff, the whole token set up, also I hate ferral cats covered in scabs around me whilst i eat. Pools do not open until 10am so entertaining the kids until this time when they wake at 6.30am can be somewhat hard. No entertainment crew around until then either. Planes go over quite close to the resort as they are coming down to the airport. You kind of get used to it so we don't mind. The big plus for me is that the resort is kept...

I went on this trip because, as a person of colour with a disability, the promise of an easy, carefree stay meant everything. Instead, I left Blue Bay Labranda feeling targeted, exhausted, and heart-sore. I should preface this by saying that reception and customer relations has been nothing but lovely and compassionate and very helpful. My review speaks for the rest of the staff: particularly the wait staff and housekeeping.

Within an hour of checking in, I went to dinner. Stray cats wander the property; I hadn’t been told the rules and, seeing another guest (an older white woman) feeding one, I offered a kitten a small piece of chicken. Staff immediately told me off—yet said nothing to the other guest, who fed cats all evening. From the very start, it felt like rules were being enforced against me alone.

The next day, I had an unavoidable work meeting in my room. I informed reception in advance so housekeeping wouldn’t be inconvenienced or interrupt. They came in anyway, and I had to break my meeting to address it. Reception apologised—but whatever was said afterwards seemed to make things worse. When I returned later, I found a smear of phlegm on my bathroom tap and a toilet roll replaced with one that appeared dirty. I tried to give the benefit of the doubt and went out for the day. That night, getting ready for bed, a foul smell made me pull back the sheets: there was a visible poo stain. It was past midnight; I stripped the bed myself and slept without sheets.

The unequal treatment continued in small, grinding ways. One morning, my white-passing friend walked out of breakfast with a plate of cakes for her room—no problem. Other guests were walking out with plates piled high, anyway. The next day I tried to take one apple and two biscuits, and I was told off and they had me walk out with the treats in napkins. The rule might exist, but it did not seem to apply equally.

At the Muses restaurant, where it was quiet, we were seated and handed menus—then ignored for half an hour. Guests who came in after us were served promptly, even watched over while they decided, and well into their meals. We had to flag down two different staff members before anyone took our order, and when they finally did, the manner was curt and impatient—so different from the warmth I saw extended to others.

These moments, each perhaps “explainable” in isolation, formed a pattern that was impossible to ignore. What separated me from the guests who were treated with consistent courtesy? Most people around me were white or white-passing. I am not. The only staff who consistently treated me with kindness were other people of colour (many of them Filipino), whose professionalism stood out all the more starkly against what I experienced elsewhere.

I don’t write this lightly. I paid well over €1,000 for a short stay, hoping for rest. Instead, I felt singled out by uneven rule-enforcement, neglected in service, and humiliated by what I found in my room. I cannot know the intention behind every action—but the impact was clear: I paid €1000 for daily microaggressions that turned a holiday into a slow, anxious scan of the room for the next slight.

Would I recommend Blue Bay Labranda? No. Facilities mean little when hospitality fails at the most basic promise: to keep guests safe, clean, and treated with equal dignity.

To fellow travellers of colour or with disabilities: don’t waste your money. I came looking for rest. I left feeling small. No guest should have to say that about a place they’ve entrusted with their care. I debated whether to make a big deal out of this, but decided that to be silent, especially in a political climate that is rampant with racism, is to be complicit. So I will speak up so that others who look like me don’t...

Unsure of this hotel. Experience was okay but I probably wouldn’t return. Location is good with a quick airport transfer ($15 in an unbooked taxi) and no problems checking in (remember to account for $10 tax per night of stay that will need to be paid on arrival).

We checked into our room which was clean and presentable although dented/scratched furniture and could probably benefit from updating. In hindsight we weren’t explained all that much when checking in. A little leaflet was given which was useful but we had to dig to find out about bus services (must be booked in advance and you must select the time slot you wish to return) and there was very little information about things to be done outside the hotel.

There aren’t many toilets (that we could find) and we never saw any toilets in the main building/bar/entertainment area so we’re limited to a two cubicle outdoor toilet block or the toilet in our room.

Buffet was okay but more or less the same every night with it being easy to spot which food had been left over and reused from the last service. Sometimes service was very good and quick re. relaying tables but on other nights there were many dirty tables and/or none with laid cutlery and no where to get cutlery for yourself. Note: few options for gluten free (bread and cornflakes available at breakfast) but signage on food often incorrect (my partner who does not eat fish mistaken ate fish labelled chicken).

One a la carte meal was included but the only slot available was for 20:30 on our final night. The food was okay and a welcome break from the buffet.

I think our greatest issue was that we were in a room/block (unknown to us at check-in) that was attached to the bar/entertainment area so we had blaring music through our wall from as early as 17:30 to as late as midnight onwards some night and I forgot my earplugs… If we had had to get an early flight or had children (note there were also families with young children in this block) this would have been disastrous. This, in turn, meant that we were more or less unable to access wifi during this time. Additionally, when the music finally finished, there were guaranteed to be groups of drunk guests with their own speakers outside the bar/outside or block blaring music and singing. I know this generally cannot be helped but I was disappointed to see entertainment staff encouraging this for hours and singing along etc. We also saw these same entertainment staff kissing the drunk girls etc and leading them down to the beach which I found slightly unnerving and inappropriate but if that’s what you go on holiday for then you do you.

Our block also had a hallway leading to our room with no external door so a couple of times we felt help hostage by a group of birds that kept flying in and going crazy in the hallway. Unfortunately, we also experienced some rain and colder weather and the heater in the room didn’t work and there was no extra bedding bar two thin sheets so I was quite cold and sleeping in layers including my partners clothes!

Drinks were okay for an all inclusive, didn’t taste watered down and a good selection included. Usually service at the bar was quick and reliable.

Not awful but not amazing, some issues simply reflect price paid but some issues could...