Ktima Lindos — Restaurant in Municipality of Rhodes

I recently had my long-anticipated wedding at Ktima on August 20th, 2024. While the venue was beautiful and provided a stunning backdrop, I have mixed feelings about the overall experience.

My partner, who was born in Rhodes, and I discovered Ktima in 2022 and were immediately captivated by its beauty. We quickly paid a deposit to secure the venue and chose the lowest level of planning, as I had a clear vision for the wedding and didn't need many extras. Ktima’s package seemed straightforward, making it easy to select what we needed. However, the planning process from 2023 to 2024 was far from smooth and became a significant source of stress.

Poor Communication: Communication with the planning team was extremely inefficient. Email responses were poorly written, often with typos and unclear sentences, suggesting they were rushed without much thought. Clear information was hard to obtain without scheduling Skype calls, and even after these calls, I frequently had to correct details. When I raised concerns about the lack of effective communication, I was told, "They are busy, and the planner is a very hands-on person who doesn’t sit with emails every day." Overall, they made us feel that our wedding planning was insignificant to them.

We also sought clarity on payment schedules to pay in advance but received no clear guidance from Ktima. The planner mentioned that cash could be accepted, so we arranged to bring cash through various people to adhere to international travel limits. Before departing from Australia, we messaged the owner to confirm, but received no reply. During our final meeting, the owner unexpectedly stated that cash was not preferred. When I showed him my unread message, he was dismissive, simply shrugging and mentioning he receives 200 messages a day. He even tried to leave in the middle of our discussion, saying he had other important matters to attend to. The day before the wedding, the owner demanded full payment immediately, showing a complete lack of consideration for our circumstances.

On the wedding day, I arrived at Ktima at the agreed time of 5 p.m., but no one acknowledged my arrival or even asked for my ETA as non of them had mine or my bridesmaids’ contact number! I was left to wait for half an hour in the parking lot with my bridesmaids in 38°C weather with no shade. I had to send an EMAIL from the parking lot to let them know I was there.

Unreliable Pricing: We booked Ktima in 2022 at a quoted price but faced multiple price increases due to inflation and changes in vendor costs. Just before we flew to Rhodes, we received a final spreadsheet with yet another price increase, without any clear explanation. This left us feeling manipulated, as we had no choice but to accept the new costs due to Ktima’s exclusive vendor policy, which removed our ability to choose vendors and negotiate prices. Additionally, we were charged a 5% inflation fee on top of the already inflated vendor prices, which felt extremely unfair.

During the ceremony, the registrar—who cost 250 euros and was arranged by Ktima—was unclear about the order of the ring, vow and Stefana exchange, appeared unprepared, and lacked enthusiasm and care, according to feedback from my guests. It was clear that she simply wanted to finish her job and leave. To top it off, my name was misspelled on the wedding certificate!

Despite these challenges, the reception was beautiful, and our guests enjoyed themselves, which brought some relief to my husband and me.

For future couples considering Ktima: while the view, food, and atmosphere are excellent, communication can be problematic. Perhaps opting for a higher level of planning at an additional cost might improve this; however, if communication quality varies based on pricing, the lowest level of planning feels like a form of weaponized incompetence. I also found the trustworthiness around pricing to be questionable. I recommend getting a contract to protect yourself.

I rate Ktima two stars: one for the view and reception, and one for the memories of my...

Please, be very careful booking this wedding venue. I booked this venue a few years ago and can only just write this review without getting upset and distraught.

This venue is beautiful, it's a shame that it is run by some very unmoral people. I originally booked this venue a year in advance. I got my quote for full hire, I agreed the costs with them, sent the deposit and filled out the forms. After this communication dropped. Basically did not want to know anything until 3 months prior to the event. That makes it very hard to plan or get excited. They only allow their own suppliers that are much much more expensive than others on the island. Other suppliers on the island refuse to provide anything for a Ktima wedding due to their reputation. The stress trying to organise anything abroad is unbelievable but with this venue it's times 10.

I joined a WhatsApp chat with lots of Lindos brides. The stressed brides were all Ktima brides. All given different quotes, different items were included, over the year then prices crept up, due to one reason or another. EVERY SINGLE KTIMA BRIDE 1 month prior to the wedding had a ridiculous bill with a huge increase in price. This price increase was on EVERYTHING. It was not an extra £100, it was thousands. Some had to get loans from family and banks, some others were stuck. Manolis the owner is fully aware that at this point, you've sent invites, your guests have booked their flights and accommodation. He knows you have no option but to pay the increase in the thousands..... You can't cancel and he will not refund your deposit or the extra fees you've had to pay. He's a horrible money grabbing man, that does not care about anyone but himself. I called him in tears explaining that this wasn't affordable and that cancellation was not an option because he would keep all £20,000 if spent already and that would mean I couldn't afford another wedding. He did not care or help or bend. It was all or nothing.

I cannot explain how bad this situation was before anything else had even happened. I was not excited about my wedding and frankly dreading meeting this man that had been horrendous all year. I wish I could say it got better, but it didn't. All of the brides in the chat said that they were stressed and upset and it had ruined the run up to their big day. After they had their weddings they said the day was great, but that they still had such an horrendous experience getting to that point that it tainted the whole experience. Drinks prices were increased through the night for some brides as people got more drunk and they were charged extras the next day after being handed a bill.

My experience took another bad path, not due to Manolis but due to the wild fires. My friends and family all had their flights cancelled along with my own. I could not rebook to get out there. Some of my family were out in Rhodes and stuck in the horrific conditions of the wild fires. None of this obviously had any fault with Ktima and I understand for the greek people this was a natural disaster and a heartbreaking time. My villa, Flights, Hair stylist, Make up artist and many other suppliers (not connected to KTIMA) all provided full refunds due to the extenuating circumstances. They all were completely understanding and felt incredible sadness for the loss of a wedding that I had planned for years and lost. By no means do I compare to the loss for others in Rhodes at that time. KTIMA, gave no refund other than a small token, that was not half or even a quarter of what was paid. Manolis offered me to stay in a villa he owner the following year. Obviously trying to book this villa, I had no response. I actually couldn't afford to get married and ended up at a registry office in my town. I spent hours on the phone trying to plead with Manolis with no change. I had paid him the final bill two days prior to the fire and he said it was all spent. I think he realised that he could keep it and I had no chance of any legal fight because he was in Greece and I...

The full venue and background are absolutely stunning. The immediate walk down to the chapel in day light is absolutely breathtaking.

Staff Manolis and Nicole are excellent at what they do. I was the bride who got married on 02.09.24 and 20 minutes before I was due to walk down the aisle there was horrific thunderstorms and down pours of rain. All my guests and groomsmen at the venue said how tireless both Nicole and manolis worked to bring everything inside but then to re set up immediately after.

Nicole is a very hands on planner. She is an expert in her field and will provide her advice and opinion on the best ways to ensure the day flows effortlessly. I think it’s easy as a bride to focus on spreadsheets and multiple emails to ensure your vision is brought to life in the ways you imagine it to be however fundamentally if you complete the recommended paperwork and make an appointment to see her face to face when you arrive she will do her best to make sure your day is exactly as you wish. No one could have predicted that on our day the weather would turn so suddenly however this did not stop Nicole and manolis activating plan b, slightly delaying the ceremony and getting the day back on track.

Manolis is both kind and caring and always looks after the couple getting married. He is very hands on during your wedding day - such as rushing to hardware stores for waterproof covers 20 mins before my ceremony started. I also recall he fluffed my dress when I arrived at the front of the chapel which i thought was incredible and demonstrates his attention to detail at assisting the photographers and videographers at getting the best shots.

The rest of the staff are also fantastic. Amalia who helped to set up the venue, Tassos head of the bar, spiros bar staff, Eli. They bring such a lovely atmosphere and often vibed with my guests which added to the atmosphere for sure.

Suppliers I would strongly suggest using Ktima’s selected suppliers for your day. I know several brides and grooms sometimes outsource due to personal preference which is fine but honestly I do not think it is necessary to do so.

Photography We used Savvas for our wedding day photography package and we opted to ensure we had the main man himself. He immediately made myself and the bridal party extremely comfortable when he arrived. Wow, as an awkward not so body confident person in front of the camera he honestly works with you to make sure he is getting the “shots”. I would honestly say he knows the venue like the back of his hand - several times when we were shooting he would reposition us by cm to optimise getting the best lighting. We cannot wait to get our photos back.

Video We used one day productions and again they were brilliant. She was extremely friendly and again would guide regularly to ensure she was getting the footage and content that was needed. I’d definitely say both one day and Savaas work together amazingly.

Cake Our wedding cake was made by penny pie and again this was phenomenal. Neither myself or the groom ate any on the wedding day but the morning after Tassos handed us the remaining cake which we ate around the pool the next morning. All night my guests kept telling me how amazing the cake tasted as well as it looking aesthetically beautiful. Since coming home I have had multiple guests tell me it was the best cake they have ever eaten.

Flowers We opted for a very light flower package due to only wanting to accentuate the natural beauty of the venue rather than distract from it. We had combinations of gypsophila, white roses and pampas. They looked so beautiful.

Dj The dj was unreal. We supplied 3 playlists for different timings but again he just worked with the crowd. There was not a moment that the dance floor was empty. He really smashed it

Food The food was incredible. Our guests thought they had finished after just the starters. The food is plentiful and delicious. Again 10/10.

Cost Our costings was exactly what we expected and anticipated.

Thanks...