MEMPHIS BEACH

We stayed at Memphis Hotel in Kolymbia for one week, and honestly, we had a very good experience. Before booking we noticed a few negative reviews on Tripadvisor, so we weren’t sure what to expect — but in the end, we were pleasantly surprised. The staff were very nice, welcoming, and always willing to help, which really added to the stay. The food was also good, with enough choice each day to find something we liked. It may not be gourmet, but it was tasty and satisfying. Our room was comfortable and clean, with everything we needed for a relaxing holiday. The hotel itself has a laid-back atmosphere and a convenient location, making it easy to enjoy both the pool and the surrounding area. It’s not the most luxurious place you’ll find, but that’s also part of the charm — it delivers what it promises without overcomplicating things. In our opinion, if you’re not the kind of person who is extremely picky, you can have a really nice holiday here. For us, it was exactly what we were looking for: simple, relaxing, and enjoyable. We would happily recommend Memphis Hotel to anyone considering a stay in Kolymbia.

I stayed at this hotel and unfortunately was very disappointed with the food service. I had paid for all-inclusive, but the options were extremely limited. Breakfast was especially poor, with only eggs and some bread available. Lunch and dinner didn’t improve much, with the same salad served every day and very few choices overall. Definitely not what you expect from an all-inclusive stay. There was also no bottled water provided for the room, so I had to buy water and snacks from outside daily. Air conditioning wasn’t included either, and you had to pay extra to use it, which was frustrating. On the positive side, the staff were polite and friendly, the room was spacious, and the location is very good. Buses stop right outside the hotel, which made it easy to visit Lindos, Rhodes Town, and Symi Island. Shops and restaurants nearby gave a much better holiday vibe, and I’d recommend eating out instead of relying on the hotel’s food. Overall, the hotel is in a great location with good staff and transport links, but the food was very poor. I would not recommend booking all-inclusive here, as it simply isn’t worth it

Kolymbia is a family resort and whilst there are some empty premises on the main road (Eucalyptus St) there are some nice restaurants/bars (also basic cafe type premises and sports bars). All hotel staff extremely helpful and pleasant throughout the hotel - with the exception of two days when the fire alarms went off in our room block and no staff came down to check what the issues were (even when we went to the reception to ask what was going on). Hotel OK except extra needed for aircon (8 euros per night per room) and tourist tax (5 euros per night per room) and this had to be paid in cash. No laundry facilities at the hotel but they can send up to a 4KG wash load to a launderette in the next village for 16euros (also cash). Hotel was clean throughout, room service tried to clean daily (bar one day) so long as the ‘Do not disturb’ sign wasn’t on your room door. Pools were cleaned daily with a special pool cleaning robot. Loads of mosquitos about so I would advise to you to take insect repellant and after bite. There is a pharmacy and a GP surgery a couple of streets away. No aircon except for the dining room (and your own room if you’d paid the extra), the main communal areas didn’t have it at all. No fans even which was horrendous to sit in during August from 8am onwards: probably to ensure you didn’t hang about and have too many all inclusive drinks. Awful, loud banging euro pop/ Greek radio blaring out from morning till 11pm in the poolside area (where the communal space is)which also made you want to move asap! At dinner there was the same rubbish music in the dining hall too. Drinks on the all inclusive were dreadful. Weak, cheap versions of spirits (except Ouzo which was lethal) and cocktails that all tasted the same. The lager was poor and I’ve never had wine as awful (sweet and vinegary). We resorted to buying our own in the end to drink there and visiting local bars (the bar at the harbour was lovely- El Verano Beach House as was Brillantina just up the main road). Male staff at Oasis were unpleasant and demanded payment upfront for drinks - took ages to serve us and argued that they’d put a live football on for husband when it was a replay of one from last year- avoid! Meal times meant being jostled by the many guests also obtaining food. Husband described it as like ‘a middle class soup kitchen’! Food was a touch repetitive but there was always something on each day you could eat: not sure why people were complaining there was nothing for their children to eat: plenty of salads, usually a couple of different types of potatoes (Smash dyed with green food colouring was my favourite!) a rice dish, a pasta dish, vegetarian options plus a fish dish, beef dish (the stewed steak was really nice), a chicken dish and on themed nights (Mexican, Chinese, Thai) there would be extra dishes into fit with the themes. Loads of lovely mini puddings at dinner, fruit and ice cream available at lunch time. If you fancied a change you could get a chicken pitta gyro for 4.50 euros or bigger meals across the street. There are a few Greek restaurants in the town and a Thai one, we weren’t too bothered about the hotel food so only went to Taverna Ouzaki (really lovely food) and also when we went for days out (Rhodes Old Town, Faliraki, Pefki and Paranisi). No entertainment bar one night per week - a Greek night one week, a Latin night the other - it was OK - hotel entertainment not really my thing so once a week was enough! Guests were generally German - only a few Brits - and we found them to be rude and queue avoidant, thinking nothing of barging into you and cutting in. That said, the children at the hotel were generally very well behaved and didn’t run round screaming or cause issues in the pools. Car hire worked out at 50 euro per day (special rates on weekends): there were a couple of places in town to hire one. Beach was mainly sand with some rocks- I would recommend water shoes. Sun beds cost 15 euros per day (2 beds plus 1 parasol) or 50 euros for the luxury versions next to those. Up till 7pm at night you could access a shortcut to it through the hotel grounds - less than a 10 minute walk. You can book various trips through the trip office down the road - boat trips, self boat hire etc - same company as on the beach but they had extra trips available. We had a great 3 hour trip for 30 euros each through Turtley Submarine (more a glass bottomed boat) which stopped for two swims: I would recommend doing that.