Apollo Blue

The website calls this hotel ‘a sanctuary for the senses’ and says that ‘every experience is a sensory journey’. I work in marketing and am ashamed to say I was taken in by the generous and aspirational copy. In reality, I think someone got carried away on ChatGPT. And I also forgot that a 5* hotel in Greece is VERY different to what we would class as a 5* hotel in the UK. There isn’t much to actively dislike about this hotel. But their description of it are fantastical. The hotel is clean and spacious, but the result of this is that it feels soul- and character-less. The warning bells went off when we arrived and the awards for the hotel proudly hung in reception only went up to 2019. We had a room on the second floor with a small shared pool, but we couldn’t use it because the water was so cold. We used the main pool instead which was a very lovely temperature. You also would be very far from any bars upstairs. We had a mini bar with some drinks in but saw no mention of whether these were included or not - website says ‘at extra charge’ but no mention in the room. There were a few things which we didn’t have which are listed on the website - for example, sun beds and parasols on the beach and aircon in our rooms (we were told it ‘isn’t turned on yet’. The temperature was +22 degrees when we were there so it doesn’t seem unreasonable to ask for this (which I did and was told I couldn’t have it)). Cooking classes and wine tasting/pairing events are also listed on the website but were not offered. The website says ‘Each meal at Apollo Blue Hotel is an ode to elevated dining in Rhodes and each dish is prepared with reverence, balancing culinary tradition, nutrition and creativity’ but my experience was that the hot food choices at the evening buffet were a collection of random dishes which were difficult to put together as a cohesive meal. We couldn’t go to the bookable a la carte restaurant because it didn’t offer any vegetarian main courses. We had a couple of occurrences where the waiting staff were loudly arguing with each other in front of guests and the majority didn’t exude the normal warmth you get exhibited through things such as remembering drinks orders. We decided to eat out for the last 3 nights as we wanted something special. Our room was spacious and had a really good amount of storage, including lots of coat hangers. I’d query the ‘soundproofing’ quoted on the website, particularly in the bathroom as you could hear EVERYTHING in the room next door. The bathroom had everything you need but was dated. The discoloured, worn grouting doesn’t scream opulence. But the towels were replaced daily and the room was cleaned well. Could have done without the staff talking loudly in the echoing corridor first thing in the morning though. Having to get your pool towels from the Spa rather than having them around the pool seemed like a ploy to get you to there as it’s tucked away. Overall it was OK but I wouldn’t come back.