***long post*** Due to winter holidays being booked and the recent terrible UK weather, this was a last minute getaway with TUI for some quick sun so we expected cheap and cheerful. We were very impressed and pleasantly surprised by this resort. It has a traditional beautiful atmosphere, and not commercialised like some of the larger hotels. The resort is split into 3 sections - Island Blue / Pefki Islands / Lindia Thalassa - with a total of 5 pools between all these areas (ref to photo of map). All pools can be used but one is adult only which is at the Elia restaurant where breakfast is normally served. Also, which i thought was great, we were advised by another family who regularly holiday at this resort, that pool hoping at different local hotels was absolutely acceptable as long as drinks/food were purchased. We didn’t have time to do this but it’s definitely something we have noted for future visits! We stayed in Pefki Islands, ground floor apartment that steps directly out to the pool. The room was immaculate and cleaned this way every day of our stay. Generous in size. As per other reviews our shower space was extremely small but again we wanted cheap and cheerful so this isn’t a complaint, it’s more of an FYI when booking as they’re not all this way. We found the apartment to be well equipped to our needs, everyone is different but we only required the kitchenette for quick snack making for the children, keeping drinks chilled/frozen. Some other reviews highlight the additional charge for the use of air con, but we did not have to pay for air con only the safe which was 30 euros for the week. It’s probably worth a quick email to the resort directly to enquire before booking. We found the air con to be powerful and cooling, no issues. The room also had an iron/ironing board with ample wardrobe space. TUI need to update their website photos, the TV in rooms are all flatscreen however the beds and room size are accurate. Beds are very comfortable. We stayed under a bed and breakfast package and found the breakfast true to reviews, it was awesome. Probably one of the best holiday breakfast options we have received. So much on offer, from a huge selection of fresh fruit, yogurts, continental, pastries and your cooked breakfast. Something for everyone. Breakfast was located at the Elia restaurant which was a 2min walk through the resort or along the outside of the resort from our room. As stated our room was pool facing, which did tend to get loud from the entertainment arranged by the resort, BUT, it’s a holiday resort with other people enjoying themselves. It wasn’t rowdy it was just loud that did tend to finish by 23:30. And in all honesty, our days were busy with beach visits and exploring that we would normally get in by 23:00 and zone out noise as we were so tired. The whole resort itself is fantastic, it’s like a little homely traditional village without the crowds. The crowds tend to congregate on the main high street where all the British style establishments can be found. However if it’s authentic Greek establishments you’re looking for then we would highly recommend Philosophia the local beach restaurant (a little pricey but worth every single penny, the view is beautiful!!), sunset restaurant located just a couple of steps outside the resort where you can also get their delicious takeaway crepes, Taverna Anixis which is located on the top road but opposite end to all the British establishments. You can take a chance and turn up to any of these restaurants without a reservation but recommend booking to avoid disappointment. We found resort staff and Greek hospitality in general amazing, so welcoming. There is a fantastic well stocked onsite small supermarket open all day with further supermarkets on the main road. We decided to hire a small runaround type car over 4 days (280 euros) through Rodos Car Hire, couldn’t fault the service, the car was booked the night of enquiring and delivered next day to the hotel and collected from the hotel at the end of our contract. Rodos Car hire made hiring a vehicle so comfortable and stress free. Would highly recommend contacting them directly. Our TUI rep provided a contact but it was 50 euros more expensive. That 50 euros saved was put towards fuelling the car twice. We also decided to hire a boat for a day through Rodos Boat Hire, Antonis and his partner Eleni were amazing, the in-depth health and safety briefing made us feel secure. It was 300 euros for 7 hours, there are options for half a day and an hour use. We took a cooler bag with sandwiches and drinks, using our hotel room fridge/freezer to freeze water bottles acting as ice blocks to keep the food cool. With Rodos Boats there is a route to follow due to their licence, this route was better than other boat hire company’s. We got to visit the Red Sand Beach which we had to ourselves for the first hour, it was PARADISE. Ref to photos. We also discovered another small cove beach that we also had to ourselves. It was dreamy. Take your phones and charger as there is a USB port and by scanning the QR code you’re provided with a map with green and red hotspots. We fell in love with the local beach by our resort, Lee’s Beach, the water was crystal clear, beach sandy beach with comfortable cushioned sunbeds. It’s all sign posted, the steps to the beach has a wow factor, it was my favourite walk to the beach. There was a section of sunbeds that had cooler boxes to keep your drinks/food cool, USB charging ports. But these did tend to be reserved pretty quickly. The rest of the sunbeds were first come first served with a man and son patrolling for payment, they take a while arriving as they own the full strip of beach beds so just park up, relax and pay the 25 euros (2 beds and an umbrella) when they arrive. No card payment, it’s cash only. My husband and children had fun on the jet ski - 55 euros a time for 15mins and its first come first serve. We recommend visiting Lee’s Beach bar for lunch, it’s gets super busy so depending on your patience and if you’re travelling with kids, try to get there by midday ish. We strolled up just after 13:30 and only had a 10 min wait for a table. The food is amazing, and portions HUGE and cheap (2 chicken gyros, pasta, pizza, chips, 2 pints of mythos, cokes) came to 52 euros. Where as lunch at Philosophia would come to 100 - 120 euro a time. Philosophia was my favourite and if you can I would recommend to visit at least once especially in time for sunset. The new Meze restaurant on the resort site was lovely, a little commercialised, but nonetheless, it was lovely. But we did prefer eating at the main pool bar, again, portions huge and food was good. Another beach which is a must visit is the Parasonisi, it’s an extremely windy beach but breath taking crystal clear waters. This beach is the point where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Aegean Sea - simply beautiful. It’s very popular with windsurfers, paddle boarding and kite surfing. Parking is free, but 2 beds and an umbrella are 25 euros. The beach restaurants for the beds seem a bit of a trek but we found no problem leaving are towels and going for lunch at the Lighthouse Taverna - food was amazing!! Huge portions in a beautiful environment. We drove two nights into old Rhodes town, which was wonderful. We got lucky and found parking along side other cars on the outskirts of the old wall but our car hire person did say that we could park and ride into the old town for free from one of the harbours - so that’s an option when hiring a car. With regards to the recent fires, the area affected was “only” between Lardos and Gennadi. It was devastating to see the damage but the media mentioned Lardos, Lindos and Pefki, we didn’t see this damage anywhere else. We did pass what seemed to be council workers working hard to replant trees. Lastly, we want to say a huge thank you to the resort for their hospitality. Our flights returning home were quite late (00:40) and checkout was at 11:00am. We did request a late checkout but this wasn’t available, instead we were provided with a vacant apartment for an hour to shower and ready ourselves for collection by TUI at 20:00. We were able to store our belongings safely and spend the last 7 hours enjoying the pool, sun, Greek cuisine and last dip in the sea. This was very much appreciated - would be return - yes 100% !!…